LionHeart Riding Academy Instructor Kate Coup has been riding horses for as long as she can remember. Her family enjoys a long and successful history in the American Saddlebred show ring, with the legendary CH Rob Shriver among their prior horses. After starting to ride saddleseat on her mother’s lesson horse, she began her showing career in hunt seat at age 6. Kate soon came back to the idea of pursuing saddleseat, much to the pleasure of her grandparents. Kate developed a passion for pleasure equitation, riding locally with Cheryl Manahan of Wichita Riding Academy. At age 14, Kate and her family agreed that they wanted to become as competitive as possible, and Kate began traveling to Cryst-A-Kell Farm in Paducah, Kentucky, to ride with trainer James Nichols and instructor Ellen Beard. In 1996, Kate was paired with CH Lion In Winter. “Leo” proved to be that once in a lifetime horse and together, this partnership achieved great success, winning the UPHA Pleasure Equitation Challenge Cup National Finals, the Saddle and Bridle Pleasure Equitation Medallion National Finals, and the Pleasure Equitation Olympics. With these three wins, Kate became the first rider ever to win the Triple Crown of Pleasure Equitation. Kate next pursued a degree in Theater and History at Grinnell College, Iowa, during which time she rode with Renae Van Zomeren at Timber Hills Farm. On graduation in 2003, she went to work as a riding instructor at Cryst-A-Kell Farm, where she co-instructed national champions Megan Stephens and Callie Smith. Now in Missouri, Kate shows her horse, Mosette, extensively in the ladies 5 gaited classes. She began teaching lessons from the family farm in Columbia, Missouri in June 2007, and officially established LionHeart Riding Academy, named as a tribute to Leo, in 2009. Already Kate has several Midwest Regional Academy Championship titles to her credit as instructor, as well as Equitation Championship titles from significant shows such as Calvary Episcopal and St. Louis National Charity. She has also instructed a student to the finals in the MHSA Equitation Medallion and Saddle & Bridle Pleasure Equitation Medallion. LionHeart Riding Academy is affiliated with Fairview Farms, a premier show barn located in New Bloomfield, Missouri. Fairview Farms is the training barn for students who are ready to purchase a show horse. Kate offers introductory and beginning lessons for riders new to the discipline, as well as specialized instruction in equitation and performance. Her advanced equitation camps and clinics are open to all riders interested in fine-tuning their riding skills and challenging themselves in new ways. With her unique combination of expertise in equitation, theater and fitness, Kate offers a multidisciplinary approach to mastering the art of equitation. "Learning to ride is about so much more than sitting on a horse. It's about teamwork, responsibility, acceptance, sportsmanship, strength, faith and discipline. But maybe most of all, it's about courage. The courage to approach something so much bigger than you. The courage to put yourself in front of an audience and a judge. And it's about having the courage to give your heart- because once you fall in love with an American Saddlebred, they stay with you forever. I can't think of a lesson I've learned from a horse that I haven't later realized applies in other areas of my life as well." - Kate
 
“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk
He trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it”
-William Shakespeare, Henry V
Ride with The Pride LionHeart Riding Academy