‘Horse are a fabulous life, but a hard life – young ones coming through don’t realise what it’s like’

Showing producer Kirstine Douglas, who began her career working for Robert Oliver, says horses can offer a fabulous life – but that it is a hard life and young people today don’t always appreciate that.

The Scotland-based competitor talks about how she started out in the industry in an interview on episode 132 of The Horse & Hound Podcast, supported this month by Spillers.

“I am from an equestrian family – my grandfather was a Clydesdale man and so horses were in the blood,” says Kirstine. “Basically I was days old when I was sat on my first pony and it all went from there.

“As a child, obviously we did Pony Club and you did everything – showjumping, eventing, showing, but showing was always my love. So then we concentrated on that.”

After helping out the Dunlop family, where she had “a fabulous grounding”, Kirstine Douglas went to the yard of supreme showman Robert Oliver for a fortnight when she was 15, which turned into a year and then six years, with Kirstine ending up as Robert’s head girl.

She explains: “I would never change it, we had a fabulous time and we had some of the top horses in the country.

“I first went there from the Great Yorkshire Show, so it was quite daunting for a 15-year-old girl to go in the lorry with Robert, having not met him before, but it was all good and it was like home from home.”

Nonetheless, Kirstine says her time at Robert’s wasn’t an easy ride.

She explains: “I think nowadays the young ones coming through just don’t realise what it’s like. And I think that’s a pity really because there’s so much to learn and if they stick in it, there is a fabulous life to have. But it’s a very hard life.”

Kirstine says growing up, she always thought she was going to be a farrier.

“And then I just really wanted to do showing. My Dad said: ‘Well, you can go for a year and that’s it. You’re not making a living out of it.’ But I got my way in the end.”

Hear more about Kirstine’s top horses, her plans for 2023 and more by tuning in to episode 132 of The Horse & Hound Podcast here, or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

You might also be interested in:

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.