Kitty on Zidante in the CIC*** at Barbury
It was my great pleasure to visit Kitty King when I was in England recently and watch her work a few of her horses and chat about her philosophy and training, as well as life in general. I don’t think anyone would argue with me if I said she’s widely regarded as one of the most talented young riders on the eventing circuit, as well as one of the most popular. A true product of the the GB system she’s come up through the ranks, competing on the Pony, Junior and Young Rider European Teams, and got her senior flag and competed at her first Badminton on Five Boys, the little horse that she originally turned down because he was too small and failed the vet.
Now retired from top level competition, her admitted favourite, and first “proper” horse, Five Boys is still enjoying his competing after a hind leg suspensory injury put paid to his career at the very top of the sport. Although he had surgery and was sound to compete, as Kitty explained, “he didn’t owe me anything. I gave him to a girl who worked for me called Holly Milne, she does BE 90 and BE 100’s and he gets completely spoiled. He has a bigger wardrobe than I do, he tootles off around these little events, he’ll go really well and win some and at others he’ll be really naughty and take the piss completely! He’s 20 now so he’s getting on a bit, but he still looks exactly the same and has the same cheeky character.”
Kitty only agreed to ride Five Boys after Jane Tolley’s stable jockey Chris King (no relation) didn’t really get on with him, and was too big for him. Having seen him at Jane’s yard a few months prior, but been unable to ride due to a concussion, Kitty had been wholly unimpressed, “- he was really small, he had a bowed tendon like a big old banana and I didn’t want to buy him because I thought I wouldn’t be able to sell him on, or to an owner.” However, she agreed to compete him for Jane and took him home, “I’d had him at home for about four days and called her back and told her I’d buy him! I just loved him and he had such an amazing jump.” Five Boys failed the vet but Kitty and Jane managed to work out a deal and then he and Kitty never looked back, “He won his first three day at the end of the year and stayed sound as a pound, I did all the Young Riders with him, my first Badminton…”
Kitty and Zidante again at Barbury
Five Boys’ character is very similar to Zidantes’, Kitty tells me, Zidante being Blackie, an exciting 8 year old black mare that has replaced Five Boys as her favourite, “he had a very similar character to Blackie – quite feisty but on your side. They both love doing it; when the lorry starts up and Blackie’s getting left behind we have to shut her window because otherwise she’ll try and jump out of it! He was the same, they just love doing things, they’re both really intelligent. He was a special, special little horse, and she seems to be turning out quite special too.”
Kitty found Zidante through a Horse and Hound advert four years ago and never expected great things from her, “I basically bought her as soon as I saw her head, I just loved her! I never really knew how far she would go. She always had a really big, springy, careful jump but I didn’t know whether she’d be quite brave enough to go a long way, but I always loved working with her; she always put a smile on my face. From a four year old I really liked working with her, it felt like she always wanted to be learning things. The more you do with her the happier she is, otherwise she gets a bit lazy and crabby, and she’s miserable in her stable. When you’re actually teaching her things and going to competitions she just seems to love it. She can be a little bit cheeky at times in arenas at competitions but she’s normally pretty relaxed, and if anything it just makes her a little more in front of the leg and gives her a bit more presence. Although I really needed to sell her I just thought even if she’s not going to be a Badminton winner I just really, really like her so when she was five I managed to sell a half share to an owner, and then when she was six, just before Le Lion, he bought me out. (and she may yet go and win Badminton too!) He’s a really supportive owner, so hopefully she’ll stay here for the duration because he’s been offered quite a lot of money for her and he’s turned it down. She just keeps going out and doing more because I did worry that she might be a little too careful; when she was a Pre-novice horse I thought she’d probably go Novice but she did all that well, and then I thought maybe she’ll just be a nice, little Two star/Intermediate horse and she did all of those really well last year, so I thought I’d try an Advanced – she’s definitely got the jump for it, I just didn’t want to put her off because she doesn’t deserve that, she’s such a lovely animal but she bombed round all her Advanceds and all her CICs so hopefully we’ll go to Blenheim.”
Zidante won the Young Horse World Championships as a 7 year old in Le Lion D’Angers in France,” it was my first three day win for a long time so it was really nice, and especially nice to do it with her because I love her, she’s just such a character. She is a bit of a minx; when she was four and five, and even in her six year old year, quite often in the winter I’d be dumped on the floor more times on her than the rest of the yard put together throughout the year!” When we spoke Kitty was undecided whether to enter her for the CIC*** 8 and 9 year old Division at Blenheim, or “Big Blenheim” the CCI*** this autumn, and was waiting to see how she went in the CIC*** at Hartpury before she made up her mind. I’m delighted to be able to report that Zidante performed her normal stunning dressage test to lie 2nd after the first phase there and jumped a clear show-jumping, and a steady clear cross country to finish 9th overall last weekend – looks like they’ll be going to “Big Blenheim”!
Kitty works on the flat regularly with FEI judge and former eventer Nick Burton, who she laughs, complements her driven attitude with his slightly more laid-back style, “he’s really good with the slightly more mentally fragile ones. We’ll always get what we want to achieve at the end of a session but I’m very determined and want everything better NOW, and he’s more likely to tell me to give the horse a pat and take my time. Nick is good for my personality on a horse and stops me always asking for too much, I suppose that would be my downfall, I can be feisty and I always want everything to be perfect straightaway.” Zidante is also one of Nick’s favourite’s of Kitty’s horses, just because of the huge improvement she’s shown, and because they both believe there’s still plenty of room for more, ” She’s not the biggest horse in the world with the hugest paces. We’ve been working at making her really supple, swinging and accurate.” For jumping, Kitty gets help from show-jumper Keith Doyle who she likes because she told me he understands that eventers can sometimes be a bit quirky, are sometimes bolder than pure jumpers, or jump flatter on the third day and so on.
