Biography

Jenni grew up in central Victoria, Australia and she was exposed to animals through a cousin at a very early age. She had a natural affinity for all animals and her love for horses was particularly strong. She purchased and trained her first horse while in high school and from there her love for equestrian pursuits grew even stronger.

Jenni’s success led her to operating a boutique breeding program in Australia, comprised of Arabian purebreds and derivatives. She enjoyed great success showing both her homebred and client horses at a national level. The quality of her horses was confirmed when one was exported to the Middle East and a client’s horse sired by her stallion was among the first Arabians exported from Australia to China.

In 2015, Jenni moved to the United States, bringing with her a homebred Arabian mare, Jensems Suzie Q. She immediately established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the Arabian Sporthorse arena, winning the 2016 National Champion title with Suzie Q at just their second show, followed by Unanimous National Champion in 2018. She has continued to win numerous championship titles and has bred, trained, presented, and shown State, Royal, Regional and National Champions in 3 different countries across 7 different disciplines.

Jenni is passionate about continuing her own education and enjoys teaching as well. She now focuses on classical dressage training and has completed courses with International and Olympic trainers in equine biomechanics and advanced dressage training principles. She achieved her USDF Bronze medal with just 2 show appearances, something that takes some riders years to achieve. In 2023 she was selected as a demonstration rider for the Utah Dressage Symposium for Level 3 dressage, to demonstrate advanced training techniques.

Prior to committing herself full time to her equestrian endeavours, Jenni was a Senior Constable in the Victoria Police Force, Australia, working general duties. She enjoyed serving her community and was involved in dealing with an extremely varied demographic within a wide array of situations. She gained a great deal of experience providing evidence in court addressing issues as diverse as traffic, drug, fraud and domestic violence offences.

Her teaching focuses on excellence in horsemanship and safety, explaining the why’s along with the how’s of good riding, training and management techniques emphasizing best practice for horse and rider. Her reputation in the United States continues to grow and she is booked for several clinics throughout the year on topics including advanced training and show ring presentation. As a participant at a recent USDF Coaches seminar, Jenni was assessed as a “gifted instructor” by a US 4-Star FEI judge.

Jenni’s background as a police officer lends a unique aspect to her skills and knowledge applicable to expert witness work, comfortable dealing with legal documents and situations, with an appreciation of identifying relevant facts of the case, and preparing written documents for use in court. Her vast experience in teaching, training, and operating barns provides a wealth of practical skills and knowledge from which to draw on, specializing in the Arabian breed, teaching, equine biomechanics, Dressage training techniques, equine behavior, nutrition, and breeding.

Articles

Below are articles featuring or written by Jenni Fugate. Click on the link to view.

• When Equitation Science supports Traditional Knowledge
• What to do when the worst happens
• Horsemanship – Part 3 Are you a horseperson, or simply a rider?
• Horsemanship – Part 2: Timing and use of aids
• Horsemanship – Part 1: Is “horsemanship” a dying art?
• Bran Mashes – Are they really a good idea?
• Finding the right riding coach
• Choosing The Best Horse Feed
• IS HAY ENOUGH? FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
• Meet Jenni Fugate of Jensem Sporthorses - Voyage Utah
• A WORD ON WAIVERS
• Lunging - Useless Miles or Constructive Training?
• WHY GREEN PLUS GREEN EQUALS BLACK AND BLUE
• BIOMECHANICS – WHAT IS IT?