South Australia’s up and coming equestrian stars including Kate Kyros, Holly Bolzon and Tayla Howell
From competing in Germany to being crowned the best in the state or realising their Olympic dreams – meet SA’s talented equestrian youngsters.
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Thousands of keen equestrian are training everyday to improve and become the best they can be in their discipline.
While some of these riders took the reins from the moment they could walk, others found the sport later on but haven’t wasted a moment in becoming the best in their division.
From participating in show jumping in Germany to competing in Denmark to future Olympic dreams, meet 15 of the states most decorated equestrian stars.
Karen Horsell
Karen Horsell has formed a strong partnership with her horse Guizo da Ferraria since 2016, when Guizo arrived in Australia from Portugal.
Karen started riding at the age of seven and has been passionate about dressage since focusing on the discipline at the age of 18.
As a member of the State High Performance Squad with Guizo since 2018, Karen has a number of accolades including the South Australian Dressage Championships Inter 1 Perpetual trophy in 2021, SA Dressage Championships Medium Tour Champion and the Erica Taylor Perpetual Trophy in 2022.
Karen has also recently travelled to Victoria were she took out first place at the 2022 Horseland Boneo Dressage Championships Medium Tour Champion.
Like many other riders in SA, Karen juggles working life, family and competition.
Karen works as an art and design teacher at Westminster School, is an accredited EA coach with two amazing children and a partner that supports and completes the competitive team.
Karen and Guizo are looking forward to a return trip to Victoria later this year to compete at the Australian Dressage Nationals
Olivia Buchanan
At just eight years old, Olivia Buchanan began riding before competing at the age of 10.
“I started riding because I had a deep passion for horses and I loved that it was the only sport where a human and an animal work as one,” Olivia said.
Eight years later, Olivia has represented South Australia in Pony Club Nationals, Interschool nationals and EA Nationals.
“I have competed in well over 100 different competitions during my time as a dressage rider,” she said.
“I managed all of these achievements with my current horse Welfine who I have owned for three years now.
“I bought him from a paraplegic rider and together we worked up the levels to now be competing FEI.”
At the start of 2022, Olivia won Medium and Advanced Reserve Champion at the Youth
Nationals as well as winning Medium Reserve Champion in an open class at an interstate
competition.
Ruth Schneeberger
Competing in dressage for the last 25 years, Ruth Scheenberger has been to the Nationals every year since 2000.
“I started riding as a 14-year-old, then started working with horses professionally from the age of 18 years,” Ruth said.
“I did an apprenticeship as a Bereiter in Switzerland, where I grew up, and continued with my
education and became a qualified instructor. I have been teaching ever since then and training
horses.
“I moved to Australia in 1995 and became a citizen in 2001.
“Competing has always been a big part in my life, it is a test to see how well the training is going.”
Over the years Ruth has won a number of championships at different levels in SA on all of her various horses, winning Dressage Rider of the Year on numerous occasions as well as being named on the SA High Performance Squad over the years.
Mary Nitschke
Growing up with a deep love for horses, Mary Nitschke’s passion has allowed her to become one of the highest ranking dressage riders in the world.
“I started riding when I was 10 years old,” Mary said.
“I grew up with very horsey parents and actually started riding lessons on family holidays at Narnu Farm at Hindmarsh Island.”
Now 23, Mary and her horse Utopian Cardinal have represtened Equestrian South Australia and the Pony Club Association of South Australia while being ranked number 22 in the world and number one in Australia in Under 25 Grand Prix.
“He is a very quirky character who absolutely adores licorice,” Mary said.
“He loves to perform in the competition arena and definitely doesn’t like it if he gets left behind and misses out on a show.”
Keeley Menadue
At 18, Keely Menadue has competed in over 200 competitions since beginning the sport as a 12-year-old.
“I started riding when I was four, just around home for fun,” Keely said.
“I started dressage when I was 12 and although at the start I didn’t compete as regularly and
health issues and injuries along the way have made it difficult to consistently compete as often, there were definitely stages where I would be competing almost every weekend at local South Australian shows.”
Early in 2022, Keeley competed at the 2022 Australian Youth Dressage Championships and was fortunate enough to come away with Champion Elementary Pony and a win in the Elementary freestyle.
“I am very fortunate to have two German Riding Ponies (Donny and Rosie) that I compete, and I also have the opportunity to train and compete warmbloods for Cheryl Hatswell at Ponderosa Stud.
