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Fiery and proud, Kinaja is an exotic little ten-year-old mare who shines like a copper penny in the ring.
mboldened by the courage of young seventeen-year- old Hunter Anderson, her favorite rider, Kinaja charges merrily over any fence she’s pointed at and attacks the
course with a spring in her step. That fighting spirit is in her blood: she is a Budenny, a Russian cavalry horse. If you haven’t heard of the breed, you are not alone. Kinaja
is a rarity, one of only eight registered Budennies in all of the Americas. Sadly, a broken back at five almost ended whatever her future might have been. But this little mare is the queen of second chances.
Love at First Sight I first met Kinaja in the midst of an Idaho winter, deep in the heart of mountainous McCall, a town of skiing fame. Fluffy and seven months old, she had been placed in a round pen for our viewing. Despite being recently weaned, she was not in the slightest bit distressed and seemed quite happy with her inde- pendence. Thus far this was only one of two available Budenny fillies in the whole coun- try, and I had my sights set on the idea of raising a rare breed mare for future competition and breeding. In that small pen, this
calm, curious and rela- tively wild filly walked right up to me and began to nuzzle my hair. Up until that week, she had been running free with her herd across several hundred acres of mountain pasture. The intelligence in her eyes took my breath away. What settled it was the pre-purchase exam. We had no trouble getting her into a squeeze chute, and once contained she stood like she had always known how to stand: for shots,
Author Karina Rapp finds her special Budenny filly Kinaja in Idaho, the winter of 2008.
blood work and a full exam. This horse had both brains and beauty. I was hooked, on her and on the Budenny breed. I took her home with me to southern California as soon
as the weather permitted. Over the course of the next three years, she went with me to college in Santa Barbara and I trained her on my own with the guidance of some wonderful trainers. I was the typical horse-poor college student, biking to the stables and working for trainers in exchange for board. I had luck on my side and met many terrific people who helped us on our journey. Kinaja was affectionate and wildly intel- ligent, but she was strong under saddle and she had confi- dence in spades—certainly a difficult combination with an opinionated red mare! After college, I took her home to Temecula, California
and sent her to a proper hunter/jumper trainer for finish- ing. Everything was going well. She was riding and jumping nicely, and we were preparing her for a rare breed exhibition at the Pomona Horse Expo. She was five years old and on top of her game.
Twists of Fate In late November of 2012, just a few days before I was sched- uled to pick Kinaja up, she was involved in a terrible accident. She had completely flipped over backwards in the cross- ties and fallen on hard ground. X-rays revealed three severed spinous processes of her vertebrae, and two additional spinous fractures—an injury commonly known as “broken withers.” Devastated about her 50-percent chance of recovery, I pastured her for a year. With the
three severed processes of her vertebrae. Top: Hunter Anderson and Kinaja at the 4-H Horse Show at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot, Idaho. Warmbloods Today 27
This x-ray reveals Kinaja has “broken withers” and it shows the
spinous
Courtesy Karina Rapp
Courtesy Karina Rapp
A e
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Darcy Anderson
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