We are a community of women that love horses, travel and adventure!
Equestrian Adventuresses tons of free resources, interviews, information, recommendations and advice for your next (or first) equestrian adventure!
To interact with our community of Equestrian Adventuresses please join our private Facebook Group to reach out to others, find travel companions, share your photos or ask fellow members for advice. For photos and inspiration please Follow Us on our Instagram!
Who are we and how did we get started?
Krystal, EQA Founder, has a love of horses and travel which led her to work abroad in many “male dominated countries.” She spent years trying to share with others that the equestrian sport is the ONLY sport in the Olympics where men and women compete equally.
“The first time I went to Bhutan,” she shares, “I had to train the guy that would be living with and caring for the horses. He didn’t speak any English but it was my job to work with him and teach him everything I could in a short amount of time. His family lives in a house near the “stables” and his children are growing up around horses. They will be the first generation in Bhutan which has been raised around people riding horses. That’s because no one in Bhutan rides horses, our program was the first and only one in the country. Watching the girl and boy playing with the tack after we had finished riding for 6 days in the mountains made me feel very hopeful for the future of horseback riding in this magical country. Personally? I am rooting for the girl…”
Krystal learned long ago that it was impossible to change the world by herself. The importance of the “sisterhood” would be the key to getting more women in the saddle around the world. Her desire to get more women involved with horses while staying inspired, connected with each other and supporting one another’s businesses resulted in the manifestation of Equestrian Adventuresses!
Our Goals:
- Promote Women in the Equine Industry.
- Inspire Women.
- Improve Horse Welfare in Countries in Need.
- Get Local Women Involved in the Equine Industry.
- Go places others wouldn’t dare go.
- Achieve what others wouldn’t dare achieve.
Our Values:
- Equality.
- Support each other.
- Support women entrepreneurs and their businesses.
- Help Develop the equine sport and industry in places in need.
- Positivity, positivity, positivity!
- Get local women involved.
- Take action! Not just talk about it.
- Educate others to succeed.
- Self love and self care.
- Be proud of each other’s accomplishments and lift each other up.
- Build everlasting friendships (both two legged and four!)
The Team
Equestrian Adventuresses was started by Krystal Kelly, Californian girl determined to see the world from the back of a horse. She is on a quest to visit every country in the world! Her quest has led her to some pretty crazy places, such as Iraq, Yemen, Bhutan, Timor-Leste and more! Her personal journey started back in 2010 when she left the USA for good. She’s worked abroad in over 14 different countries as a rider, trainer, FEI II Coach, clinician and club manager. She’s started riding clubs around the world, and is a show jumper, polo player, endurance rider and trail leader!
Krystal has a passion for sharing her love of travel and horses with others, which is why she often worked in “male dominated countries” in order to help get more women involved in the sport and to help teach the men to have “softer hands” and “ride like a girl!” She is passionate about women’s empowerment and her goal in life is to see women around the world having the same opportunities with horses as men.
See all of Krystal’s articles or get in touch!
Ute is a sociologist, an adventuress and a horse-woman. She has travelled to many different countries and lives today with her husband and son in Udaipur/India where they have a horse farm and trail-riding business. She has been interested in Natural Horsemanship for many years and has studied with different horse trainers to be able to ride and train her horses the natural way. Her keen interest in journalism has prompted her to take over the Equestrian Adventuresses Podcast and she loves to read and write. She lives on a farm in the countryside together with her family, horses, dogs and other animals.
Listen to all of Ute’s podcasts!
Do you want to be on the show? Contact Ute directly!
Heather Calvert
Podcast Host
Canada
Heather was born and raised in Western Canada and has been a cowgirl from an early age. She grew up with horses always being around her. Her passion for travel began when she was 17 years old when she travel to Japan with the Calgary stampede show riders , the show riders took her all over the world including Western Canada, North western United States, Japan, Europe, Australia and New Zealand where they rode local horses and promoted the western lifestyle and culture of the Calgary stampede. The travel bug didn’t stop her then as she began a career in the travel industry working as a travel agent and then on to travel host and guide and now it’s very appropriate that she has become an Equestrian Adventuress podcast host. On top of all of that, she is married and has two amazing teenage sons where they reside in Saskatchewan Canada.
Listen to all of Heather’s podcasts!
Are you interested in sharing your story in the podcast? Contact Heather directly!
Aga is an artist (M.A. from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk), graphic designer and photographer. For many years she has been writing articles for Polish national horse-riding magazines, she also contributed to “National Geographic Traveler” (Polish edition). Aga currently lives in South West England with her husband, rescued cat and two horses.
Sandra Kelly
Editor
USA
At the age of ten Sandra became obsessed with horses and studied all about them. However, living in the mountains in California in the 1970’s gave her little access to horses and once she was off to college her life became too “busy.” So, she graduated college with a degree in Social Work, got married, started a family and then focused her career on being a Youth Counselor. This spurned a desire to prevent crime instead of responding to the effects of it. Retiring after 26 years, Sandra spent several years travelling, adventuring and reconnecting with her passions. Now she is finding her passion for horses once again.
