should retire. But he’s really sound and eager,” she says. “Belmont doesn’t act seventeen. Still, I don’t want to get greedy. I feel so lucky that we made it to Rolex. So many things have to fall into place for it to happen. I don’t want to push him too hard, but I don’t want to cut him short either. If we do get to Burghley, I’ll be thrilled!
“He’s taught me so much!” Given Belmont’s age, Kate takes every competition as a gift. “I’ve gained so much experience from our time together,” she explains. “So much is luck, to be in the right place at the right time to find a horse that suits you. And then to have that horse stay sound!” She says Belmont’s age has also given her freedom from
pressure. “At his age, the team [for the Olympics] wasn’t interested in him. And, of course, this year’s horses are already picked.” In addition, Belmont sometimes gets held at the jog, as he did in April at Rolex. “It’s just how he moves—it’s not an unsoundness, but it happens all the time.” As a result, she is extremely careful with his management. Given his age, Kate says Belmont requires surprisingly little in
Kate had been a working student for Derek and his wife Bea. In fact, it was they who had suggested she move to the east to complete her college studies. “I walked the course and felt confident we could jump
around clean,” Kate recalls. “But every time I walked it again, it seemed harder and harder! “Once cross country started, I watched other competitors go
to see how it rode. And lots of riders came off,” she says. In fact, of the 57 horses that started the competition, seven retired and 15 were eliminated on the cross country course. In the end, only 27 finished all three phases. “Once we got on course, it was awesome. I was so
focused. I felt like we really worked together the whole entire course. We really had to work for it—but we made it!” Kate was thrilled that they went clear on cross country. Dressage, she says, went well, as did the stadium
phase, which she says is her least favorite eventing discipline. “Sometimes I panic and just shut down,” she admits. “This year, somehow, I decided I was just done with that!” The pair had a single rail down, the result of Belmont’s distraction at the start of the course. “That rail sure woke him up!” The pair finished a well deserved fifteenth place. Now Kate has her sights set on the next goal. She
hopes to compete at Britain’s famed Burghley CCI**** Horse Trials in September. She is currently fundraising for the trip. “After Rolex, I thought maybe Belmont
All competition photos: Kate and Belmont at the Rolex Kentucky 2012 event where they placed 15th overall.
Warmbloods Today 27 Warmbloods Today 27
the way of medical treatments to withstand the rigors of upper- level eventing. “We manage him, but it’s not anything I wouldn’t do for a younger horse,” she explains. His regimen includes lots of gallops and trot sets for fitness—Kate uses a conditioning program she learned from Phillip Dutton—combined with oral treatment Cosequin and the injectable anti-inflammatory treatment Pentosan. She also has her vet stop by regularly to jog him, just to keep an eye out for any subtle problems that might be developing. Kate is unsure where her competitive nature will take her
when Belmont does retire. “I have a youngster I’m riding now, but I think she’s more suited to the jumpers. I don’t have a huge string of horses to fall back on.” It’s clearly not a future she is rushing towards—after all, she
and Belmont have matured together. “I know Belmont so well. I trust him one hundred percent. I love this horse.”
Allen MacMillan / MacMillan Photography
Margaret MacGregor / MacMillan Photography.
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