“I have had Rosie since she was three years old and had just started her ridden career, and have taken her along her journey from her first competition in 2019 until now.”
Lorraine Wohling
With years of experience, Lorraine Wohling still finds the sport extremely rewarding.
“For me, dressage is about attention to detail, and precision. It is the only discipline where you perform at an exact marker in a 60m x 20m arena,” Lorraine said.
“All of your training is about communicating with your horse to advance its training and meet
the precise requirements of the test.
When it all comes together it is extremely rewarding.”
Lorraine as competed in hundreds of competitions and has recently moved up to the Federation Equestrian International levels, marking the first of the levels on the pathway to Grand Prix.
Lorraine also sights big goals for her 13-year-old horse, Forever Royal.
“My goal is to train him through to Grand Prix which is thepinnacle for dressage riders and the level included in Olympic competitions.”
Kate Kyros
Kate Kyros began riding at the age of 10 and has been an active member of Equestrian South Australia ever since.
Now 18, She has had great success in the Show Horse discipline winning multiple EA National and Grand National titles as well as countless Royal Show Championships with her small team of ponies.
In 2019 Kate transitioned to dressage and is competing her horse ‘Courtlands Cadman’ (Caddie) in the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (international level) classes.
After completing her studies at Wilderness last year, Kate has now made the move to New South Wales to ride and train.
She has had a brilliant start to the year winning the FEI J at both Willinga Park and Sydney CDI, Australia’s two largest and most prestigious dressage events.
In January, the Kyros family bought a future U25 Grand Prix mount for Kate’s ‘Chemistry’ who she is training on.
With Kate’s coach John Thompson riding, Chemistry won the Grand Prix at Sydney Concours de Dressage International in April, and has just been selected to compete for New Zealand at the World Dressage Championships in Herning Denmark in August.
Kate will travel with the horse and remain in Germany for a month after the competition to train.
Abbie Lewis
For the last 13 years, Abbie Lewis has been head over heels for her sport and discipline of jumping.
“There’s nothing like it, being able to connect with an animal and trust each other is something extremely special,” she said.
“I also love how competitive it is as well as how humbling, and that it teaches you to be determined and resilient.”
Over the past three years, Abbie has been busy competing, taking out first place at the 2022
Adelaide Hills Junior Championship and the recipient of the 2021 Gillian Rolton Youth Development Scholarship for jumping.
“My goals in the sport are to progress as far as I can go, I’d love to jump in the
juniors classes overseas next year when I go to the USA and jump in young rider
classes here,” Abbie said.
“Further down the track I’m aiming to jump in some Grand Prix classes and nations cups for Australia.”
Bella Masters
Not many two-year-olds are looking to begin a sport but for Bella Masters she was already competing.
“I have been riding since I could walk and had my first horseshow when I was just two, I love to jump because it feels like flying,” Bella said.
“What I love most though is the bond that forms between you and your horse.
“My top horse, Samsonite, is my best friend and we trust each other so much, he
would jump the world if I asked him to.”
Now 15, Bella has many ribbons under her and Samsonites belt, including taking out the top spot at the 2021 Junior Grand Prix at the SA Jumping State Championships and being apart of the 2022 Barastoc Horse Junior Squad.
“I love the sport because of the adrenaline, when you get in that saddle you don’t know what kind of horse they are going to be,” Bella said.
“The feeling of finishing a round knowing you’re clear is one of my favourite things ever.
“My goal on my current horse is to compete at Adelaide International Horse trials and to one
day compete in a world cup though the long standing ultimate dream is to compete at Badminton horse trials.”
Conor Reed
The power of a horse should never be underestimated and for 20-year-old Conor Reed, he sights communication as a key factor in succeeding in the sport.
“I love the horses and the challenges that come with working with them such as communicating with them, training them and competing them,” he said.
“I am also super competitive, I love to win and I love the adrenaline rush that comes when competing.”
Conor was awarded the 2020 state young rider champion as well as runner up at the Australian Young Rider Champion (Under 21) and the Balharry Cup in 2021.
“Short term I would like to become more consistent and competitive in world cup qualifiers and at Grand Prix level, and to win the Australian Young rider championship this year,” Conor said.
“Long term I would love to represent my country at the Olympics and in nations cups.”
Holly Bolzon
For 19-year-old Holly Bolzon, the opportunity to represent her country competing in the sport she loves is her ultimate goal, but that’s not to take away from her already long list of accolades.
