If Kate Kyros felt at all homesick over a Christmas break spent training in Florida, the sound of Advance Australia Fair reverberating throughout the city’s famed Equestrian Village this week must surely have helped.
It has been piped through the loudspeakers on such high rotation that the stadium announcers, who may have been unfamiliar with our national anthem at the beginning of the Adequan Global Dressage Festival, could now hum, and possibly sing, along.
Nineteen-year-old Kate has taken her stellar form from the Australian season to the global stage in the first week of her debut appearance against the world’s best riders in Wellington, Florida.
Competing in the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale) CDI Young Rider and under 25 Grand Prix , Kate won six events and recorded a personal best atop her stallion Chemistry.
CDI (Concours de Dressage International) are events that are recognised by FEI and carry an international ranking.
“It has been an incredible start to the winter series here in Florida for our team,” she said.
“It was certainly a dream come true to hear the Australian anthem playing throughout the arena here in Wellington six times over the past four days.’’
Kate has now entered another training block ahead of the next round of competition starting on January 24.
In all she will compete in eight International CDI events over the next three months.
The Bond University Law and Business student made the decision to travel to the US after finishing the domestic season with a swag of awards at the Australian Dressage Championships.
Her performances on stallions Intro K and Chemistry at Boneo Park in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula cemented her status as the next big thing in Australian equestrian and saw her claim the prestigious Bond University Sportsperson of the year award in a field stacked with Olympic-level athletes and professional football players.
She was named the overall FEI CDI Young Rider Champion after steering Intro K to victory in the two classes.
The pair claimed a new Australian record score of 75.196 per cent to be declared winner of the FEI CDI Young Rider Individual award and backed it up with a personal best score of 76.67 per cent to claim the Young Rider Freestyle class.
It was on Chemistry where she really elevated her standing with her performances in a series of Open and U25 events against Australia’s best riders.
Atop Chemistry she won the CDN Open Intermediate class with another personal best score of 70.686 per cent.
They then won the FEI CDI U25 Grand Prix with 69.897 per cent and finished second in the FEI CDI U25 Grand Prix Freestyle with 74.735 per cent, both personal bests.
The results were enough to see her named overall FEI CDI U25 National Reserve Champion.