The United States Equestrian Team Foundation awarded the 2025 Lionel Guerrand-Hermès Trophy to rising dressage and jumping athlete Kat Fuqua at its Gold Medal Club reception held on Jan. 17, at the National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida. The award is presented annually to a junior or young rider in an Olympic discipline who exemplifies the U.S. Equestrian Team’s ideals of sportsmanship and horsemanship. 

“I’m really excited because the riders that have received the award previously have gone on to achieve unbelievable accomplishments as professionals,” said Fuqua. “The fact that I’m on that list alongside those athletes is really special. It was also unexpected because I didn’t know I was in contention, so it was a big surprise when I got a call from the USET Foundation.” 

Fuqua enjoyed a stellar year in 2024, including claiming triple Young Rider dressage gold at the FEI North American Youth Championships riding Dreamgirl, her 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Spielberg—U-Vira, Goodtimes). Fuqua is currently eighth on the FEI Dressage World Youth rankings with Dreamgirl and was named the 2024 U.S. Dressage Federation Young Rider of the Year.

The 17-year-old athlete has been competing in dressage in the U.S. and Europe—including showing at CHIO Aachen (Germany) in July as part of the U.S. Equestrian Federation European Young Rider Dressage Tour. She also has a string of jumping horses, bringing her globetrotting tally of international classes in 2024 to 77 rides spanning the two disciplines. At Hagen CSIO/CDIO (Germany) in June, Fuqua competed in both disciplines.

Fuqua—who divides her time between Atlanta; Wellington, Florida; and Tecklenburg, Germany—stepped up to the FEI U25 Grand Prix dressage level with her own Rigoletto 205. She also rode numerous horses in FEI jumping competitions, including Columbcille Gipsy, owned by Paul Schockemöhle Pferdehaltung GmbH, and her own Nate Archibald. Fuqua is grateful for the career-boosting opportunities her experiences in the USEF High Performance Pathway Program have offered.

“In 2022, USEF invited me to be part of the Emerging Athletes Program for dressage, and it is really constructive because they are watching my results and helping me come up with new goals for the year,” said Fuqua, who trains with her mother Shereen Fuqua and with USEF Dressage Youth Coach George Williams. “I started in hunters and came up through the ponies and junior hunters, and the championships in the hunter ring taught me a lot about how to deal with larger competitions.

“The European Young Rider Dressage Tour, which I went on in 2023 and 2024, was one of the most transformational programs for my career. I got to meet so many people and made so many connections,” continued Fuqua, who was on the bronze-medal-winning team at the Future Champions CDIOY Hagen Nations Cup in 2023. “The USEF Dressage Training Series [previously the Robert Dover Horsemastership Clinic Week] is also great. I’m thankful to USEF and the USET Foundation for the support and opportunities.”

Fuqua’s long-term goal is to compete at the Olympic Games in dressage, but in the near term, she hopes to be selected for the USEF U25 European Tour and to compete in the U25 division at NAYC again this year. She encourages other up-and-coming riders to seize every opportunity that comes their way. 

“If you’re ever invited to anything, like a pathway program, even if it feels like a lot of work, just do it,” said Fuqua. “It might be an open window to something you don’t see now. You could meet someone who could completely change your career, or you could learn something that will help you transform your riding.

“I’d like to thank the USET Foundation and USEF for supporting me and my career along the pathway,”added. “Also, thank you to my parents and my groom Pepe, who has been with us since I was 9 and is Dreamgirl’s best friend.”