Kirsty Short is no stranger to 4* eventing having competed at Burghley, Luhmuhlen and Pau but 2018 sees her heading to her first Badminton. We caught up with Kirsty, who has been feeding RED MILLS for several years, to find out how her preparations for the big B were going.
I’m Kirsty, an eventer based in wonderful Leicestershire with a small string of horses. I have one four star horse and he is called Cossan Lad, known at home as Bouncer, a 15-year-old Irish sports horse super star by the late Grange Bouncer. I have owned Bouncer for 10 years now – we purchased him from Queenholme Equestrian (the base of Mark and Tanya Kyle) and he was only meant to be my first 4 year old to have fun with and bring on, we had no idea he would jump up the grades! He is a funny character, very stubborn and he has a sense of humour when it comes down to things like getting him in from the field or trying to catch him to tack him up. It must be on Bouncer’s terms!
He is currently on the build-up during his last week before Badminton Horse Trials. Working towards this event stated back in the winter of last year – the horses came in from their holidays early to ensure they could get all the preparation they need. You must start your galloping early, especially when you only have limited runs before Badminton. With such a wet start to the season I’m very lucky compared to some people as I have had all the preparation runs I wanted. We managed Oasby Open Novice, Belton Advanced and Kelsall Hill Intermediate. We know each other so well now and he is my best friend. He feels on top form so he is being wrapped up in cotton wool until we kick off at Badminton!
I have been feeding RED MILLS for 4 years now; it’s easy to use and the reps and nutritionists are really knowledgeable so they can give great advice. Bouncer has had 6 four star starts whilst being on RED MILLS and my main go to would always be the PerformaCare Balancer – it’s a fantastic balancer that makes all my horses look great. I feed Horse Care 10 and then in the winter I use the Extruded Full Fat Soya. Bouncer is a very hot horse and I find that RED MILLS suits him perfectly.
I will be keeping you all updated on how we get on at Badminton, keep an eye on the RED MILLS Instagram for some behind the scenes action!
Take care,
Kirsty
