It’s Always Been About The Horses For Katherine Strauss
Photo Credit: Shawn McMillen
Katherine Strauss can’t remember a time when horses weren’t in her life. Before she even knew what the sport entailed, she was begging for riding lessons. After years of hard work and commitment, Strauss finds herself at the top junior level of the sport with a growing list of goals to accomplish. At only 14 years old, Strauss hopes to have continued success this year at one of her favorite shows, The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival.
Strauss started her riding career on a rocking horse named “Silver.” As time went on, the rocking horse got boring and Strauss set her eyes on a real deal horse. She fondly remembers falling asleep on her first pony “Skipper” on trail rides around the luscious grounds of Two Trees Stables in Bridgehampton, New York where her family has a home. “I have always been (and still am) obsessed with my first pony Skipper. He is the one who really got me interested in the sport,” Strauss explains.
Katherine and “Skipper.”
Once nap time was outgrown, Strauss got down to business and started real lessons. For the past five years Katherine Strauss has been under the instruction of Frank Madden and Jen Griffiths. The pair has taught Strauss a lot, not only providing her with proper mounts, but pushing her to always try her best. This year was especially remarkable for Strauss because she started competing in the Junior divisions. The transition from the Children’s to the Junior’s is a tough one, but Strauss handled it with ease. Katherine Strauss currently competes: Chellando Z, Rapunzel, Extraordinary, Capacity, and Debonaire.
Thanks to her special mount, Chellando Z, who she shows in the Junior Jumpers, she was able to place amongst the best this summer. “For me, an important turning point was The Devon Horse Show where we were able to place third behind Tori Colvin’s two horses in the High Junior Classic,” Strauss explains. After placing at a lot of the country’s biggest horse shows, Strauss and Chellando Z packed up and traveled to Kentucky in July to compete at The Adequan/FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC).
“Young Riders was an unbelievable experience. It was my first time ever participating in a team event. Over the week we all bonded as a team which made the win even more exciting,” she beams. Strauss considers it an honor to have had the opportunity to compete with team members Charlotte Jacobs, Lillie Keenan, and Kira Kerkorian. In the end, Strauss couldn’t have asked for a better first team experience. She finished 8th individually and Zone 2 ended up winning team gold! “I wanted to let Chef D’Equipes, Ralph and Holly Caristo, know it was not a mistake to put a 13- year- old on the team,” Strauss explains. Well, she definitely did not let anyone down!
After competing at NAJYRC, Strauss competed at the United States Junior Hunter Championship- East Coast. Extraordinary was her mount for Junior Hunter Finals. After standing second in the final round, the pair unfortunately had a rail down. “The sport is very humbling,” she notes. However, Strauss did not go home disappointed. It was at the finals that she purchased one of her newer mounts, Rapunzel. Rapunzel is a proven winner and Strauss is excited to step into hunter classes at FTI WEF.
The fall was great success for Katherine Strauss and her horses. She had the chance to compete at her very first equitation final, The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals- East Coast (USET Finals). “It was amazing to show in a ring with so much history,” Strauss comments. Following USET Finals, she headed to The Pennsylvania National Horse Show, Washington International Horse Show, and ASPCA Maclay Finals. Winning a High Junior Jumper class at Washington was one of Katherine Strauss’s favorite accomplishments of 2012. “I remember anxiously waiting in the stands with my trainers, watching the rest of the class jump off. The trips went by and I couldn’t believe it- we had won!”
Photo Credit: Shawn McMillen
Riding isn’t all that’s important to young Katherine Strauss. School is very important to not only Strauss, but her family. She attends one of the most prestigious schools in New York City, The Brearley School. Strauss’s riding goals are uncertain as she would definitely like to attend college when the time comes. “Balancing school and riding is a focus of mine and I always want to have the option to go to a top college. I know I need to maintain good grades to continue riding at such a rigorous level. Education is important to me,” Strauss explains. Throughout the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival she will travel back and forth to New York City for school every week. “The best feeling is on Friday’s when I can completely switch from school mode to riding mode and come to Florida!”
Katherine Strauss is particularly excited for the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival to begin. “I honestly love everything about FTI WEF- the competition, seeing all of my friends again, the warm weather, the food (crepes particularly), the night classes, the show grounds, and just the overall atmosphere.” A special class for Strauss is the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix. She remembers the first time watching Olympic team gold medalists; McLain Ward and Sapphire win this class. “I loved seeing the stands full and everyone totally engaged in the class,” she notes.
With the start of FTI WEF 1 presented by The Mar-a-Lago Club, Strauss and the team have high hopes. “Being in a competitive environment like FTI WEF for twelve weeks, surrounded by some of the best riders in the world, really pushes me and inspires me to be the best,” she explains. And it’s this competitive spirit that makes Katherine Strauss shine in the equestrian world.
FTI WEF 