When Brooke Mancusi rode down the centreline at this year’s FEI North American Youth Championships in Traverse City, Michigan, she wasn’t simply chasing medals. She was taking another confident stride toward a dream she’d been pursuing since childhood.
By the end of the championships, the 24-year-old Canadian had earned two individual bronze medals in the Under 25 division (Short Grand Prix and Kur), cementing her status as one of Canada’s brightest young dressage talents.
How it started, back in Winnipeg.
For those who know Mancusi, the podium finishes came as little surprise. They were the latest reward for years of deliberate choices, countless hours in the saddle, and a willingness to leave home in pursuit of excellence.
“I knew from a young age this was what I wanted to do,” Mancusi says. “I love everything about horses, but I also knew that if I wanted to make dressage my career, I had to train with the best. Manitoba just didn’t have the competition or training opportunities I needed.”
That journey began far from the international dressage arena. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mancusi didn’t come from an equestrian family. She discovered horses at a local summer day camp and was instantly captivated.
“I fell in love,” she recalls. Riding lessons quickly progressed from once a week to twice a week before her parents agreed to part-board a pony. By the age of nine she was competing in her first Equestrian Canada-recognized dressage show at Birds Hill Park. Initially, she divided her time between dressage and jumping, but a serious fall changed everything.
“After a pretty bad fall, I had to stop jumping while recovering. It was at that point that I realized dressage was really for me. The time spent training your horse and learning the background of dressage really interested me. I am a bit of a perfectionist, so it seemed like the perfect fit.”
Her ambitions quickly outgrew Manitoba’s dressage scene. Beginning at age 12, Mancusi spent her school year at home while travelling each summer to California and Arizona to train with Ashleigh Luca. For seven years she immersed herself in North America’s top west coast dressage circuit, riding at Stefan Peters’ Arroyo Del Mar and competing at California’s premier shows.
Then, at 17, she made the biggest decision of her young life to uproot herself permanently and moved first to Arizona, before making the trek across the country to Montreal, Quebec.
“I left Manitoba just after high school,” she says. Mancusi is an only child, but her parents – Sal Mancusi and Jillian Taylor-Mancusi – couldn’t be more supportive, traveling to shows across the continent and getting their hands dirty. Indeed, her mother, Taylor-Mancusi, has become involved at every level of dressage, including stepping into the role of chef d’équipe for Canada’s dressage team at this year’s NAYC. “I’m very close to my family, so missing holidays and big family celebrations was hard. But over the years I’ve built another family in Quebec through friends and the people around the barn, which has made being away from home much easier.”
The move wasn’t simply about geography – it was about representing Canada. “As a Canadian, I really wanted to train with a Canadian,” she says. “I watched Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu compete and coach in Wellington. If you want the best training, you go to the best rider.”
Brooke and Brittany.
In January 2020, Mancusi joined Fraser-Beaulieu’s program, splitting each year between Wellington, Florida, and the South Shore of Montreal. Six years later, she has become far more than another student. As Fraser-Beaulieu’s assistant, Mancusi rides horses, coaches clients, helps manage the barn, coordinates schedules and oversees veterinary and farrier appointments. She also teaches riders of every level, from children on ponies to adult amateurs, professionals and jumper riders looking to improve their flatwork.
The relationship has shaped her as both a rider and a horsewoman. “Britt looks at the horse and rider as a partnership,” Mancusi says. “Every horse is an individual, so she tailors the training to each one instead of using a cookie-cutter approach. It’s always about what’s best for the horse.”
One lesson in particular has stayed with her. “If something isn’t working, Britt tells me to leave it and come back the next day. It keeps both horse and rider from getting frustrated. She’s also taught me that determination and hard work will take you a long way.”
That philosophy is reflected in the horses Mancusi rides every day, including her own string of three. Her veteran Grand Prix partner is the 18-year-old KWPN gelding DeJohn Ymas, affectionately known as Johnny, by Johnson out of a Sandro Hit mare. Johnny was her bronze-winning mount at NAYC. Alongside him is Kalisto Sollenburg, barn name Kalisto, an 11-year-old KWPN gelding by Eye Catcher out of Rousseau who has recently stepped into the Under 25 Grand Prix ranks. Completing the trio is MSJ Gusto Dolce, better known around the barn as Gus, who Mancusi bought as a foal, the now five-year-old by Glamourdale out of San Amour is currently showing First Level.
While Johnny now looks every bit the accomplished international horse, Mancusi smiles at the suggestion that success came easily. “Johnny wasn’t an easy horse from the beginning. People see the results now, but getting here took a lot of work. He’s helped sharpen my skills as a rider.”
Mancusi purchased Johnny as a schoolmaster, but over the last several years she’s turned to developing horses rather than simply purchasing finished ones, and that has become one of the greatest joys of her career. “When you develop a horse yourself, you just fit together,” she says, referring to Callisto and Gus. “You’ve been through every step together. If there are problems, they’re problems you’ve learned to solve together.”
That process, she believes, makes her a better trainer as well as a rider, something that she hopes future and potential students and sponsors will recognize. “People see that you didn’t just buy a finished horse. You know how to develop one properly and help it shine in the ring.”
Such long-term goals and commitment to her riding and horsemanship is paying dividends. Her performances at this summer’s NAYC showed a rider who is increasingly comfortable on the international stage and ready to make the leap into senior competition. Representing Canada has been her goal for years. “I’ve represented Canada as a junior, and now my goal is to keep doing that as a senior for as long as I can.”
She speaks openly about the dreams that still lie ahead: Pan American Games, World Championships, World Cups and, ultimately, the Olympic Games. But she’s equally realistic about the sport’s unpredictability. “Horses can change everything,” she says. “But everyone who knows me knows how determined I am. If it were easy, everybody would be at the Olympics.”
It’s the kind of answer that perfectly captures Mancusi’s spirit. The medals matter, but they aren’t the destination. They’re simply milestones on a journey that began with a little girl at a Winnipeg summer riding camp who fell in love with horses and decided she was willing to leave home, work harder than most and build her future one ride — and one horse — at a time.
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