Hayleigh Kerwin’s rise in equestrian sports

FOURTEEN-year-old Hayleigh Kerwin has found her passion in the thrilling world of eventing, also known as three-day eventing or horse trials. The equestrian event sees a single horse and rider team competing across three disciplines: dressage, cross-country, and show jumping.

Eventing has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test that required mastery of various types of riding.

Competitions can be run as a one-day event (ODE), where all three phases — dressage, show jumping, and cross-country —are completed in a single day. Alternatively, they can be a three-day event (3DE), which is now more commonly spread over four days. In this format, dressage takes place on the first two days, followed by cross-country on the third day, and show jumping in reverse order on the final day.

Eventing was previously known as Combined Training, a name that still persists in many smaller organisations. However, the term “Combined Training” is sometimes confused with “Combined Test,” which refers to a combination of just two phases, most commonly dressage and show jumping.

Hayleigh, the daughter of car racing enthusiast Jamie Kerwin, lives in Harare and is home-schooled. She started riding horses a year ago with the help and support of her mother, Jamie. Since then, Hayleigh has taken a keen interest in eventing and is thriving in this challenging and exhilarating sport. Her dedication and passion for eventing are evident as she continues to excel and make a name for herself in the equestrian community.

“I started riding horses in June, I do dressage, show jumping and eventing, Eventing is my favourite and I love cross-country, it is just the best and my horse Megagram loves it too,” said Hayleigh.

Her teacher generously allows her to ride one of her horses, Megagram.

“My riding teacher lets me use one of her horses — Megagram, he is the absolute best and I love him so much. Megagram is a 10-year-old bay gelding. I love the bond I have with my horse Megagram. He is very special and the adrenaline he has when we compete,” she said.

Hayleigh says she enjoys dressage because it fosters discipline and enhances the mutual understanding between horse and rider. It helps her connect deeply with her horse, allowing them to understand each other better.

“It is a dangerous sport, but can be done safely. We have a lot of necessary safety gear to wear and we need to be vigilant to keep our horses safe too,” she said.

She shared that her family is her biggest support system, always there to assist her during training sessions. Their encouragement and involvement play a crucial role in her success.

“My family are my biggest supporters my mother takes me to ride at least four times a week and gets me to all the shows that I would be participating at,” she said.

Hayleigh encourages young girls to take up horse riding even as a hobby.

“I would encourage other girls to compete as it is a wonderful sport that makes you feel on top of the world and rewarding too as a hobby,” she says.

She has earned numerous awards at the Amateur Riding Club, excelling in various disciplines.

“My best time was winning the cross-country class at Arlington in March this year,” she said.