Meet Birch Cooper
A horse trainer, father of two, former truck driver and telecommunications contractor—Birch Cooper is a man who has knowledge of many different places.
Throughout his moves to places like Alaska, California, Wyoming, New Mexico and Ohio, it was in California when Cooper got his first apprenticeship working at a horse farm.
“We had a mission statement to get an American native horse known as the Appaloosa into the 1984 Olympics,” he said. “We came very close and had a young horse try out.”
Although the horse did not make it into the Olympics, the respect for horses remained with Cooper throughout his life. He got his first pony when he was 9 years old, while living in California.
“I love the experience of the horse and the rider. I call it the divine dance because it very much is,” he said. “The beauty in that dance is defined by the tact in which I lead.”
After realizing that the intensive travel of being a truck driver and a contractor was becoming a problem with being away from his children, Cooper found himself back in California as a horse trainer. He bought a concession and horse carriage in Pismo Beach, offering carriage rides to tourists around the area.
“That worked out pretty well until the horse passed,” he said. “I had a lot of heartbreak at that time. My mother died and my horse died all in the same month.”
Deciding to leave California for New Mexico after that pivotal time in his life, it was while he was working on a cattle farm after being let go as a foreman that he received a letter in the mail saying that he qualified for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).
“Two years of college looked attractive to a high school dropout,” he said.
Cooper then ended up calling his sister in Ohio and asking to room with her. It was after that time that he started attending Sinclair in 2010.
“The experiences I’ve gotten here from both my teachers and my peers are invaluable,” he said.
While being in Ohio, Cooper still found room for his passion for horses and all that goes along with it, including roping.
“When I’m having trouble with a problem in school I practice roping,” he said. “I’ve only done it a couple of times and gotten some weird looks—but I’ve practiced in the parking garage.”
The difference in the horses that Cooper has now and the ones from his past is in the way he chooses to use them.