Laura Goodenkauf, USDF Silver Medalist and FEI rider, has just over twenty years of professional training and teaching experience.  She has been in the saddle since she was eight years old and since then has worked with every horse she could. While dressage training has always been Laura's specialty and passion, she has found joy working with all kinds of horses throughout her career--from Arabians, to western, to eventers.  She has even worked galloping Thoroughbred racehorses!  

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Laura has trained and coached horses and riders of all levels, with all different backgrounds, including starting young, unbroke horses and retraining Thoroughbred racehorses for dressage.  Her students are successful in dressage at both the regional and national level.  Recent client and personal horse accomplishments include:

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2021 CDS Ventura CountyTraining Level Open Champion

2020 CDS RAAC First Level Reserve Champion

2019 Horse of the Year Reserve Champion First Level Trakehner Horse

2019 CDS RAAC Training Level Champion

2019 CDS RAAC First Level Reserve Champion

2019 LA CDS First Level Open Champion

2019 LA CDS First Level AA Champion

2019 LA CDS Training AA Level Champion

2019 LA Chapter Dressage Open Hight Score

2019 Dressage at Flintridge AA High Score

2018 Region 7 Morgan Dressage Training Level Champion

2018 USEF and AMHA Dressage Training Level 4th Place

2018 LA CDS Training Level AA Champion

2018 Dressage at Flintridge AA High Score

2015 USEF Dressage Seat Equitation Finals Lamplight (IL)  3rd Place

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Laura offers top notch training and care of both horse and rider at her picturesque Fortissimo Farm, a private dressage training facility in Shadow Hills, CA.  During the course of her career, Laura has worked for and trained under some of the best in the industry, including Steffen Peters, Sabine Schut-Kery, Kristina Harrison, and Jami Kment.  Laura and Stella D'Oro were selected to work with Steffen Peters at the 2019 Western States Horse Expo and she continues to find opportunities to expand her knowledge to better serve her clients and the horses in her program.

 

Laura has a Master's degree from Indiana University's prestigious Jacobs School of Music.  While at IU, Laura studied with the Jeff Nelsen, who is known worldwide for his "Fearless Performance" techniques.  Performing on stage in front of a live audience is no different from taking your horse down centerline at a show.  Laura has been able to transfer her "fearless" music performance study and experience to her coaching of riders suffering from crippling show nerves.  

 

When she’s not at the barn, Laura continues to perform as a classical French horn player.  She has performed on multiple episodes of the Late Late Show with James Corden, movie premiers at the Beverly Hills Writer's Guild, celebrity concerts, events, and productions along side James Corden, Adam Sandler, Brian McKnight, Ariana Grande, Gad Elbaz, Israel Houghton, Anthony Anderson, Jennifer Garner, and Kevin James.  Laura has also performed with many Los Angeles area orchestras. Laura owns Sunset Blvd Brass, a professional marching band company which provides marching band performances for movie and television productions, corporate events, and more.