Fuqua Counts European Milestones…
Fuqua Counts European Milestones and Auction Futures
EQUINIUM SPORTS _Kronenberg, The Netherlands (September 30, 2024) - Kat Fuqua's European career continues this fall, producing a doubly impressive standard as over the summer she was top placed at Aachen in dressage, and now she is top placed in show jumping at Peelbergen! Fuqua has been a stand out rider for many years: she competes at the highest level in dressage, show jumping, and is a multi-National Grand Hunter Champion at our country’s most exclusive shows, WEF, Devon, Harrisburg, Washington & Nationals. Just recently 17, she began competing in Europe in 2023 to further prove herself as one of the most versatile and talented young riders not only in the United States, but also the world. In addition to a successful fall tour with her current mounts, she also added a few new faces from two auctions, summer PSI Auction hosted by Hof Kasselmann and the unique Flying Open Sales F.O.S. Auction of Schockemöhle which was 100% online.
Fuqua began her fall European show jumping tour in Peelbergen with Nate Archibald, a 2012 grey Holsteiner gelding (New Quidam x Casco 4). The pair competed at the 1.35M, 1.40M and 1.45M CSI 2-star level, pulling impressive finishes against a competitive field of riders. In their CSI2-star Small Tour 1.35M they finished 20 out of 73 riders, followed by in the money finish in the CSI2-star Medium Tour 1.40M Prix. She wrapped up Nate's 2-star campaign by finishing clear in the field in the CSI2-star Table A 1.45M, with just two time faults preventing her from jumping-off. They have only jumped at this level a handful of times.
Fuqua also showed her 7-year-old mare Chalivia PS, a mare purchased from the PSI Auction last summer. They went clear to finish 16th out of 50 in the CSI 1-star Medium Tour 1.20M, and then bested herself with Chalivia to 5th out of 34 and in the money in the CSI 1-star 1.25M.
"I've been competing in Europe now for over a year with Andreas Kreuzer out of Damme, Germany," said Fuqua. "I really love how beautiful it is there and I like how there is always a show nearby, especially for the younger horses. It's nice to have smaller national shows to get them used to competing while still being able to compete at an ultra modern, elite level show jumping event like Peelbergen."
Always looking to improve her string of horses, Fuqua attended the PSI Auction over the summer, which offers for consideration some of the world's top dressage and show jumping prospects hand scouted by Paul Schockemoehle, and Ulli Kasselmann. Her barn, Collecting Gaits Farm out of Atlanta, Georgia, added 8-year-old Bon Ami (Bon Coeur x Jazz x Gribaldi) from this summer Hof Kasselmann auction, a top Grand Prix and Young Rider prospect that has all the elements Fuqua looks for in a top horse. Additionally, this month during Peelbergen show, they bid on a new jumping prospect in a new way: online! Fuqua and her mother, coach, and trainer Shereen Fuqua placed an exciting bid via the Schockemoehle hybrid online-in person auction on a 6-year-old bay Chacco Blue granddaughter, Cojana Blue PS.
"My first time riding both of these horses, I knew they had something special," said Kat. "Cojana seems to have inherited her sire's famous scope, mind, and talent, as she rides super forward and eager to the jumps and clears them with room to spare. It's also amazing that my jumping trainer, Andreas [Kreuzer] campaigned Chacco Blue himself; it feels like a continuation of their legacy and he has a unique insight on the horse's personality, talent, and training. I'm super excited to develop her further. Similarly the first time I sat on Bon Ami before we bid, I knew he had the balance and power to do the Grand Prix Dressage and be really spectacular. He's a big, powerful horse and fits my riding perfectly. I'm sure these two will have big futures ahead of them.”
As the Fuqua's began purchasing and importing horses from the Kasselmanns in the 90s, they are no stranger to hand selecting from the field offered by PSI's partnership of Schockemoehle and Kasselmann. Shereen Fuqua comments, “When Kat was competing in pony hunters and junior hunters, we purchased talented prospects in the US. Few understood our buying history in Europe, but then Europe does not compete hunters. What an amazing opportunity to reconnect with the Kasselmanns for our dressage training and prospects. Even better that Francois Kasselmann matched Kat with her jumpers that are now training with Andreas of Schockemoehle. It’s a great team because each training group supports the schedule of the other discipline. Purchasing at auction is new for us, but when you trust your trainers, it works! And online is crazy because each bid adds 2 minutes to the set closing time. So it was nerve racking to get the mare, who we nicknamed Coco [Chanel].”
Their history of showing horses purchased as part of their relationship with such top European breeders, trainers, and riders, as well as Kat's versatility and excellence in the saddle, marks Collecting Gaits as one of the most accomplished and growing American sport horse developers of the past few decades.
About Kat Fuqua
As a Grand Prix Jumper & Grand Prix Dressage, Four times FEI NAYC YR Gold Dressage Medalist, and Nations Cup Bronze Medalist, Kat Fuqua is expected to be America’s most decorated and versatile equestrian. She is currently ranked 8th in the world for FEI Young Riders Dressage with her own KWPN mare, DreamGIrl, and has an extensive resume of multi-discipline success.
At age 10, Fuqua won her first national championship at USEF Pony Finals, repeating the win twice in the following years. By age 13, she racked up multiple national Grand Championships as a JR Hunter at the country’s most exclusive shows: WEF, Devon, Harrisburg, Washington, and Nationals, with multiple mounts and under the tutelage of Coach and Trainer Jimmy Torano. By then she had also added the jumpers and dressage to her repertoire, training and commuting now for eleven seasons in Wellington, Florida. She has collected numerous titles including 9 USEF Horse of the Year awards, 12 WEF Circuit Champion Awards, and 2 Show Hunter Hall of Fame Awards, before being named to USEF Emerging Athletes Program at 14-years-old for Dressage, where she added FEI Gold, Silver & Bronze medals to her showcase in 2023. And this year, FEI 3 Gold medals at NAYC, qualified for the Young Rider European Tour and CHIO Aachen placing 5th.
Last year she moved to Germany’s Driehof in Tecklenburg, teaming with Performance Sales International of Hof Kasselmann and Schockemöhle. Fuqua completed her first Grand Prix Show Jumping class by age 15, and her first Grand Prix Dressage by 16. She trains with Schockemöhle's Andreas Kreuzer for show jumping. Kat has competed in 6 Grand Prix competitions with her Nate Archibald and Schockemöhle’s 8-year-old gelding Constantine.
Kat attended Holy Innocents Episcopal School for 12 years, recently changing to ICL Academy as a high school junior. Her favorite subject is French. Since 2021 and at the age of 14, Fuqua began writing a regular column for Elite Equestrian magazine which she continues to this day. She has a fervid love for all things fashion and couture, and blends both her equine career and interest in high fashion into multiple cover photo shoots for magazines and with famous photographers.
While she competes and trains seasonally in Wellington and Germany, Kat is based at her family’s Collecting Gaits Farm in Atlanta, Georgia. With unbound determination, Fuqua is poised to redefine what an equestrian athlete can achieve with the support of her show manager and groom ‘Pepe’ Escobedo, her parents and world class trainers.
