VIDEO: B.C. rider celebrates becoming Canadian citizen with double victory

VIDEO: B.C. rider celebrates becoming Canadian citizen with double victory

Published 12:30 pm Sunday, August 9, 2026

Growing up in the U.S., Langley rider Kyle King says he was often mistaken for a Canuck because he spoke with a Canadian accent, even though he is a native Californian.

It was the product of frequent trips to spend summers north of the border, and the fact that his dad had two long-time girlfriends who were Canadian women, he has explained.

Ten years ago, King married his Canadian-born wife Emily, and the couple would settle down in Langley, not far from the Thunderbird Show Park.

But while he was based in Canada, when King competed in top equestrian events, he was identified as American.

READ ALSO: Why champion rider moved to Langley from the U.S.

That changed on June 12, at the Spruce Meadows ‘National’ tournament, when King took his Canadian citizenship oath at the show grounds, giving him dual citizenship.

He started the week competing under the U.S. flag and finished the weekend making his official debut for Canada.

On Saturday, at Langley’s tbird, the new Canadian won back-to-back wins at the Summer Fort Welcome, taking the the JustWorld International winning round and then, the $75,000 Steel-Craft Doors CSI3* Grand Prix aboard Replay Touch van de Stapelheyde.

The pair stopped the clock in 38.10 seconds.

“Some of the fastest people on the West Coast are here with James Chawke and Karrie Rufer coming behind me,” said King. “So going first, I figured I might as well let it all hang out and go as quick as I could.

“He was really good. He was very bold down to the double verticals. I think that’s where I was maybe a little quicker than the other ones.”

James Chawke (IRL) and One Edition came closest to their time, settling for second in 38.75. Bryna Closson (USA) and Meteoric Rise took third in 39.71.

King credited the horse he calls “Hyde” for the victory—a mount he nearly passed on not once, but twice.

The first time King saw the horse in Belgium, he refused to get on, put off by the Belgian Warmblood’s unconventional style and Thoroughbred breeding on the dam side (Vannan x Narew XX).

“I wouldn’t sit on him. My back was sore and I didn’t like his technique and he makes a little noise when he canters. And he wasn’t top fit then,” King recalled.

On a second trip, he remained skeptical, despite ample encouragement by friend Kirsten Rombouts.

“I stayed at their house for three days, which is above the barn, and I looked at his eye—he’s got that real sharp look—and thought, I’m not sitting on him,” King said. “Finally the last day, [Kirsten] basically forced me to sit on him. I jumped literally my first X and I said, ‘Done. This is the horse.’”

What changed King’s mind over that single jump?

“I’ve never really quite had a feeling like him—he’s like a feather,” King said. “He doesn’t make a sound off the ground. He lands lighter than he takes off. It is cool.

Saturday’s win marks the third Grand Prix title for King and the 9-year-old gelding this season. King now heads into the World Championships in Aachen, Germany, this time as the reserve rider for Team Canada.