Kitty has about a dozen horses in work, mostly that she competes for owners, some of whom have been with her since she was in her mid-teens, and a few of her own horses that are for sale. The property actually belongs to her parents, and much to Kitty’s chagrin she jokes that her dad refuses to give her “family or mates’ rates”, but instead Kitty and her husband pay rent for the immaculate facility which includes an american style (indoor) barn, indoor arena, horse walker, lunging pen, jumping field, ample turn-out and beautiful Wiltshire hacking. They also rent out the converted bull pen right next door to the barn, which Kitty admits is very useful for those early mornings, “if we’re leaving early for an event I can literally roll out of bed and rock into the lorry and drive off!”
-
- Kitty King and Zidante at Barbury. Photo by Samantha Clark
Kitty and her mother, Jane have worked together since Kitty was tiny; first Kitty helped Jane, now the roles are reversed, “we get on really well, thank goodness. She’ll often lunge one or take one hacking, and she’ll come galloping with me which is really helpful because I know she’ll ride them in a good balance and won’t let them get strung out, or go on their heads and do things which then they’re more likely to injure themselves. Because she’s evented herself and then had racehorses in for re-schooling and teaching them to jump, and pre-trainers for all the racehorses she has a wealth of experience which is quite handy and nice for me to be able to ask her opinion. I don’t know what I’d do without her and I think she quite enjoys it secretly!”
Married for three years this winter to ex-National Hunt jockey Ben, Kitty also ropes her husband in to help, “He used to be based at Nicky Henderson’s and now he works at NFU Mutual in Marlborough, and I either gallop at Manton or Lambourn, so quite often if I gallop at Manton which is about ten minutes away from where he works I’ll time it in his lunch break, bring his breeches and he’ll come and gallop one with me if he can. I think you can do a lot of damage by galloping horses badly and not on the bridle and in balance, and I know that obviously Ben has had masses of experience and he’ll gallop them properly.”
Ceylor L.A.N – a very nice 5 year old that Kitty found this year
Joining Zidante is High Havoc, a lovely dark bay that’s aiming for Burghley in a couple of weeks. Now in his third season with Kitty he was originally sent to her to be sold, but the owner Ben Sangster started to enjoy it so much that Zidante’s owner Ben Walden bought the other half and Kitty was able to keep the ride. Persimmon, at 7 years old, is a very exciting prospect; he recently won the extremely competitive CIC** at Barbury and an OI at Somerley on the back of the 6 year old Breeding Championship at Osberton last year, his first year eventing. Kitty describes him as ” a funny character, if he was a person he’d be outside the pub looking for a brawl with someone! He’s just up for a fight all the time which is quite hard work because he’s always trying to push your buttons and get a reaction, but when he wants to behave he moves really well, and can do a super test, and he jumps really nicely. He’s been turning the corner, he’s just got to turn a little further and become a little more workable and rideable and I hope he’ll be a very nice horse for the future.” Kitty and Jane found Ceylor L.A.N, a tall, scopey 5 year old almost by accident; looking at other horses in the area that didn’t pan out, they’d seen his advert in the Horse and Hound so decided to pay a visit on a whim, ” I hope he’ll be really nice. He likes his jumping; he’s a little bit spooky but in a forward going way, and that’s what makes him careful.” It’s a testament to Kitty’s riding and training that she can go from Zidante, a compact power pack at barely 16hh, to the long, leggy Ceylor L.A.N aka Sprout and look equally at home on both.
It’s impossible for me to even pick a favourite among her horses, although Sprout is just my type. Kitty mused that if she had to pick a fantasy horse it would probably be Caroline Powell’s ride, Lenamore, ” he always looks like really good fun, like a rubber ball, a really good jumper and a character – they’ve got to have a bit of character about them. He’s a very cool little horse and I quite like my jumping machines so I’d quite like to steal him. Springalong always looked a bit like that as well, I loved watching him cross country with Daisy (Berkeley)”
As for her two-legged eventing idols, “I’ve always admired Ginny Eliot, I read all her books. Mary King has always been an inspiration, I think because she’s still doing it and she always looks like she’s enjoying it and has a smile on her face and I don’t know how she does it sometimes! Horses aren’t always that easy and fun and jolly, but she always seems to be smiling even if she has a crappy day – if I could do that it would be good! Obviously Pippa (Funnell), she’s just such a perfectionist at everything, if I could achieve half of what she has I’d be very happy. It’s taking bits from lots of different riders really, I’d love to do the Olympics, win Badminton and Burghley. That was always my ambition when I was tiny. I’ve managed to tick a few things off the list – doing ponies, juniors and young riders. Getting to Blenheim and getting my senior flag, that was always a real ambition but the end result wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for. I just wish the little black mare had been a year or so older because she’s so nippy and she’s such a neat jumper , and although she’s not a thoroughbred she would have been quick around that course because she doesn’t take much setting up and she’s a good show-jumper but it’s all come a little too early. We’ll aim her for Rio, keep her results consistent and hopefully she’ll have a good chance.”
My profuse thanks to Kitty, her mother Jane and her head lad Elliot for their hospitality, and wishing them a very successful Autumn season and beyond – Go Kitty Eventing.
