Kerry Durston Equestrian

Meet the horses behind the KD Equestrian riders. 🐴

🐴 Horse Spotlight: Hurricane Marie

📛 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞:
Hurricane Marie

🥕 𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤:
Ginger biscuits

🙄 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞:
Anything that involves using her hind end properly… she likes to argue about it.

🪵 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬/𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬:
LOVE. All the poles, all the time. Will jump the arena fence if you ask.

🛁 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞:
Don’t touch me with the water.

💬 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
Constantly tries to give me kisses… but she always has snacks, so it’s acceptable.

👀 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡?
Marie loves Kerry. She loves to try and get cuddles throughout a lesson.

A painfully relatable collection of equestrian tragedies.

Which one got you the most? 👀

Exercise of the Month: Circles & Corners 🐴✨

A simple exercise that’s great for improving accuracy, balance, and control through turns.

Place markers in a square and alternate between riding a circle inside the markers and riding square corners around the outside. The change between the two helps both horse and rider understand the difference between true bend and travelling straight.

It’s also a great way to improve rhythm and encourage your horse to stay balanced without falling in through the turns. 🔄

Simple exercises done well often make the biggest difference. 💡

Meet our KD Equestrian riders!

🐴 Rider Spotlight: Mariska & Qwee

⏳ 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞?
I have been riding for about 13 years, but I’ve only had my horse for three months now.

📚 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲?
Not everything is your fault. Things happen, and you can’t beat yourself up about it.

✨ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨?
Not riding on the forehand and creating a “fake” frame.

🏆 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟?
The fact that I can now get my horse into a proper frame. I used to not be able to and she would be a giraffe. 😂 Also doing my first 75 eventing with her and doing quite well, even though we didn’t win. 🕺

💬 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤?
It’s okay to feel stuck. You shouldn’t feel discouraged. Everything comes in its own time and doesn’t click immediately. Be gracious to yourself, you’re human, not a robot.

😅 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭?
Probably at Nationals with my old horse during showing, I forgot which side I had to lead on and ended up on the wrong side. 🫣😂

How many are you guilty of? 🤣

🐴 KD Equestrian Riders’ Favourite Quotes

This week’s favourite quote is from Danika.

A reminder that our horses feel what we bring into the ride, and of the way they allow us to step away from everything else and be fully present in the moment.

Why does correct polework spacing matter? 🐴

Correct spacing allows your horse to move naturally through the poles, rather than having to adjust or compensate.

🔹 Supports correct biomechanics: When distances suit your horse, they can lift through the shoulder, bend the joints, and engage the hind end properly

🔹 Encourages true balance and rhythm: Your horse can stay in a steady tempo instead of shortening or lengthening awkwardly to make it work

🔹 Allows proper muscle use: Correct spacing helps your horse work through their topline and step under, rather than hollowing or flattening

🔹 Prevents compensation patterns: Incorrect distances often lead to rushing, chipping, or uneven steps as the horse tries to “fix” the line

Small adjustments in spacing can completely change how your horse uses their body.

Exercise of the Month: Straight Walk Poles 🐴

This exercise helps improve rhythm, straightness, and coordination, while encouraging your horse to think about where they’re placing their feet.

How to ride it:

Set up a line of evenly spaced poles and approach in a calm, active walk.

Focus on:

• Keeping your horse straight
• Maintaining a steady rhythm
• Allowing them to stretch and figure it out

Try not to over-ride, let the poles do the work.

Start with fewer poles if needed, then build up as your horse gains confidence. You can also adjust the spacing slightly as it becomes easier.

Meet the horses behind the KD Equestrian riders. 🐴

🐴 Horse Spotlight: Lord Charles

📛 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞:
Lord Charles… aka Charlie

🥕 𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐤:
Carrots

🙄 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐞:
Any flatwork

🪵 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐬/𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬:
Charlie LOVES jumping!

🛁 𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞:
He likes bath time, especially when carrots are involved

💬 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
Charlie would say I need to buy shares in a carrot farm for him

👀 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡?
Charlie loves Kerry… except when she uses her scary voice

A great return to the ring for Lula & Debt in the Adult 75cm at Durbanville Eventing. 🐴

They finished 2nd in their class and were awarded Best Thoroughbred off the track.

A lovely, confident performance and a great step forward for this partnership.