As Pretty as it Gets! Katie Laurie & Pretty Women’s Beautiful Performances Top the Yeti Challenge CSI 3*

By Jumper News on 2024-08-09

Langley, British Columbia, Canada — August 08, 2024 — When Katie Laurie (AUS) posts about the striking chestnut Pretty Women on Instagram, she includes the hashtag #perfectprincess. They’re not simply sweet words, though. It’s strategy.

“If she knows you love her, she tries her heart out,” said Laurie. “She’s a mare in that way. She just likes it her own way.”

**Katie Laurie** (AUS) & **Pretty Women**

Owned and ridden by Langley-based amateur rider Sarah Lambert of Highland Farms, the nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare came into Laurie’s string in March while Lambert was pregnant. In the five months since, the pair has made winning a habit, collecting victories at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, CA, Thunderbird Show Park and Spruce Meadows in Calgary, AB. On Thursday, Laurie and Pretty Women added their first FEI victory to that list with the Yeti Challenge CSI 3* at Thunderbird Show Park—the mare’s first ever international competition.

“She jumped the 1.40m at Spruce [Meadows] during the Summer Series, and she was really great. So it was time for her to step up,” said the Australian Olympian. “She’s really competitive—really fast and careful.”

Twelve pairs advanced to Peter Holmes‘s 1.40m short course. But only Laurie and Pretty Women—with their tight rollback to the planks and gallop to the last—were able to produce a double clear in a sub-40 time of 39.30 seconds. Pathfinders Bretton Chad (CAN) and CSF Princess Blue took second in 40.72 and Mexico’s Simon Nizri and Chianti di Fer Z third in 43.89.

“I’d watched Bretton go and I just tried to be a bit careful at the start and then I took a few risks [at the end] and it paid off,” continued Laurie.

While the partnership has certainly been productive, it’s soon coming to an end. Laurie will compete Pretty Women again this weekend and in next week’s Summer Fort Classic at tbird, then hands the reins back to Lambert.

“We’ll miss her,” smiled Laurie. “Sarah loves her. She’s been such a cool horse. It’ll be cool to watch them.”