EVENTER Kitty King will be a rider on a mission when she competes at this month’s European Championships – a whole decade after her first appearance, writes Pippa Field.

King, from Lower Stanton St Quintin, is part of a 12-strong Great Britain team, who will travel north of the border to Blair Castle for the championships from September 10-13.

Selection is particularly significant for King who has forced her way on to the world class programme podium squad and Britain’s Nations Cup squad for the past two years, having lacked the horse power to compete at the highest level in the last decade.

Ten years ago, 35-year-old King and her horse Five Boys got the chance to compete at the European Championships in Blenheim.

It did not go to plan, however, with the pair pulling up on the cross-country course.

This time she is hoping the ten-year-old gelding Persimmon will help her write a new chapter in her career.

“It’s fantastic to be back on the squad, it’s been a long time coming,” she said.

“It was a long old time ago that we were at Blenheim, I was a lot younger and quite inexperienced.

“It was great to be able to go to a championship on home soil but it wasn’t what I had dreamt of.

“At the time it felt like the end of the world but it was probably not a bad thing for me to realise that life isn’t always that easy.

“I was extremely lucky to have that horse at that time in my career, it was all very easy with him; a lot of people wait years to get a horse like that.

“Looking back I was young and did not have much mileage, I think I’d done one three star and one four star competition.

The last ten years I’ve just been working really hard to try and get a good team of horses together, improve my riding, and get back on this squad to hopefully redeem myself. It’s given me a lot of drive and determination to get back to the top.”

King is part of a blend of experienced and up-and-coming riders selected on the GB team.

No fewer than four riders will be making their senior team debut while the likes of Pippa Funnell, Nicola Wilson and William Fox-Pitt will be looking to add to their medal collections – a target King believes is a distinct possibility.

“There are some really experienced guys like Pippa, William and Nicola,” added King.

“They have always been inspirations to look up to. I’m not as young as some of the riders and I lack a bit of championship experience. There is a strong group of us and we’ll all be fighting for those places.

“It is a great squad, everyone’s got some really strong, extremely competitive horses.

“I really think there is potential to come away with team gold. We’re going there with a really good shout.”

Meanwhile, prior to the Europeans, the multi-award winning Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (September 3-6) which has been established as a major international equestrian and social event in the autumn sporting calendar for more than 50 years takes place this week (September 3-6). For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk