4th YR / 6th Grade III
Seventeen year old Katherine Cooksley from Reading has only been competing in Para Dressage for six months but such is her talent she is already making International appearances.
The former show jumper, who has been riding for therapy since the age of four, gave dressage a go after her horse became injured and hasn’t looked back.
“I train with Clive Milkins who is a great support and a fantastic coach and it was he and Tiggy Bentley who felt I had the talent to progress.
“We’ve come through the ranks very quickly, but the horse has coped with it really well.”
Katherine has been partnered at the Bishop Burton competition by Gemset, a 14-year-old Irish Sports Horse mare who Katherine describes as ‘dominant’.
“We’ve been together for about two-and-a-half years and we’ve had our fights, but I changed her feed and few other things and now she’s a delight.
“She can be very particular about surfaces, but the facilities here have been fantastic. The fact that the surface was regularly harrowed helped us a lot.”
Katherine contracted meningitis was 21 months old which developed into septicaemia. As a result of the septicaemia Katherine lost the tips of the middle fingers on both hands and the meningitis left her with cerebral palsy.
She is currently taking A Levels with a view to studying physiotherapy at University and is aiming for Paralympic and European Championship appearances.
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