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Kate Shoemaker

Hometown: Wellington, Fla. Birthday: 8/25/1987 Sport/Disciplines: Para-Equestrian Paralympic Years: 2020, 2024

With multiple top finishes in CPEDI3* competition in 2018, Kate Shoemaker was named to her first FEI World Equestrian Games™ U.S. Para-Equestrian Dressage Team with Solitaer 40 for Tryon 2018.

Shoemaker was selected to the Adequan U.S. Para Dressage Team for the 2020 AGDF 1 CPEDI3* in Wellington, Fla., aboard Solitaer 40 and was also selected to participate on the team at the Tryon CPEDI3* in Tryon, N.C., aboard Gaborencio in October. Her additional accomplishments include being a member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. team in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics aboard her horse, Solitaer 40.

In 2021, Shoemaker won every outing in the first half of the year. With Solitaer 40, Shoemaker swept the Grade IV classes and helped earn two Perrigo CPEDI3* team wins at the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival during weeks three and nine. At the Perrigo Tryon Summer Dressage CPEDI3*, Shoemaker and Solitaer 40 again won the team competition and each of the Grade IV classes. The pair made their Paralympic debut in 2021, as they were selected to represent the U.S. Paralympic Equestrian Team for Tokyo 2020, helping the team to earn the program's first Paralympic bronze medal. 

Shoemaker has become a staple for the U.S. Dressage Program since 2018, helping the team continue their success and earn medals on the international stage. Aboard her own Quiana, Shoemaker helped the team collect bronze at the 2022 FEI Para Dressage World Championships, where the pair also earned an individual silver. 

In 2024, Shoemaker debuted a new mount in Vianne, with whom she will compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The duo have been one of the strongest combinations in the world in Grade IV competitions, never finishing outside of the top three in their partnership so far.