After serving as a working student for eventers Karen and David O’Connor, Hannah Sue Hollberg started her own training business. She competed in her first five star at Kentucky when she was only 20 and helped to secure a team gold and individual silver at the 2011 Pan American Games aboard Harbour Pilot. She has also represented the U.S. in a number of European events. With Capitol H I M, Hannah Sue competed in the 2023 Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, where they finished fourth and were the highest-placed U.S combination. 

• Hometown: Shelbyville, Kentucky 
• Current homebase: Ocala, Florida. “We just moved here full time. I’ve been going back and forth between Virginia and Florida and then Pennsylvania to Florida since I was 18 years old. So, being in one place is going to be a big change. But we’re really excited about it.”
• Family: Married to grand prix show jumper Matthias (Matt) Hollberg; stepdaughter Emilia loves to ride, too. “I grew up on the back of a horse riding with my mother, Sue [Burnett]. No one else in my family between four siblings and my dad got the riding bug other than me.”
• Specialty and training facility: Eventing. “Matt and I have separate barns here in Ocala, but we work together every day. It’s nice to have such a talented husband nearby! My strengths are the management side of our businesses—both horses and humans, and Matt is extremely good at training people and horses. So, we work great together.” 
• What first drew you to horses? “My mom got me into riding and taught me everything she knew. I remember her teaching me to pick feet for the first time. She was so meticulous with my training—both in and out of the saddle. I’m incredibly grateful to her for this amazing life with horses that she taught me about and for every opportunity she gave me to make my own.”
• Favorite horse/pony growing up: “I had a lot of terrible ponies who threw me off, but my first good pony was a Welsh-cross named Ready Penny. My first great eventing pony was a 14.1-hand Appendix mare named Codiak Moment, who we called Cody. She and I went all the way up to my first Preliminary horse trial when I was 13. We eventually sold her as a pony jumper to buy my first real eventing horse, Keep the Faith.” 
• Career highlights: “Competing in my first five-star competition at Kentucky on Keep the Faith when I was 20, as well as my second five star on St. Barths where we were one of only two combinations to make the time on cross country and finished eighth. I have so many favorite moments with Harbour Pilot, who took me around the world and taught me so much, but a favorite is our team gold and individual silver at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Aachen is my favorite event of all time and being able to ride the wonderful RF Demeter there and finishing in seventh was a dream come true.”
• Mentors: “My mom, who we lovingly call ‘Smallzie’ and my incredibly talented friend Natalie Hummel. Karen and David O’Connor were also my mentors for a very long time and gave me so much.”
• Most influential horse in your career: “Harbour Pilot is definitely a favorite. He was the longest standing teammate I’ve had yet. He always gave his best—even when his best terrified me at times. Another favorite was Capitol H I M., but we didn’t get to compete at the highest level for long before we retired him as he got older. He gave me my highest placing yet at a five star when we came in fourth at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill in 2023. I absolutely loved riding him every day and miss him so much.”
• Competition superstitions: “I used to have a list so long it wouldn’t fit on two whole pages, but my mental game has improved greatly after working with Natalie Hummel for several years. I still have to put my right sock and boot on before the left. My gloves go on left and then right, and my spurs go right then left.”
• When you’re not riding, where can find you? “I’m working with Natalie to coach a group we run together called ‘How to Perform Mastermind.’ It’s a small group this year and I teach the riding and skill side of it. I also love playing ping pong and can play with either hand, which is fun! 
• Four-legged family members (besides horses): “We have two mini-Australian Shepherds, Cashy and Rosie, and one Aussie mix, Dilly. I am completely obsessed and can’t bear to be away from them.”
• Favorite eats: “Matt’s spaghetti is the best!”
• Favorite book and/or movie: “I can’t stop watching ‘The Crown’ on repeat. It’s my current comfort show and has been for about a year. I’ve always loved the book, ‘Open’ by Andre Agassi.” 
• Mares or geldings? “Both!”
• What’s kept you involved in the sport for so long? “I live for the connection with my horses. They are so giving and kind to us. And I love the challenge of constantly having to level up my game. I also love teaching other riders how to be good horsemen and women. A lot of people have the best intentions, but it sometimes doesn’t translate to the horses because of communication issues and misunderstandings. After going through some difficult times, Matt helped make riding so much fun again, and Natalie has helped me heal and learn to give myself grace, which has given me so much gratitude and energy for the wonderful life I live.”
• Learn more: @hsbeventing 

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