Who's Who
Trae and Suzanne LaPorte of Gatewood Farm, Florida and Georgia

Complimenting Philosophies and Goals

For 20-year-old Suzanne, it’s the beauty and artistry of dressage that feeds her passion for the sport. “It’s about communicating with the horse through your body and through your aids. It’s not about physical force. It’s more like dancing. To me, dressage is more beautiful than any other type of riding.”

For her 23-year-old brother, the attraction of dressage is facing a challenge that can never be met. “It’s something you won’t perfect but you try anyway. Why? Because when you get that little bit of something that just clicks, it makes you keep going back to try and get it again and again.”

These siblings started their show riding careers early – walk, trot and cantering about the show ring before giving it a go in the hunter/jumping and eventing worlds. Each one in turn abandoned all other equestrian disciplines in favor of dressage during the teen years and neither has ever looked back.

Trae and Suzanne LaPorte did not come from a family of riders, but they do have an ancestry that seems to have a love for horses. Suzanne recalled stories of a great-great grandfather who would get on his horse and disappear for days, leaving his worried family to search for him. Odds are, he was merely enjoying some quality time with his equine friend. But her mom Janice, and father, Anthony share their passion for managing their properties and growing a business which will hopefully someday soon begin to support them on their own.