Holly has been jumping for the last eight years but took the competitive route fours years ago, since then she has placed first at the Stroller Series – Victorian State Title Jumping Championships, the Just Gus Speed Championships – Adelaide Hills Show Jumping Club and the Bronze Cup – Adelaide Hills Show Jumping Club.
“The sport is very fun and challenging, it’s also very technical and teaches you a lot of life skills like patience, empathy, determination and to stay positive and motivated,” Holly said.
“There can be huge highs and lows but you need to keep going.
“There is also a very fun community spirit, you get to make a lot of new friends and memories and it all revolves around one thing: the love for horses and the sport.”
Katie Clark
At the heart of Katie Clark’s illustrious equestrian career is her family.
“I have been lucky enough to be supported by my mum and dad, my aunty and uncle Michelle and Tim Clark of Mallala Equestrian Centre, Mallala Equestrian Centre Products, Dynavyte, and Dapple EQ,” Katie said.
“I love that it is a sport where the whole family is involved.
“I go away to the shows with my parents and absolutely love spending the quality time with them, the horses and dogs. My sister and her kids often come to watch as well so it’s quite the family affair.”
Taking up riding from a young age, Katie started out competing show ponies, riding in her first Royal at the age of five.
It wasn’t long before Katie progressed into jumping at and going onto win her first junior championship when she was 13.
“My absolute favourite thing about show jumping, is starting a horse and building the bond with them, bringing them through the levels and seeing them develop and progress,” she said.
“There is nothing more satisfying than teaching a horse something they don’t already know and having them finally do it perfectly after a lot of time and hard work.”
From there Katie has made appearances at events such as Off The Track Series at the Victorian State Titles, the Australian Championships in Feb of 2022 and taking out the top prize at the OTT Championship at the World Wetlands Day Jumping Championships.
“The friends I have made from showjumping are some of my best friends and I love seeing them every weekend at competitions.
“I will have horses forever as they are my happy place and really ground and humble me.”
Lauren Bolzon
After being crowned the South Australian junior jumping rider of the year in 2021, Lauren Bolzon, 17, will travel overseas to continue to broaden her showjumping horizons.
“Next year I am going to France to work for Amy Graham (an Australian showjumper) for experience and hopefully that will open up more opportunities for me to take in the jumping scene,” she said.
“Eventually I hope to permanently move to Europe and continue to showjump and would love to represent my country.”
Lauren has been jumping for the past seven years before taking up the competitive route four years ago and has competed in the Caitlin Forrest Memorial Junior Championships, Heather Ames Junior Grand Prix and coming second in the Australian Championships OTT (off the track).
“It is a sport not only of skill, patience, guts and determination but love and trust,” Lauren said.
“It is a sport of two hearts, yours and your horses and you have to build trust with an animal that is normally a flight animal, that takes a huge amount of skill, understanding, communication and above all patience.
“Your results are not based on how you look, or how expensive your tack is, you are not judged on materialistic things but purely on performance and skill.”
Tayla Howell
Tayla Howell’s talents have taken her all way to Germany for the sport she loves.
“I’ve been riding for as long as I can remember, since a very young age,” Tayla said.
“I was living and working in Lübeck, Germany for a large showjumping and breeding stable, Gestüt Kriseby for some time.”
In the past six months, Tayla has had numerous placements in 140 classes and recently
qualified for the German young horse championships, Bundeschampionat with her five-year-old stallion named GK Levin.
“My long term goal is to compete at the Olympics and short term is within the next month start in my first 145/150 classes,” she said.
“I love the sport because I’m able to work with these amazing horses everyday and I couldn’t imagine life without them.”
Troy Woollard
At just 22, Troy Woollard has won the senior championship at Loxton Show and the third round of the 135cm Snowman series at the Victorian state jumping championships.
He was also was awarded best senior SA rider at the last Royal Adelaide Show as well as being a member member of the Australian National Young Rider Squad.
“I’ve been jumping for as long as I can remember,” he said.
“I love the sport because it is incredibly rewarding to work with such kind animals and I find that riding really helps to clear my head.
“I want to continue to be competitive in SA and across Australia as well as continue to train young horses for the sport.”
Zara Young
Jumping since she was five years old, Zara Young hopes her talents will take her overseas to compete with those from all over the world.
“I hope to represent Australia at Nations Cups, the World Equestrian Games and hopefully one day the Olympics,” Zara said.
“I love how it is fast and I love the jump offs where you just risk everything to win.
“It requires a lot of skill and practise plus you and your horse jumping feels like you’re flying and it is just my favourite thing to.”
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