Seventeen year-old Katheryn (Katie) Van Slyke of Nolensville, Tennessee has a new challenge this show season with the recent purchase of her horse, Zippin On Top. It took a while for Slyke and her trainer, Karen Evans Mundy to find the right horse, but they finally found, Zippin On Top (Kalvin), three months ago from a video on YouTube.
“Kalvin is a complete goober,” Katheryn fondly tells GoHorseShow. “Even though he is very laid back, he can turn into a mouthy two year-old sometimes. He likes to chew on lead ropes and pick up things that are outside of his stall.”
Zippin On Top may act like a youngster outside of the show arena, but he is a true veteran inside the show pen. The sixteen year-old brown gelding is a three-time AQHA World Show placer in the hunter under saddle, the 2006 12-14 Justin Rookie of the Year winner, and multiple Regional Experience Champion in the hunter under saddle, equitation, horsemanship, and showmanship.
The native Tennessean who is currently a senior at David Lipscomb High School is looking forward to showing her new horse at the AQHYA World Show in August. Luckily, she found Kalvin just in time to get state qualified in the showmanship, hunter under saddle, horsemanship, equitation, and western riding.
“I have a very competitive personality, so I like to challenge myself and compete against the great riders,” Slyke states. “My biggest challenge over the last few years has been transitioning period between horses. It seems like as soon as I get to know a horse, I get a new one and start all over again. Each one has been so different from the previous one that it takes me a while to adjust to their personality and training.”
If you ask her trainer, Karen Evans Mundy how Slyke has transitioned between horses–she’ll state Katie has done just fine and has been up to the task.
“I have been training and coaching Katie for about four years now,” Mundy says. “When I first started working with her, I saw a lot of potential, and I knew I could help take her to the next level. I tell my riders that I can give them the tools of what it takes to be one of the best riders out there, but I cannot do the work for them. Katie told me that she wanted it bad, and she has worked very hard to become better and better. She is now a very confident rider that can compete at a national level.”
Katie says that she has learned a great deal working with Mundy. What is unique about Mundy’s program is she develops independent riders that are able to keep their horses at home.
“Karen teaches me how to train them and keep them in tune. I still go to her for lessons and take my horse to her house, but I like to be able to fix problems myself when they come up,” says Slyke, who plans on attending David Lipscomb University in Nashville and majoring in business. “I also like that she has shown and excelled in every class that I am showing in. It allows her to give me the trainer’s and rider’s perspective on how to show.”
Slyke says that she has come a long way from her POA days where she first started showing in the lead line at the age of two. Her recent favorite win was when she was the All Around Champion at the Dixie Nationals in Jackson, Mississippi. Slyke also placed in the showmanship at the 2012 Congress and made the finals in equitation showing her former horse, Ask Me For Details.
“My parents have always supported me through my showing,” Katie states. “My mom is the one that hauls me everywhere and has pushed me to show at a higher level. I also love my horse show family and the people that I get to meet by traveling so much.
Click here to check out her ad in the July issue of GoMag.
