Kat Fuqua Wins Individual Test Gold at 2024 North American Young Riders Championships

Shows

2024 North American Youth Championships

Dressage continued on Saturday 3 August 2024 at the 2024 North American Youth Championship with the Young Riders completed their individual tests in the morning at Flintfields Horse Park.

Region 3’s Kat Fuqua (Atlanta, Ga.) earned her second gold medal of this NAYC with her own 2008 Dutch Warmblood mare, Dreamgirl (by Spielberg out of U-Vira), earning a 70.971% for her individual test.

“I was really happy with our test today. I think I improved everything I wanted to improve from the prior test,” said Fuqua. “Her highlight is always her tempi changes, so again, she was good in those. The pirouettes were much improved from day one.”

Fuqua and Dreamgirl have a long partnership that extends beyond their success in the competition arena.

“I really feel like we understand each other on a different level,” said Fuqua. “Every single time I get on her, she tries her absolute best. She’s the most special horse I’ve ever met in my entire life. It’s really emotional and exciting for us to be together on the gold medal team and individually. She’s my best friend.”

Kiara Williams-Brown and Fortissimo, a 2012 Westphalian gelding owned by her coach Simone Williams, earned individual silver on a score of 69.941%.

“I’ve only been with ‘Tiso’ for two years now, and I feel like our partnership has developed so much in that time,” said Williams-Brown. “He’s the most incredible horse I’ve ever ridden. He has the perfect amount of sensitivity where, in a ring like this, he’s electric and he’s so fun to ride, and he just gives his all every single time. In this test, there’s extended trots that are on a short diagonal, and out of that volte, he can push so easily. He’s always so ready to go there. We’ve been practicing rocking back a little bit for that transition because he’s just so eager to go, and that’s really been paying off. He’s such a forward-thinking horse, and that makes my job really easy, because all I have to do is kind of steer him around.”

Canada’s Anna Swackhammer and Fabienna GV, a 2013 Westphalian mare owned by Kristina Bennett and Melissa Sinclair, clinched individual bronze with a score less than two-tenths of a point behind her teammate.

“I always look forward to NAYC. It’s my favorite week of the year,” said Swackhammer. “This is my sixth year competing here, which is really special, and to medal individually with the same mare, but now in young riders instead of juniors, is super exciting. And to medal with my teammate Kiara—we’ve been on five teams together—so to medal yesterday and then again today is just the icing on the cake.”