Meet Kylie Christian
Kylie Christian is passionate about para dressage, and giving a voice to those living with Parkinson's in hopes of finding a cure. She is also an advocate for the horse sports and those living with disabilities, and looks forward to helping newcomers navigate the sport of Para Dressage and competitions in Australia. Kylie is available for public speaking and corporate events, Meet & Greet appearances, fundraising efforts and mentorship for those living with Parkinson's or who are interested in learning more.
Kylie's Story
An equestrian life
Kylie Christian was born in 1976 in a small town in Western Queensland. She got her first horse when she was just eight years old, a 2 year old stock horse pony cross, and the rest was history. She was always going to be around or involved with horses.
In 1999, Kylie moved from Queensland to Victoria, arriving in Melbourne with no friends and nowhere to live. She managed to rent a house at a trotting farm, which allowed her to bring her horses to Melbourne from Toowoomba.
While living there, Kylie joined her local Adult Riders Club, Hurstbridge, and continued to compete in Dressage, Eventing and Show Jumping. In 2001, she married her husband, Paul, and spent the next decade primarily caring for her three young children as a horse family. Kylie nurtured her children’s love of riding and supported their participation in Pony Club. One of her children is still a very active equestrian today.
A life-changing diagnosis
In June 2021, after struggling with a lot of small everyday tasks that she could no longer explain as fatigue or stress, Kylie was advised by her riding coach, Carol Ross, to see a neurologist. Carol had been watching Kylie struggle to saddle up her own and her children’s horses for a while now, and had noticed her balance was often inconsistent. Kylie’s walk had declined and she now had a severe limp with often-failing coordination between her arms and legs. At 45 years of age, she was struggling to hold a dressage whip and could no longer keep her left foot in the stirrup.
Kylie’s worst fear had become a reality. She had been Googling her symptoms, and it kept giving the same answer. Kylie was diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease - a neurological disease that affects the body’s ability to make dopamine, the chemical required to control movement in the joints and muscles.
Para dressage
About a week after being diagnosed, she received a call from her friend Kirsten Beard-Adams, who had been saddle fitting for Georgina Foot, a Grand Prix rider from outer Melbourne. Kylie’s friend had mentioned to Georgina that she was looking for a horse for Kylie - something safe and educated so that Kylie could keep riding and enjoy life again. Georgina asked if her horse Bellaire Cannavaro would suit? She had retired him, but still wanted him to be ridden - and allowed to work at a level comfortable for him as he aged. She was looking for someone who would love him, keep him in top condition, and learn from him, but mostly someone he could live out his days with.
And so Kylie met Oscar
To say Oscar is Kylie’s best friend and heart horse is an understatement. This horse has, as she puts it, ‘saved her life’. He gave her a silver lining. He gave her a reason to get up in the mornings - but mostly he was there. Always there. Even just to sit with in the stable, and watch her cry on hard days. He would listen, never judge and most importantly to her, never ask her if she needed any help with that?
Kylie purchased Oscar, and brought him home to join forces with Wyronga Park. Run by mother-daughter team Glenda and Faye Hinchcliffe, they started a pathway to Para Dressage for Kylie. Wyronga Park has a long history with Para Dressage and was fundamental in Kylie obtaining her National Classification of Grade IV FEI Para Dressage. Grade IV means the rider has a severe impairment or deficiency of both upper limbs or moderate impairment of all four limbs. Riders with a Grade IV rating are able to walk, and typically do not use a wheelchair.
Looking to the Future
Kylie’s disease is progressive, which means she will undergo regrading as needed. The current level of competition, Grade IV, involves walk, trot and canter movements with lateral work and single flying changes. Kylie is a proud member of the Wyronga Dressage Team, traveling twice a week to train in Coldstream. She also still has regular lessons with Carol Ross.
In October, 2022, Kylie and Oscar won the Australian Para Dressage Championship Grade IV at Boneo. She scored 3 personal bests over the competition, with her freestyle scoring a 76.575 % from one judge, and finishing on a 73.810% score. She was then named to ride on the VICTORIAN state team for this competition. Which the team later won.
Kylie was named on the Generation Next High Performance Australian Institute of Sport squad for 2022 and 2023, which recognizes developing and emerging riders. In the fall of 2023, she was offered a full scholarship by the Victorian Institute of Sport. Kylie achieved a FEI Para Dressage Grade IV World Ranking of 21, and was long listed by Paralympics Australia for the Paris 2024 games.
After retiring Oscar late in 2024, Kylie acquired her new partner, Ivan, an 11 year old, 17-hand black KWPN Dutch Warmblood. Looking ahead, Kylie says "I’m excited to build that bond with Ivan and begin our training in preparation for my campaign toward the World Equestrian Games in two years in Aachen, and then the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. I’m determined to achieve these goals and will dedicate every spare moment to learning, improving, and becoming a combination to be reckoned with. I can’t believe how lucky I have been to find another heart horse. There is definitely room for 2!"
Kylie in the News
Click the items below to read some of the most recent news about Kylie.
