Libbie Goldberg scored 217 on Cees Little Poo to win the $100,000 Amateur for 4-year-olds at Augusta Futurity. She just returned to the U.S. after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Special

Libbie Goldberg decided Hurricane Katrina wasn't going to slow her down, in or out of the classroom.

When Tulane shut its doors for the rest of the year, Goldberg headed to Israel in October to further her Middle Eastern studies. And she continued doing something she didn't think she would.

Once a week, she worked with cutting horses.

"It surprised me," she said. "I was looking to just continue riding, because I love it. I didn't want to just stop riding."

Goldberg returned to the United States just in time to make her mark in the Augusta Futurity.

Atop Cees Little Poo, Goldberg rung up 217 to win the $100,000 Amateur for 4-year-old finals by six points Wednesday night at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

With her first Augusta Futurity win, Goldberg took home $7,585. Robert Meyer and Smart Whittle Trona placed second at 211 for $6,140. Lisa Minshall and Aristocratic Trona finished third (210, $5,057).

"I'm really excited," Goldberg said. "I think this is a pretty big deal. I've always heard Augusta's a pretty big show and I've never been able to come here."

It's a remarkable victory for the 19-year-old Goldberg, especially since she's been back in the United States for only two weeks. She rode Cees Little Poo, a gelding by SR Instant Choice out of Perry Poo, just once before at a weekend show.

Goldberg was one of many New Orleans residents displaced by Katrina last year. Before leaving town, she grabbed a laptop and some papers and headed to Atlanta. From there, she flew to the Middle East.

"I decided to make a positive opportunity out of something that was pretty horrible," she said. "I went to Israel and had the most wonderful experience. Really, this horse is the only reason I came home."

While Goldberg was away, Austin Shepard trained her horse. Shepard rode the gelding to a win at the Southern Cutting Horse Futurity in late October in Jackson, Miss.
Goldberg credited Shepard with helping her through her own finals run.

"He's the brain while I'm showing," she said.

"I just really listened to Austin. He said to use (Cees Little Poo) more than I was using him, because I had only ridden him a couple of times and I didn't know him that well. He just stopped real hard. I went in and tried to be aggressive."

Her parents couldn't make the trip from their home in Westchester, N.Y., but they tracked Goldberg's progress via the Internet. She had three missed calls on her cell phone from them after the competition.

When the event ended, she called her parents back. And she knew it'd be good timing, unlike when she called them from Israel at 2 a.m. after her horse won the Southern Futurity.

"Now, it's the same time difference," she said.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.

--From the Thurssday, January 26, 2006 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle