Meet Hannah Pruss and her 17-year-old Arabian gelding, Kourageus Hope, better known as “Stuart.” Hannah first started endurance riding in the late 1990’s, riding a mare named “Shazams Zhope” — Stuart’s dam. Hannah has since accrued over 7000 miles with the AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference, the governing body for endurance in the United States), a combination of both endurance (50+ mile rides) and limited distance (25-35-mile rides) rides.
“Stuart” is one of Hannah’s home-bred horses. She raised and trained him herself, and has been his only rider in Stuart’s 3000 miles of competitions. There most recent accomplishment was a 2nd place finish at the Fort Howes 100…and they were also awarded Best Condition.
Together, they are an impressive team. Just some of their accomplishments on the endurance trail include:
- 3x 1st place at the Big Horn 100
- 2x Best Condition at the Big Horn 100
- 2x Tevis finishers (including one Top Ten finish)
- 14 100-mile completions
- 18 Best Condition awards (6 of them in 100-mile rides, including the National Championship)
- Decade Team
- 2018 National 100-Mile Award winners
- 2x Reserve Champion and 1st Middleweight at the AERC National Championship 100
At the end of the 2016 ride season, Stuart underwent surgery to remove his left eye, which had been compromised by an aggressive cancer. Six months later, he returned to the endurance trail, and together, he and Hannah have since put on another 1700 endurance miles, and Hannah now calls him her “one-eyed pirate pony” (and can sometimes been seen sporting a pair of pirate-themed riding tights).
Hannah has been a long-time supporter and user of Renegade Hoof Boots, having used them for over a dozen years now, and all of Stuart’s miles have been done in Renegades. She’s got a couple of up-and-coming youngsters that she’s bringing along in the endurance world, but in the meantime, it doesn’t look like Stuart has any inclination to retire any time soon.
Congratulations, Hannah, for all of the success you’ve had with your horses over the years, and we thank you for all of your support and being such an enthusiastic representative of #TeamRenegade!
