October 20, 2022 
Each week on #HallOfFameThursday, Horse Network recognizes members of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame with an inductee’s plaque, historical photos and, on the first Thursday of every month, an article written by a Show Jumping Hall of Famer. This week, we recognize 2015 inductee Katie Monahan Prudent.
For more than two decades, Katie Monahan Prudent was one of show jumping’s most successful riders.
Her riding career began at age five when she started showing in leadline classes. At first, she competed primarily in hunter and equitation classes where she excelled. In 1969 at the age of 15, Prudent achieved the dream of many junior riders when she won the ASPCA Maclay Finals, one of the youngest riders ever to win it. She then won the AHSA Medal Finals in 1972, making her one of the few to win both prestigious titles.
Following her junior years, Prudent’s career skyrocketed as she became a true sensation. She rode to dozens of grand prix wins across the United States and was equally successful in international competition. In the first-ever FEI World Cup Final, in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1979, she finished second after tying for first with Hugo Simon before losing a jump-off to him. She went on to ride in five more Finals in the 1980s.
Prudent dominated that decade of the ‘80s as few other riders have been able to do. She was selected to the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but was denied the chance to compete because of the U.S. boycott. Instead, she rode on the U.S. Team at the Alternate Olympics in Rotterdam where she helped the team to a fifth place finish.
She won the American Invitational three times aboard three different horses – Noren in 1983, The Governor in 1985, and Special Envoy in 1988. Prudent was also part of the United States’ Gold Medal team with Amadia at the 1986 World Championships in Aachen, Germany.
Prudent was named the American Grandprix Association (AGA) Rider of the Year three times in the ‘80s (1982, 1986, and 1988) and in 1987 was awarded the Whitney Stone Cup for her superior record in international competition and for serving as an ambassador for the USET and equestrian sports.
Prudent also achieved great success training and preparing young riders for top competition. In addition to her son, Grand Prix rider Adam Prudent, she has helped develop such top riders as two-time Olympic gold medalist and 2013 FEI World Cup champion Beezie (Patton) Madden; USEF veteran Kim Prince, the top U.S. finisher (5th) at the 2005 FEI World Cup Finals; Alison Firestone, 1999 Pan American Games team Silver Medalist and the top U.S. finisher at the 1998 World Equestrian Games; USEF veteran Elise Haas, who won the 1999 Amsterdam Grand Prix; and Reed Kessler, who became the youngest show jumping rider to compete in the Olympic Games when she rode for the U.S. in the 2012 Olympics in London. In 2000, Prudent was named Coach of the Year by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Prudent maintains her base at her Plain Bay Farm in Middleburg, Virginia along with her husband Henri and son Adam. She has previously been honored with induction into the Show Hunter Hall of Fame.
The Show Jumping Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit charity that relies solely on contributions to operate. If you liked this story, please consider supporting its efforts to preserve our sport’s history. Donations can be made online at www.ShowJumpingHallofFame.org.
