She Sits High in Her Saddle

One need only chat with Kaitlyn Van Konynenburg for a few minutes to discover that her passion lies in the saddle. The lifelong Palisadian loves her horses, they love her back and that is perhaps the biggest reason why she has been so successful in her chosen sport.

“My favorite part of riding is the concept of getting on the back of a giant animal, communicating through signals and forming a bond,” Van Konynenburg said. “You can tell when a horse has potential and most of it has to do with how well the horse and rider work together. Sometimes there’s a fit, sometimes there’s not.”

Van Konynenburg spends much of her time at the barn and her dedication is one reason why the 16-year-old is one of the most accomplished young hunter jumpers at Balmoral Farm, where she trains under owners Traci and Carleton Brooks.

“Kaitlyn is naturally compassionate and loves her horses,” Traci Brooks said. “She has their best interests at heart and when you have that horses will try hard for you.”

Van Konynenburg attended Calvary Christian School and  participated in sports like soccer and swimming growing up, but she gravitated to horseback riding after watching her sisters Allison (now 21) and Jenny (20) do it. She started riding in second grade and by fifth grade she was competing.  Around that time she also started learning a valuable lesson: how to take a fall.

“I broke my arm when I fell off trying a pony,” she recalled. “You’re not a rider until you fall, but you have to learn to do it without hurting yourself. I get thrown off pretty often but I know how to do it correctly.”

Entering her junior year at Pacifica Christian High in Santa Monica, she has already racked up numerous victories. She won  three Junior Hunter Classes at this year’s Del Mar National Horse Show and was Overall Grand Circuit Champion of the HITS (Horse Shows in the Sun) Desert Circuit Overall in Junior Hunters 16-17 years old.

“We have four horses and I ride all of them in shows,” she said. “They are warmblood geldings, which are more consistent and reliable. Mares are divas, so  they are a little more high strung.”

Van Konynenburg’s newest mount is 8-year-old Troy, whose show name is “Homestead.” Then there’s 10-year-old Donner (show name “Wish List”), 11-year-old Will (show name “Now How Z”), who is her mother’s horse, and almost 9-year-old Triton (show name “Triton Z”), who she started riding in seventh-grade.

“Triton has a special place in my heart because I got to watch him grow up a little, but they’re all so different and unique and I love them all,” Konynenburg said of her horses. “I come ride them in the morning from about 8 to noon and I cross train to keep all the muscles working. There are people at the barn who look after the horses when we’re not there, so it’s a team effort.”

Van Konynenburg has developed ways to channel her nervous energy while competing. She is innately in tune with her horses, being able to tell if they are hurting or sore, knowing how to calm them in the show ring, when to pat them, and when to reward them with treats like apples or carrots.

“Jumping is Kaitlyn’s forte,” Brooks said. “Her focus and mental toughness have come to the forefront. She has a great attitude,  and she keeps it fun and light.”

Van Konynenburg mainly competes in California shows because they are more accessible, but being ranked in the top five nationally in her age group qualifies her for Indoors, which stretches from October through the first week in November and consists of three shows: the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg, PA, the Washington International Horse Show in Washington, D.C. and the Kentucky National in Lexington, KY. In May, she travels back East to compete at another National show, the Devon Horse Show in Devon, PA. Last year she won the Sportsmanship Award at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, a testament to her outgoing and upbeat nature.

Next week she’ll travel north to the Menlo Charity Show, where she won the High Point Horse Award last summer, then head to a show San Diego after that.

When she’s not riding, Van Konynenburg enjoys skateboarding, surfing, painting and walking her dogs Mason (a golden retriever), Andie (a golden Labrador) and Petuna (a puppy she’s training for Canine Companions) on walks in Mandeville Canyon or near home home in the Riviera, which is right up the road from her barn.

“I make friends everywhere we go and I want to continue riding and competing, just not during college because you don’t get to ride your own horses,” she said. “I want to stay with Balmoral Farm and eventually I’d like to buy young horses in Europe and the United States, train them and sell them.”