Twelve-year-old Kate Dobrotin and her trainer Anna Filleti of North Arabians had a unique idea to help accomplish her goals to attend shows with her Arabian horses.
Explaining where her love of Arabian horses started, Kate says, “About a year ago, I saw a Facebook advertisement that Anna had posted about horses for sale, and I convinced my mom to take me to check them out. We ended up purchasing our first two Arabians from North Arabians, and I have been riding them and Anna’s horses since. The special Arabian horses that are in my life are “Blaze” or GG Blaze N Afire that we purchased from the Glasener’s and “Lily” or Steel Cordilia that is owned by Anna’s mom.”
“When I asked Kate if she wanted to go to a show, she eagerly said yes,” her trainer Anna shares. “We went to a local show here in Ramona to do some Walk/Trot with Lily, and she was hooked after she won one of her classes. Since then her knowledge of general horse care and her riding ability has grown, along with her passion. Kate has come such a long way in a short amount of time that I had her show my personal horse, Lapaz NA, at Region 7 this year. She was Regional Champion in the Sport Horse Under Saddle Hunter Type JTR and Reserve Champion in the Dressage Type JTR.”
After her successful Regionals, Kate was eager to continue to show, but figuring out how to finance that showing prompted her to raise the bar, and her dedication to her dreams, even higher. “My goal was to be able to pay for the show in September that I planned on attending without having to ask my grandpa for money. It was going to cost $170 for me to show Lily and Dawn in some Sport Horse classes,” she explains.
“Anna and I were discussing ways for me to achieve this and we came up with the idea of collecting redeemable recycling products from our friends and family. We posted flyers around town that said ‘Kans for Kate,’ and Anna made a post on Facebook to some of the local Ramona pages. We had tons of people that were willing to donate their recycling products to me. After the first trip to the Recycling Center, we came home with $155. I was so excited that we were only $15 shy of my goal!”
Anna is proud of Kate and her drive to achieve her dreams. “I think it’s great that Kate is trying to help pay for her horse shows. I believe that when a kid learns the value of a dollar they appreciate the experience much more,” she explains. “Horse showing is not cheap, and at twelve-years-old, Kate knows this. Her grandpa has funded her horse shows in the past, but when we started talking about the plans for the upcoming show season, I knew we were going to have to figure out some way to help offset some of the cost. Kate and I have been working really hard to collect recycling to try and cover the horse show in September, and we were able to do that. Kate was elated that she could tell her grandpa that he could save his money for the next show.”
With her initial recycle goal almost met, Kate is excited to be able to join her friends and do what she loves without worrying about the cost. “I believe the best part about showing Arabians is being able to show them with my friends,” she says. “Since starting my lessons with Anna I have made some new friends that are also lovers of Arabians, and we love taking lessons and going to horse shows together. Most of the time we are all showing our ‘white Arabians,’ and we like to match our outfits together.”
Kate and her friends have big dreams, and Kate hope to continue her recycling in order to help her get there. “We all hope to be able to qualify for Youth Nationals and be able to experience it for the first time together, as a team,” she explains. “I am going to continue to collect recycling products in the hope of being able to pay to show at Youth Nationals in 2020, and hopefully the other shows to get qualified for Youth Nationals.”
Anna knows team spirit is common in her students. “Kate is always willing to help in any way she can and always does it with a smile on her face,” she says. “It is really encouraging to see her and the other girls strive to better themselves and always support each other in the show ring and out of it.”
In addition to her work as a trainer, Anna has gone above and beyond to inspire Kate and create options to make her dreams viable - a testament to her passion for her youth program at North Arabians.
“The program I have is small, only five girls, but that is enough for me at this time,” she shares proudly. “I really enjoy taking them to shows around San Diego County and love to see the improvement from show to show. It’s not always about winning, but having a good time and learning. They love to be together and love their Arabians, and for me that is what matters. In 2020 all my girls have their sights set on competing at Youth Nationals, and I am beyond excited to help them get there.”
“Arabians are great family horses because they truly love being with people of all ages. Everyone at the little one day shows that sees these Arabians cannot believe how well behaved the horses are with the young kids. My horses love to be ambassadors and continue to prove people wrong about the stereotypes attributed to our breed. It’s great knowing that I am helping create a love for Arabian horses for another generation of horsemen, just like my mother did for me when I was a kid.”
For more information North Arabians check out their website or Facebook.
To connect with Anna or support Kans for Kate, find Anna on Facebook.