The Roberts family has been deeply involved in the equestrian community for generations. From the late Ralph L. “Larry” Roberts and his wife Mary Roberts, to their son Roby and his wife Jennie, the family has supported the show horse industry through their breeding operation with the famed AQHA stallion A Sudden Impulse and their ownership of major equestrian venues like The World Equestrian Centers in both Ocala, Florida and Wilmington, Ohio.
Now, it is Roby and Jennie’s 21-year-old daughter, Sofia Roberts’ turn to ‘take the reins’ and add her mark to the industry her family has supported for so long. She is making her Congress debut in 2025 aboard the two-year-old gelding Hubbout Those Eyez (Easy On The Eyez x Hubbout A Drink), affectionately known as “Rick.”
“Horses have always been such an important part of my life,” Roby reflects. “I say that the most important aspects of my life are faith, family, and horses.”
“We love Quarter Horse people!” Roby smiles. “I’ve always admired how passionate they are and how hard they work to better the breed and the sport. My whole goal with the WEC facilities was to be a true partner to horsemen and give them an excellent venue to celebrate their efforts and the equestrian lifestyle.”
He continues, “I’ve had so many great memories with horses, but one of my favorites was winning the Congress with A Good Pooh (the name still makes me laugh), many years ago.”
“I still have that buckle, and I see it as one of my greatest equine achievements. Jennie and I are incredibly excited for Sofia to experience the unique atmosphere of the Quarter Horse Congress. It really is one of a kind.”
Meet Sofia Roberts
Sofia has enjoyed a life surrounded by horses – thanks to her family’s passion for the equine industry.
“I actually started by riding a walk/trot pleasure horse when I was really little,” Sofia admits. “But I changed course when I had a naughty little pony at home, and my dad wanted to find me something more suitable. We ended up finding some nice ponies at a local hunter barn, and that sold me on the jumping.”
She continues, “I’ve done a little bit of everything in the horse world, but my longest passion has been the hunter/jumpers. I was a hunter rider during my junior career, and we traveled the country showing hunter shows. I’m new to the Congress, but I’m no stranger to horse showing.”
“After my junior career, I took a break from the hunters and got into barrel racing for a while, just to try something different.”
Sofia has always had an interest in the pleasure horse world, which was piqued by her boyfriend of two years, AQHYA World and Congress Champion JR Pickard.
“JR and I had been friends ever since I moved to Florida when I was sixteen. He always shared his passion for pleasure horses with me, and that has definitely added to my interest.”
Sofia started a business, Elevated Performance Horses, focusing on breeding, starting, and selling ranch/reining horses. She has even brought some of her prospects to the Congress to sell.
“I just genuinely love horses and have wanted to explore the different facets of the industry. My grandma has recently gotten back into breeding some pleasure horses, and that also made me want to experience more of that side of the industry.”
Sofia chuckles, “I started with some western pleasure horses, and while they were nice, I just didn’t love going that slow – especially coming from the hunter pen. So, I started looking more into the Hunter Under Saddle horses because that was more my speed…literally.”
“We decided to look for a nice hunt seat horse to dip my toe in the pleasure pen, and Joy Wheeler ended up finding Rick for us.”
“I tried Rick, and I knew he was the one. He’s super light on the leg, which I like, because that reminds me more of the hunter horses I grew up riding. He’s also a beautiful mover to match. I saw Rick and was like, ‘This is my kind of horse.’”
“I really love that Rick’s incredibly good-minded. He’s a joy to be around and isn’t spooky or difficult. I see so much promise with him.”
Sofia admits, “My plans with Rick are pretty open-ended at the moment. I want to have fun and enjoy showing at the Congress with him, and then I hope to show more next year and gain more experience in the Quarter Horse industry. This is all uncharted territory for me, but I think Rick is the perfect horse to navigate this process with.”
She smiles, “I had a lot of support behind me with great people and horses in my life. I am just so blessed to have grown up in a home that loved horses, encouraged all my passions, and allowed me to explore so many different avenues in the equine world.”
Meet Hubbout Those Eyez aka “Rick”
Despite his young age, Rick is one of those “special horses” whom his handlers have seen as possessing greatness from the beginning.
As a yearling, Rick was owned by Amanda Beck and shown under the guidance of Travis Born.
In 2024, Rick won the Open HUS Longe Line and was Reserve Champion in the Non-Pro HUS Longe Line at the Congress. He also won an NSBA World Championship in the Non-Pro HUS Longe Line and Reserve NSBA World title in the Open HUS Longe Line. Additionally, he was the Non-Pro HUS Longe Line Champion at the Premier.
Carly and Wade Parks took on training Rick for Beck in early 2025.
Parks gushes, “When Travis [Born] sent me the videos of Rick, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on him. I’m not normally one who is sold from videos, but when I saw Travis riding him in the round pen, I could not have been more impressed.”
Upon getting Rick under saddle, Carly was impressed by how easily his correct, fluid movement translated from the ground to under saddle.
“Rick is not only big and beautiful, but he also has incredible self-carriage. When you watch him on the longe line or in the field, he does it on his own. I love that he naturally moves exactly how you’d want him to move under saddle. We joke, ‘just throw a saddle on that one,’ but it really felt like that with Rick.”
Parks continues, “We knew Rick was something special from the beginning, so it’s been the plan to bring him along without pressure to show him in the Two-Year-Old Maiden Hunter Under Saddle at the Congress and then offer him for sale.”
However, fate stepped in when Joy Wheeler contacted Carly looking for a special horse for Sofia Roberts to show at the Congress.
“Joy brokered the sale, and we decided that this was the perfect situation to get Rick into an incredible show home that would recognize his potential.”
Sofia purchased Rick in late September and decided to keep him with Parks through the Congress, where Parks will be showing him as planned in the Two-Year-Old Hunter Under Saddle & Maiden class, and Sofia will show him in the Two-Year-Old Non-Pro Hunter Under Saddle class.
Carly emphasizes, “I’m incredibly thankful to Joy for arranging this sale and for her convincing the Roberts family to leave Rick in my program so that I can see my efforts through to the show pen at Congress. I’m also incredibly honored, considering how involved the Roberts family has been in the industry, that they chose Rick to bring Sofia to her first Congress. I can’t wait to see them shine!”
CLICK HERE to view Sofia, Carly, and Rick in the Congress Issue of GoMag.
