From Stable to the Open Sea

JUSTWORLD-WRITTEN ARTICLE PUBLISHED FOR FEI.ORG

Meet Kay Victoria Neatham - an equestrian from England who is based in Germany.

With an extensive background as a stable manager, Kay has worked more than 20 years in the sport of Jumping and has experience at four Olympic Games, the Pan American Games, countless trips to the World Cup finals and nearly every show in Europe; horses and the lifestyle that came with it was her life.

The equestrian sport taught Kay many lessons, including the power of hard work, dedication, and teamwork.

These lessons all prepared her for when she decided to push herself by participating in the Clipper Round the World ocean yacht race, a 40,000 nautical mile race around the world on a 70-foot ocean racing yacht. The impressive feat was more than just a competition, it was about raising funds for education programs for children around the world.

As an Ambassador for the nonprofit JustWorld International, Kay serves as a spokesperson for children living in under-resourced communities around the world. It was through her friend Sam Lam, one of thousands of international rider Ambassadors for the organisation, that Kay first learned about JustWorld.

 “I decided to use the Clipper Race as a platform to raise awareness and funds for the children JustWorld serves.”

Kay shared the journey leading up to the race throughout horse shows and social media, showcasing her passion for helping the JustWorld programs.

“I would watch a video from the JustWorld team and look at photos of students from the projects every night. It brought a smile to my face and this is what would encourage and motivate me to keep going.”

Seizing every opportunity

Kay loved being around the barn since the age of eight and seized every opportunity to learn and ask questions.

“I joined the South Norfolk Pony Club at 14 and went on to take a Stable Management course with Charlotte “Tiggy” Heal.

“I was lucky to be able to ride her horses and have lessons from her to improve both my riding and stable management skills. I won my first trophy for grooming at the National Side Saddle Show in 1992 and won groom of the year, from there I continued to learn as much as possible from the skilled riders I worked with. I never wanted to stop learning.”

Working for Marcus Ehning for the last nine years as Stable Manager, Kay explains how she loves being behind the scenes and putting in the effort day and night to work as a team to achieve set goals.

Setting sail

In 2018, she decided to take a sabbatical and finally take on her goal to sail around the world. Kay, who sailed as a child, explained that this particular extreme race which one may expect to be the domain of seasoned pros, is taken on by ordinary, everyday people, not professional sailors.

After completing a rigorous training course, participants are suited in the latest extreme protection gear before setting off on the race of their lives.

During her journey, Kay found many similarities with the equestrian sport. With intense months of training that started in England, Kay was one of eighteen crew members who joined a fleet in Australia where she set off to China and then across the Pacific to Seattle.
 

“On the boat, your safety relies on working together as a team - just like in equestrian competitions. This means working with different types of people and personalities - having patience, empathy, and a strong will to overcome obstacles together. If something goes wrong, it may be one person in particular who saves your life.”

Kay explained, “I already knew my own limits because of riding and being around horses. Physically, the most challenging aspect of the race was not getting much sleep and dealing with the cold, wet elements. Just like riding, there were mental challenges too.

“At one part of the race when my boat was doing quite well, we hit a major hurdle - no wind. We had to sit there for two days, allowing other boats to catch up. It was so painful because we worked so hard - but in the end, we had to keep moving forward.”

Making positive change

The biggest motivation behind this extraordinary adventure was the fact that Kay was on a quest to give children around the world the resources and courage to follow their own passions and push herself, just like she had.

“I was blown away by the work JustWorld does to provide a quality education to underserved youth who don’t have access to the proper tools to learn. I grew up loving books and having the ability to discover new things. I believe that every child should be able to stroll into a library, wander through the different sections, pick up any book and through the pages before them, begin to dream.”

After being on the ocean for three months, Kay said that she would do it all again. “I hope that by completing this journey, I was able to plant seeds for children at the JustWorld programs, giving them the chance to be or do anything they set their mind to.”

Kay has continued to support JustWorld throughout various initiatives. Most recently, Kay was a part of a syndicate of 32 donors from 14 countries called the “JustWorld Friendship Circle,” who gifted a one-of-a-kind horse sculpture to the FEI to commemorate the organisations’ partnership.

A significant portion of proceeds from the auction, from which the horse sculpture was acquired, was donated to support the JustWorld education and nutrition programs. Kay felt honoured to be a part of an international community of equestrians paving the way for global change and is looking forward to continuing to work together.