Kathy Gilker and CA Destiny Gro (GA)
Team #920: Kathy Gilker and CA Destiny Gro
From: Alpharetta, Georgia
Ages: 72 & 28
Combined Ages: 100
Test: Introductory Level Test A
Kathy's love of horses began in California when she got her first horse, a Saddlebred, at nine years old from her grandmother, who knew nothing about horses. Kathy was self-taught by reading every horse book and watching others ride. As a teenager and college student, Kathy bought Quarter Horses to train and show in almost every class available.
When Kathy moved to Texas in 1979, she wanted to try something new, so she paid for her first month of saddle seat lessons at a Saddlebred farm and then was never charged to ride again. From Saddlebreds, she then fell in love with the Arabian horse when she purchased her farm from an Arabian breeder.
Kathy tried dressage when it was added to Arabian shows in Georgia. In 1994, she and her Arabian stallion, Elated MSF, showed in Country English Pleasure, Mounted Native Costume, and their first two dressage classes in the same rated Arabian show. Kathy had already competed in almost every discipline with Elated - now she was hooked on dressage!
Dressage classes were a wonderful addition since Kathy already incorporated basic dressage in her training. She enjoyed receiving the judge’s scorecard with detailed feedback to make improvements.
Later, Kathy took a hiatus from showing to be the best horse show mom, supporter, and coach of her twin daughters and the dedicated caretaker of her barn full of beloved horses.
Eventually, Kathy purchased seven-year-old, CA Destiny Gro+, in 2004 to be her daughter, Jessica’s, show horse for a few years before college. “Des” is a purebred Arabian mare and is the last progeny of her sire *Grojor. She has a rare blend of Polish racing and Spanish-related bloodlines. With professional dressage training rides only a couple of times a month, Des schooled FEI movements such as piaffe, passage, and tempi changes. Kathy and Des did their last dressage show together in 2008 when Des was 11 years old. Later, Des showed Third Level dressage at 24 years old, looking better than ever with Jessica!
Aging is no easy feat, but Des and Kathy have aged with grace. Despite severe back and knee arthritis and vertebral issues, Kathy committed to riding five days a week and physical therapy sessions two times a week to prepare for her Century Club ride on August 23rd, 2025. Des is kind, forgiving, and well-trained, so even after time off, she still remembers everything. Des simply needed to get fit again, along with Kathy!
Kathy is so proud to have had Des for 21 years and to be able to team up with her to be inducted into The Dressage Foundation’s honorable Century Club! They overcame the challenges of aging and lack of fitness with a little extra effort and demonstrated that dressage is an incredible lifetime sport and partnership - even if it’s having fun riding dressage in a bareback pad!
Photos by Custom Taylored Photography
