KAMILA GENT AND DUN UP OBVIOUS ' S FAIRYTALE RISE TO NATIONAL SUCCESS
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ADREAM WRITTEN WITH MAGIC
WORDS BY: AQHA © 2026 D PHOTOS BY: EV LAGOON
KAMILA GENT AND DUN UP OBVIOUS ' S FAIRYTALE RISE TO NATIONAL SUCCESS
Sometimes the best partnerships begin when you least expect them. For amateur exhibitor Kamila Gent, a chance meeting in the checkout line of her local Aldi supermarket would ultimately lead to one of the most memorable success stories of the 2026 show season. Just months after retiring her much-loved mare, Miss Inhibition, Kamila found herself without a horse to campaign at the AQHA Q26 Nationals. She had resigned herself to spending the next few years breeding and preparing her next show prospect.
Then fate intervened.
" I mentioned to Catherine O ' Brien that I didn ' t have a Nationals ride," Kamila recalls. " She smiled and told me she had the perfect horse waiting in her paddock. The rest is history."
The horse was Dun Up Obvious Q-102485, affectionately known as Magic.
From the very first ride, Kamila knew she had found something extraordinary.
" He was still very green and our ride certainly wasn ' t polished, but the connection was instant. It ' s hard to explain, but when you know, you know."
A HORSE WHO CHOSE HIS OWN PATH
Magic may have been bred as a cow horse, but from the beginning he had different ideas.
" He moved like a hack from the moment he was born," Kamila explains. " People say you should let your horse choose its discipline, and that ' s exactly what we did. It turned out to be the best decision we ever made."
Today, Magic has become the complete showman.
" He absolutely loves being pampered, plaited and fussed over. The moment he walks into the ring, his whole demeanour changes. He demands to be looked at and really plays to the crowd when it ' s his turn to work out."
2026 AQHA ~ JULY / AUGUST ISSUE