Kassidy Keith essentially grew up in the ring at Thunderbird Show Park, beginning her equestrian career riding ponies when she was a little kid. 

Aldergrove-based Keepsake Farms, where Keith rides, trains, and coaches with her mother Cheryl Keith, is just minutes away from tbird. 

At 18 years old, Keith and her beloved mare then four years old Havana met for the first time, and have grown up together since. 

鈥淚 started jumping very small with her,鈥� Keith, now 26, recalled.

Over time, the two have gone from two-star to five-star events.

鈥淲e鈥檝e just been working up the ranks,鈥� Keith commented.

Havana, a Dutch Warmblood mare, is known for her high jumps 鈥� clearing the obstacles with plenty of room to spare.

Through the years, Keith has observed, Havana has become smoother in the turns, and doesn鈥檛 jump quite as high, though she still likes to have room below her when she clears an obstacle.

"She doesn't like hitting the rail, she's very careful," Keith commented. 

Five years ago, when the six-year-old Havana was pregnant, the mare continued to jump high and kept jumping as long as she could safely compete, before taking time off to give birth to her foal, Sabrina.

A few years after that, Havana and Keith won the $36,900 CSI two-star tbird 1.45m, the biggest win by the pair so far.

Keith was a Thunderbird scholar in 2015, a beneficiary of the George and Dianne Tidball Legacy Foundation scholarship, which aims to give young people access to the sport.

Thunderbird scholars have their tbird stabling and show fees covered for the year as well as other items such as VIP passes, riding clothes, signature stable guards, and other tbird promotional gear.

At the time, Keith said the coverage of the extra costs was a huge help at a time when she was ready to up her competitive game.

A fund like the George and Dianne Tidball Legacy Foundation is very important to the sport because it allows juniors with limited funds to be able to show at tbird and gives them a head start to a career path in the sport, Keith observed.  

Keith takes pride in the fact that she has had to work hard to get where she is.

鈥淢y family never had much money,鈥� Keith said. 鈥淚 had to prove myself. I wasn鈥檛 pampered.鈥�

Her accomplishments include being named Canadian Junior Equestrian of the Year, winning the B.C. Hunter/Jumper sportsmanship award, and receiving the Michael Nyuis scholarship 鈥� which provides young riders with financial support to lessen the burden of entry and show fees 鈥� in 2017 and 2022. It honours the memory of Nyuis, who worked on the ring crew at tbird.

"I'm hoping to take advantage of Vegas in Santa Anita this fall to go to the world cup qualifiers," Keith told The Star. 

"Havana's been super competitive this year and we've been working towards doing more of the bigger [competitions]. We're getting very consistent."

Next, Keith and Havana return to tbird for the ATCO Cup on Sunday, Aug. 18.