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“I feel like I have really changed as a rider, in and out of the ring, in the last two years that I've been riding with them,” Carlee McCutcheon (20) tells World of Showjumping about her time as part of Laura Kraut and Katie Prudent’s The Road to The Top-program.

Through the program, Carlee got the ride on the now 15-year-old mare Aralyn Blue (Chacco-Blue x Ludwigs As). At the beginning of January, the duo won a CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix in Ocala and two weeks later they jumped their first CSI4* 1.55m Grand Prix together.

Carlee comes from a family with an equestrian background. “My parents and my grandparents did reining horses, hunters and jumpers,” she tells. “My grandmother had a hunter jumper business, and my grandfather did reining horses. I grew up doing a bit of both, the western and the jumpers and just ended up doing the jumpers when I turned 16. That was when I realized this was more the path for me.”

“I was a junior at Stonehenge Stables and rode with Max Amaya and TJ O'Mara,” she continues. “I am now a rider for The Road to the Top-program. We spend our summers in Europe and winters in Florida. I'm excited to be in Ocala for the first time this winter.”

“This is by far the most talented group of horses I've had the opportunity to ride,” Carlee tells about her current string of horses. “Aralyn Blue has done the sport at the highest level. She gave me my first two-star Grand Prix win and now my first three-star Grand Prix win, she is a horse that took me to my first senior Nations Cup team. She knows what she's doing.”

“I have excellent 1.45m U25 horses that are winners, and I'm very grateful for this team of horses. I have a couple of young ones also that we're bringing along, which definitely helps with the riding. It's nice to have experienced horses, but also very rewarding to be able to have the opportunity to produce young horses as well.”

The Road to the Top-program was created by Laura Kraut and Katie Prudent to help young up-and-coming riders. “The program pays for three horses fully; their show bills, vet bills, their farrier bills,” Carlee explains. “It allows me to show these horses. For me, it started off with a string of young horses which has developed into the team of horses that I have today. I wouldn't be where I am without this program. It gives me the opportunity to ride with the best in the sport. I'm one of two riders currently in the program – and we were also the first two.”

“It's wonderful,” Carlee says about being part of The Road to the Top-program. “It has taught me so much. Seeing what it takes to be at the highest level of the sport is pretty amazing. I feel like I have a huge leg up being in the program and being able to learn from them. They've done this sport for such a long time – and there's no better way to learn than doing it alongside them. I definitely want to try and stay consistent at three- and four-star level and move up the rankings the best I can, while also developing some young horses.”

16.3.2026 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.