By Chris Gould / CWHBA
Photography: Cealy Tetley

Successful breeding and sport go hand in hand, but it is relatively unusual when the breeder herself is also involved at the point of success in sport. Even more unique, when it is all in the same family.

This was the case when Colby Winther Konig, 15, of Prince George, BC, won the prestigious Canadian Equestrian Team (CET) Medal for riders 21 and under, at the Royal Winter Fair Horse Show in Toronto this past November.
Mounted on Big Ticket, an 11-year-old Canadian Warmblood, bred and owned by her mother Sorine Winther – who also happens to be her coach – Colby took the jumper equitation championship after three challenging rounds against top junior riders from across Canada. To top things off she also won the Jump Canada Medal for riders 18 and under.
I had the opportunity to talk with Sorine Winther about their unique achievement, only to find that this is not the first time her family has won this award. In 2021 her eldest daughter Taylor, then 19, won the CET Medal at the Royal West Show in Calgary. We spoke at length about what it means to win an equitation championship, her successful breeding program and her long term affiliation with the CWHBA.
Equitation is a very challenging and exacting division that gets progressively harder as one advances to regional finals and then national finals. I asked Winther first about the equitation division and why it is so valuable in the development of a young rider. “The goal is to learn the technicalities of how to ride a course effectively and smoothly. Without equitation they don’t always learn the smoothness involved. Equitation rewards that piece of it, that the horses are well broke and that the kids learn to ride track in a seamless and invisible manner... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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