Selwood Equine are hosting ‘Guest Bloggers’ this year.  Giving followers of the equestrian clothing supplier a chance to become more involved with the brand.  Instagram followers will be selected at random at various points throughout the year to take part in a guest slot online showcasing themselves, their horses and their plans for 2019.  This month Selwood introduces Katherine Kirby, a dressage rider,

Tell us about yourself

Hi, I’m Katherine Kirby, I’m 15 and I primarily focus on dressage. I’m very lucky to be supported in my equestrian journey by some fantastic business’s.  These include AlexaJ Equestrian, Flo Knoyle Photography, Elegant Equestrian and Bella Rose Equestrian.

Tell us about your horse/s

I’m very lucky to have four super horses: Archie, Bryn, Milo and Finn. Archie is 15hh, cob X TB who we’ve had for 9 years. Bryn is a 13.2hh, welsh part-bred who we’ve had for 7 years. Milo and Finn are my youngsters that I’m planning to back and produce myself. 

What do you enjoy doing with your horse/s?

Primarily dressage, but I also will aim to do some inhand work at local shows and possibly county level showing.  I enjoy competing and bringing the young horses on through the grades.

What are your plans for 2019?

In 2019 I have plenty of goals I’d love to achieve. Some of which I have already, like riding my first novice on Archie. However there’s still plenty left to do! I’d love to qualify Archie for the Sheepgate U25s National Championships at prelim and novice as well as hopefully qualifying for the BD My Quest regionals.  Also the BD CHAPS associated championships. It would also be amazing to ride an elementary on him by the end of the year, but we’ll see how things go!  Alongside this I aim to back Milo over the summer holidays and get him riding away before returning to school to sit my GCSE’s. I’m also hoping to compete Finn in hand at some local shows and dependent on how it goes I may also try my hand at a county show with him.

What helps you to achieve your goals and succeed?

We are working hard at home in order to help us achieve our goals. I also have monthly lessons with my dressage instructor to fine tune details when riding our tests, as well as continuing to learn new movements. My instructor helps me by suggesting ‘tools’ we can use when out competing. We are also doing lunge work with Archie to help improve fitness and also to work on his balance. Mentally, I am working on remaining calm and keeping a positive mindset to enable me to ride at my best and try and keep the pesky competition nerves away!