Kyra Kyrklund to stay in England

Kyra Kyrklund, the top Finnish international dressage rider, has decided to stay in Britain, despite being offered “the opportunity of a lifetime” to build her own training centre from scratch in Sweden.

Kyra, who has been based in Britain for five years with her British partner Richard White, had planned to move back to Sweden, where she was previously chief trainer at the Swedish national stud.

However, Kyra and Richard have now changed their plans and purchased Snowhill Farm in Sussex, which has 22 boxes and 36 acres, as a new training base.

“We were looking in both Britain and Sweden. The Swedish property didn’t work out and we found a perfect opportunity in Sussex,” says Kyra, who is hoping to represent Finland at the Athens Olympics on her American-owned ride, Andiamo Tyme.

Meanwhile, Wayne Channon, a recent addition to the British dressage squad with his top horse Lorenzo, who is trained by Kyra, is set to move to Belgium.

“Being based on the continent takes a day off travelling time to the major European shows,” says Wayne, who will continue to train regularly with Kyra.

Wayne and wife Deborah have accepted an offer on their Sussex property and are planning to move in about six weeks.

This story was originally published in Horse & Hound (26 February 04)

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