Kathryn Hoyle is used to scoring in the show ring. But when her sister signed her up to appear on a popular TV dating show, she decided to temporarily put down her reins and see if she could score in love as well.
Senior training consultant Kathryn was shocked to receive a call from the producers at the ITV programm Dinner Date, who offered her an interview.
Kathryn, who has ridden various ponies during her showing career, has owned her 11-year-old Connemara, Harvey, for four years and the pair show, hunt and enjoy fun rides together.
“My sister sent off an application for me and so I was surprised to get a phone call asking if I was free to do an interview over Skype,” explained Kathryn, who went on three dates over three days during the show.
“I was told that they’d be in touch and the next day they rang me and asked if I wanted to be on the show.”
Kathryn said that she quickly adapted to life in front of the camera, for the episode that aired on 10 June.
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“The first day of filming was a full day. I was filmed looking at the menus and from there we went straight to see Harvey before heading to the gym to film the rest of the intro,” she said.
“You don’t have any clue who you’re going on dates with at all so it’s just pot luck. I didn’t find love but I had an amazing time.”
When asked if her equestrian dreams have ever hindered her love life she said that it can be a common misconception that horse riders spend all their time with their four-legged friends.
“If you have a horse you can quite easily forget about dating and that side of life,” she added. “But it’s definitely a stereotype that we’re always covered in muck and never have time for anything else.”
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Former H&H showing editor and deputy features editor
Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.
