Lance Cooper of Weatherford, Texas, marked a 227 Tuesday night on Light N Lily to lead the first round of the Senior division of the High Brow CD NYCHA Youth World Finals in Fort Worth.
Chaser Crouch was second with a 224 on GS Zans Cat, and Ryan Rapp was third with a 220 on Im Reydioactive.
Cooper, who won the Junior Youth NYCHA Scholarship Cutting in 2013, was reserve champion Non-Pro at the Bonanza Cutting this spring on Bet Shes A Smoothie.
His World Finals mount, Light N Lily is bred and owned by Billy Martin of Millsap, Texas, by Light N Lena out of Meradas Oh Cay. The 10-year-old mare was one of the go-to mounts for Martin’s daughter, Kaitlyn Wimberly when she was NCHA Non-Pro World Champion last year.
Cooper came into the World Finals tied for fifth place with 59 points. Rapp has a lock on World Championship with 183 points before Tuesday’s round.