It started with her sister.

“I was 2 years old and my sister, Amy, was 5. We were at the zoo and this lady was handing out flyers for horseback riding lessons.”

And so the love affair began.

Katie was born in 1997, to Marie and Barry Bussing. The Evansville, Indiana native followed in her sister’s footsteps and was in the saddle by the age of 3. It was something she did for fun and after a few years, she was the proud owner of a Haflinger named Fabio. The two competed at a few local open shows, mainly in Posey County, in the walk/trot and contesting classes. “I remember going really fast,” she chuckles.

When Bussing was 8, she and Fabio made the move to Brad and Vicki Pitts’ P5 Equestrian in Evansville, Indiana.

Brad Pitts says, initially, he didn’t necessarily have any expectations about how Bussing’s show career would unfold. “You never know when somebody first comes to your barn what their abilities are – either talent wise or financially.”

After a year of lessons with Brad and Vicki Pitts, she decided to get serious about her show career.

In 2007 the Bussings purchased RL A Sudden Escort by A Sudden Impulse. Katie and the 2003 chestnut gelding competed in Halter, Showmanship, Horsemanship and Western Pleasure at American Quarter Horse Association shows. The enjoyed much success but Katie soon decided she wanted to strictly focus on Western Pleasure. Sure Good Money, a 2000 mare by Good Version, was purchased in 2008 to meet that goal and the pair ended up placing in the Top 10 in Performance Halter Mares at the 2009 AQHA Youth World Show and placed in the Top 5 of both Youth Performance Halter Mares and 11 & Under Youth Western Pleasure at the 2009 Quarter Horse Congress.

This is when Pitts saw a shift in Bussing’s attitude.

“She had a passion for winning,” he recalls. “When she showed that mare, she prepared, she did whatever she needed to do. And I saw it then. That’s when I knew she was going to be a star.”

Bussing has also been lucky enough to show Molly Maxx, a 2011 black mare, who was Top 10 and Intermediate Champion in Yearling Halter Mares at the 2012 Youth World, and Sheza Slow Breeze, a 2008 sorrel mare by A Passing Breeze, whom she showed in Western Pleasure.

After a few years of buying and selling horses and working her way up the show circuit ladder, she now has the ultimate show string lineup.

A Good Cookie, a 2007 mare by Zippos Mr Good Bar out of One Classy Chip, was purchased in 2011. “Brad saw her win the Green Western Pleasure at the NSBA (National Snaffle Bit Association) World Show and bought her then and there.”

Bussing had never seen “Ellie” before and recalls her initial reaction. “The first time I saw her I thought she looked like a little reining horse, she was so tiny and fat,” she laughs. “I just thought she was adorable.” In addition to her NSBA Championship, the mare is now a four-time Reserve Congress Champion, an AQHA High Point winner in Youth Western Pleasure, and an AQHYA Top 10 Western Pleasure horse. In 2014, Pitts started showing Ellie in the Western Riding and they hope to continue her all-around career.

CK Mardi Gras, by CK Kid out of Tardee Cool Trouble, was purchased at the end of 2012, after becoming a three-time World Champion and two-time Congress Champion in Performance Halter Mares. She now has over 700 points in Heading, Heeling, Ranch Pleasure and Performance Halter and is nearing an AQHA Championship. “Mardi” and Bussing were third at the AQHA Youth World Show and tied to win the Congress in the Performance Mares in 2013.

In April Bussing purchased her first futurity horse, Cool Lookin Moonie, a 2011 mare by Only In The Moonlite and out of Cool Lookin Lady. Last year Cool Lookin Moonie was third in the Masters Western Pleasure at the Congress and Reserve AQHA World Champion in 2-Year-Old Western Pleasure.

“She had been telling me she wanted to do the 3-year-old classes,” Brad Pitts says. “So Vicki and I traveled all over the country to find the perfect match. After seeing the mare at the Congress and AQHA World Show, they headed down to Brian Cox’s place in Mt. Perry, Ohio. Bussing soon followed to make sure the pair would be a good match.

“My initial reaction was that she was tall and beautiful,” Bussing says.  “She has a huge forelock. She’s so chic.”

The week after the purchase Bussing showed the mare in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. It was only “Moonie’s” third show. The new pair won the Western Pleasure and were Circuit Champions.

“Cool Lookin Moonie is her horse of the future,” explains Pitts. “She has an incredible amount of talent and a great attitude. She’s big, strong and very attractive.”

They will compete at this year’s AQHA Youth World Show and in the 3-Year-Old Non-Pro and Open futurities at the Congress.

Bussing is nearing the end of her youth career, but hopes to continue riding and showing as an amateur. The 17-year-old looks back on her horse career and realizes, “I’ve grown up with Brad and Vicki, I’ve been training and showing with them for nine years, they really are like second parents.”

She takes a minute to remember and recalls one of her very first accomplishments with the Pitts in 2007. “I remember being so excited to get sixth out of 12 at a small show in Franklin, Indiana. It was the coolest thing ever. Everyone was so excited and proud.” Little did they know what was to come.

Bussing plans to apply for a pre-med scholarship program through the University of Evansville. There are a total of six slots and, if accepted, she’s guaranteed acceptance to Medical School at Indiana University. She recently earned the “Star Student Award,” from the the Evansville Courier and Press, an award given to students in their junior year of high school and based on grade point average, community service, problem solving and volunteer work.