Kevin Ball recently relocated to Colorado to work at Chevron Corporation. Being involved with horses since his early childhood, this year’s NRHA Futurity is extra special for Ball as he will be showing his stallion U Can Doo It (Shiners Voodoo Dr x This Chic Guns It), an offspring of This Chic Guns It, who carried him to the 2017 NRHA Futurity Non Pro Levels (L) 3, 2, and 1 Championships.

“I have always been obsessed with horses. When I was 9 years old, my family moved from Washington to Texas, and during the summer, my mom wanted me to get to know people in the area, so I went to a horse camp that was not far from where we lived in Katy, TX. After that, I started riding at a local barn and cleaned stalls just so I could get to ride. I grew up watching the National Reining Breeders Classic since we lived right there, so I knew reining was what I wanted to do with horses. After about five years, my parents agreed that it wasn’t just a phase with horses for me, and they gave me $5,000 for a horse and said they would pay for the board, but I would have to pay for everything else: vets, farriers, showing… So I got my first reiner when I was about 14. It was 2-year-old, and I bought him from [NRHA Professional] Ruben Vandorp.”

Ball started riding with Patti Brownshadel, who taught him how to start horses and train them. It was also there where the past Non Pro Futurity Champion met with his future coach, NRHA Million Dollar Rider Nathan Piper and his wife, Jean. “After I graduated from college, Nathan was working with Patti, so I met him and Jean and started riding more with them, and they became like a family to me.”

After graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Ball started working for Chevron Corporation and has been with the company for over 12 years now.

“I have worked offshore and have travelled to various countries including Brazil and Africa… I spent the most time in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of my career had been rotational, so I would work for two weeks and then get two weeks off. And every couple of years, I would have to move to a different location, so it was not easy to keep a horse in training and focus on aged events,” said Ball.

Recently, Ball moved to Colorado due to changing positions at Chevron. “I now work in project execution coordination, so hopefully, this will be more of a stable position location-wise, where I can settle down and focus on my life and also on riding. I get to keep my 3-year-old and my 2-year-old with me and I enjoy getting to ride more often,” said Ball, who keeps his horses with the Schwartzenbergers in Longmont, Colorado. “It works well because I get to ride with them, and I still get to work with Nathan when we are at shows.”

The Pipers also stand behind Kevin’s success in 2017 when he and his mare This Chic Guns It (Gunner x This Chic Dun It) won the 2017 NRHA Futurity Non Pro L3, 2, and 1 Championships. “She was my very first NRHA Futurity horse and I kept her in training with Nathan at that time. This week, I get to show her foal, and I am really excited about it. It is only my second Futurity, so it worked out great that I get to ride an offspring out of my Futurity mare.”