Biography

British amateur rider Kirsty Short (29) and Cossan Lad completed on their debut here last year and in September gained their second completion of Burghley. This will be the 10^th four-star start for Cossan Lad.

For the last three-years Kirsty has juggled riding and competing with her degree studies at Nottingham Trent University where she has been studying Sports Education and Psychology. She has now returned to her Hertfordshire, where she keeps three horses at home and is working as a secondary school PE teacher.

Kirsty is from a non-horsey family but had her first lessons at the age of four and with her first pony competed up to Pony Club area competitions. At the age of 16 she acquired her first horse and became set on a career with horses.

After A levels her gap year turned into three, spent as a working pupil including time with Andrew James and Mark and Tanya Kyle through who she bought her event horses. She was then the co-manager at Chesfield Manor Stables in Gravely Hertfordshire during which time she completed her first two-star with a double clear. In 2012 she graduated to three-star and in 2013 with Cossan Lad completed her first CCI3* at Tattersalls and at the end of the year, her first four-star at Pau.

Lirsty enjoys skiing and travelling and has recently taken up boxing having taken part in a charity boxing match to raise money for cancer research. Kirsty trains with Tanya Kyle.

Cossan Lad, owned by the rider, is a 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse. He is by Grange Bouncer a son of the Irish Draught stallion Prospect Pride and was bought from Mark and Tanya Kyle as a five-year-old. In 2013 the pair completed their first four-star at Pau and now has four, four-star completions. Matthew Wright completed Burghley with him in 2014