“As he trusted me, everything just got better,” Kate explains.
“I stay really patient—I like working on the flat and don’t get frustrated. Belmont tries really hard, sometimes too hard. With time, that nervousness and quickness went away.” Or perhaps it had simply been put under wraps. Kate
recounts with a laugh one dressage test when an energetic Belmont offered a flying change just before their final halt, marring an otherwise calm and obedient test. “So much of it is keeping a level head,” she adds. “Just go out and ride as best you can. One of my trainers once told me, ‘just keep riding what you have at that moment.’ It’s the best advice I’ve ever gotten!”
Life Changes For Kate, “what she has” has changed dramatically. “A lot has changed in my life in the past five years,” she says wryly. In 2007, she was newly graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in Animal Science and considering her career options. Although she had a full-time job in the intensive care units at the prestigious New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania, she missed being able to focus on her riding. In addition, Kate found herself under increasing pressure to
succeed. “People from the [U.S. Equestrian] Team started to say I had a shot at making the team. And I really felt the pressure,” she explains. In 2007, at the Jersey Fresh ***, Kate and Belmont missed a
turn into the water on cross country. In the stadium phase, they had multiple rails down. It was time, Kate says, to step back and reevaluate her goals. She had lost her confidence with Belmont and she was questioning her career choices. She decided to leave New Bolton and take a full-time position working once again with Phillip Dutton. Still, ultimately she wanted a farm
of her own. She wondered if she should sell Belmont to help finance that dream. She had Boyd Martin work with him while she considered her options. Fortunately in 2008 she was able to purchase her own facility, the 16-stall Cedar Springs Farm in Cochranville, Pennsylvania. Kate married in 2009 and she knew she wanted motherhood to be a part of her life. In 2010, she had the child she had hoped for, giving birth to son Graham (above). With so many life changes, Kate was forced to think hard about her future with Belmont. “He was never dangerously strong,” she recounts. “I always knew I could stop him. Now I had to decide what I wanted to do.” Boyd indicated that he was happy to compete Belmont if she chose not to, so she knew she had options. And, in the end, Kate decided that she wanted to keep
competing Belmont, not sell him. “I am very competitive and often fearless,” she says. “Everyone told me the fearless part would change after my son was born, but it really hasn’t. I want him to be proud of me as he grows up and to see that you can follow your dreams,” she continues.
26 July/August 2012
Her decision helped her change her mindset. She admits
she’s had a tendency to panic under pressure, despite her competitive nature. “Sometimes when I get really nervous, my legs turn to Jello and I don’t react quickly enough. It’s been a process learning to mentally stay cool and take a deep breath,” she remarks. “I had to learn not to panic. I had to say—this is how I’m going to ride.” Also very helpful, she notes, was mentor Philip Dutton’s unwavering confidence in her.
Four Star Goals In 2010, the pair tried to compete at Rolex Kentucky but were unable to because Kate misunderstood one of the requirements. “I had completed a CIC*** in 2006 and two CCI*** in 2006, one in 2007 and then another in 2009 and 2011. In 2010, I thought that each time I completed a three-star event it re-established my qualifications, but apparently, because a CCI**** is considered moving up a level, it was not the case, and my CIC*** had expired,” she explains. This year, even though Belmont was turning seventeen, Kate
felt they were finally on their way to their first four-star event. Since Rolex is the only four-star event held in the United States, there are no other competitive options of this caliber available without leaving the country. Kate’s nerves were running high. “The cross country course was harder than it looked at first,”
Kate recounts. “The course was big at four miles long with 45 jumps, and it was technical. Fortunately, I also felt it suited us. It was full of angles that demanded precision.” The course was also designed by someone she knew well: Californian Derek di Grazia. While a teenager on the west coast,
Allen MacMillan / MacMillan Photography
Photo by Kate Hicks
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