Crumlin’s Kirsten races to victory in Racehorse to Riding Horse final
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Kirsten McDonald (left) on Ledsome Lad after winning the Racehorse to Riding Horse competition. Also pictured is Molly McCrory (14) from Ballyclare who was awarded second place in the competition.
A CRUMLIN girl has been crowned winner of the Racehorse to Riding Horse competition. Kirsten McDonald (21) of Beechburn Farm, took part in six participating shows in Ballymena, Armagh, Saintfield, Newry, Omagh and Limavady on her former racehorse, Ledsome Lad.
This is a tremendous achievement for Kirsten as she had two accidents earlier in the season which left her with a broken leg and an injured back.
The shows attracted strong numbers for the competition but Kirsten was placed first at Armagh, Newry and Limavady, third at Ballymena and fourth at Omagh.
Ledsome Lad is a nine year old thoroughbred by the American stallion Torrential.
He came from Richard Pugh's stables in Co. Kildare and had a racing career which stemmed five years.
Kirsten said: "I raced him for a year and then began to train him for eventing and he turned out to be really good.
“Then these Racehorse to Riding Horse class entries began and I just thought brilliant, that's exactly the class for him."
Kirsten entered the competition fairly confident of Ledsome Lad's ability.
“He's a great horse and I knew how well he could do.
“He's 17.1 hands so he's a big boy and really handsome.
“He's also a bit of a show off so he really comes into his own when he's competing."
Kirsten and Ledsome Lad will be busy over the coming month with many competitions and events.
She added: "He'll be eventing four times a week as well as taking part in competitions all over Ireland North and South so he'll be a busy boy until his break in September."
Kirsten graduated from Enniskillen college with a National Diploma in Equine Science. She is actively involved in the running of her family's livery yard and also works at Stuart Crawford's national hunt racing yard near Larne.
Kirsten is a qualified instructor and enjoys teaching young children to ride their ponies.
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