While you see many male riders in equestrian sports like racing and the Olympics, for some reason, they are mysteriously missing from lower-level events, such as open shows and 4-H. Kylan Thulin is used to being one of the only, if not the only, guy at horse Thurston County 4-H events. But that doesn’t stop him from winning. Kylan qualified for 4-H state this year and has big plans as he enters his sophomore year at Avanti High School.
“Getting ready for Fair requires a lot of work, especially showing both my riding horse and my pony,” Kylan shares about his experience at the Thurston County Fair. “That’s the hard part. I was also a little nervous about showing my Azteca gelding, Apollo, for the first time at Fair. He has a lot of energy and can be unpredictable. Rosie, my pony, is much more dependable. It’s fun showing both of them, even though Apollo can be challenging.”
On top of that, Kylan is one of only two boys in Thurston County Horse 4-H. The other boy is in the same 4-H Club, Blazing Saddles. Kylan was the only male who competed in performance classes this year.
Thurston County 4-Her Qualifies for State in Horse Events
Kylan had his ups and downs at the County Fair. Apollo is young, and the pair had some challenges. “I only did dressage and hunt seat equitation (flat and over fences) with Apollo,” Kylan explains. “He was spooked by the cattle in the barn above the horse arena, so we didn’t do as well as I hoped. We had one refusal in our jumping class, so we only got a red ribbon and second place.”
Apollo and Kylan also competed in the costume class, which they won. “Apollo seems like a horse a pirate would want,” shares Kylan on why he chose this costume. “I love the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies. And my dad bought a pirate coat, hat and sword at a Renaissance fair, so it just seemed perfect to put it all together. What really helped us to win the contest was playing the theme to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and Apollo has a fancy talent: he can Spanish walk!”
His pony Rosie is an old hand when it comes to showing. At 20 years old, she knows her job and does it well. With 4-H scoring, kids receive either a blue (excellent), red (good), or white (fair) score, as well as a class placement, explains Patricia Thulin, Kylan’s mother. Rosie received blues in every class, placing third in dressage in-hand, fourth in trail in-hand, fifth in rail in-hand and seventh in showmanship. They took home the hunter in-hand grand champion as well.
Kylan says he enjoyed riding Apollo at the Fair, even though they didn’t do as well as he hoped, and knows the young horse has potential. “The judge said we had the best extended trot, just not a lot of control,” he explains. And even when you have a “perfect” pony like Rosie, things can still go wrong. “Rosie is really the perfect pony, but it’s still hard to get everything right in a class,” he adds. “When things work out, it’s of course satisfying to get a grand championship. I just like the experience of being at the fair and hanging out with other 4-H members too.”
Although Kylan qualified for state, he decided not to attend. Partly because Rosie is getting up there in age. “We were the state champions for hunter in-hand last year (you really can’t do any better) so maybe it’s best to end on a high note,” he says. “Also, we decided to lease out Rosie to a little boy who has really bonded with her.”
But that doesn’t mean he is done with horses. In fact, another reason he decided not to compete at the State Fair is that he is focusing on things with Apollo, including joining the Washington High School Equestrian Team (WAHSET) and competing at the Woodbrook Hunt Club. “I’m hoping that it will be a better fit for Apollo,” Kylan says about the decision. “We’ll be focusing on dressage and hunt seat equitation over fences. I plan to do a hunter pace and a couple classes at Woodbrook’s hunter trails, plus a jumping show and gymkhana this October.”
This spring, he is hoping to compete in both WAHSET and 4-H, as well as continuing jumping with Apollo. His goal is to compete at the Pony Club’s tetrathlon (Tet), which includes swimming, running, shooting and riding. If he qualifies for the National Championships in Kentucky, he will borrow a horse there to compete.
As for more boys in the sport, Kylan is sure he will see more as he enters higher-level events. “I’m sure at nationals there will be lots of guys,” he says. “Actually, in Tet, there are some boys that compete, and at the hunt club, there are a few guys.” He says the boy leasing Rosie may do 4-H, so there might be one more next year at fair.
