E Q U E S T R I A N
Three Young Ladies of the Future
Heather Walker
Heather Walker
Barbados is enjoying a huge wage of popularity in equestrian sports, especially in horseracing and polo. But show-jumping and Dressage are also growing in popularity and three young Barbadian ladies are determined to go to the top in their chosen sport…
Heather Walker
Emily Kinch
Heather Walker is a 16 year-old student at Queen’s College in Barbados and grew up on a plantation where horses were part of everyday life. Inevitably riding became second nature and rarely does a day pass that she’s not involved. She’s particularly good at dressage and show jumping and last year won the Barbados leg of the FEI World Jumping Challenge. Her partnership with Super Trooper took her to the top of the BEA Super League 2 Jumping Competition in 2011, and she has lofty ambitions to eventually reach the World Equestrian Games and the Olympics. Heather is a talented all rounder and was also a promising athlete until her equestrian passion took over and although she would love to race and play polo, that is not on the agenda of her coaches Di Clarke, Sara Jones and of course…. her mum!
Emily Kinch doesn’t remember the first time she sat on a horse, but she’s been told she was only six months old at the time! Now Emily rides, trains and competes six days a week on the North American circuit. Emily is a descendant of the Kinch and Bourne families, two names that are synonymous with horseracing in Barbados. She’s 19, but has already built up amazing expertise and experience, thanks largely to moving overseas where the competition and the facilities are so much better. She is currently based at the stables of Ian Miller, better known as Captain Canada, the prolific Olympian, and one of the biggest influences on her career to date has been Canadian Eric Lamaze the 2008 Gold Medalist. In addition to being a full-time showjumper, Emily is also a qualified Gnathologist (horse dentist) and her
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