Casey Vetrik and Kepler

In June 2016, a Thoroughbred called Kepler ran his last race, still without a win. Four days later he had a new owner. Casey Vetrik was overseas when she saw a Facebook video of him trotting in a paddock, and she bought him there and then, unseen and unvetted. He was in her yard before she was back in South Africa.

The plan was showjumping. Until then Casey had mostly produced young horses for sale and had never competed above Elementary in dressage. Then came his first flying change, and later a few steps of passage, and she knew Grand Prix was possible. Kepler reached that level in 2023. He has been the highest-ranked Thoroughbred in South African dressage since 2022, and he is still the only Grand Prix horse in the Free State. Along the way he also jumped 1.30m, evented to FEI 2* and went round Open Working Hunter.

He did all this without a regular trainer on the ground, and after a melting ulcer cost him an eye. After the Toyota SA Dressage Championships at KPC, Casey talks about retraining an ex-racehorse, a decision no owner wants to face, and what she looks for in a Thoroughbred bought from a photo.

About

HQ: How did horses first become part of your life, and what has your riding journey looked like since then? Were you always drawn to dressage, or did that develop through riding in other disciplines?
Casey: I started riding lessons at nine years old on some very entertaining Shetland ponies and from then on I was hooked. My first pony was a three-years-old Arabian cross Saddler that I produced myself. We went on to reach Open level jumping. I have always enjoyed doing multiple disciplines, and as a child I competed in jumping, dressage, showing and equitation; however, if I am honest, dressage was probably my least favourite discipline at that time (just like most kids!).

HQ: What does your life with horses look like now?
Casey: I currently work mornings until 11am in my ‘real’ job, and then spend the afternoons riding (doing the job I love). I currently have ten horses in training with me at the moment. They range from an imported dressage stallion that I am backing for a client to a crossbred pony that I am helping school for a child for SANESA.

HQ: Who or what has most shaped the way you train horses?
Casey: The horses themselves have shaped the way I train more than anything else. Every horse is different, and each one has taught me something new.

HQ: Before Kepler, what experience did you have of producing horses through the dressage levels?
Casey: Previously, I was mostly schooling and producing young horses that went on to be sold, so I never really got a chance to go up to the higher levels. Before Kepler, I had only ever competed up to Elementary level in dressage.

Kepler

HQ: How did you come to own Kepler?
Casey: I was actually overseas when I saw a Facebook post with a video of him trotting in the paddock. I bought him, unseen and unvetted! He arrived at the yard before I arrived back in SA!

HQ: What do you know about his life before he came to you? How has his racing history affected him?
Casey: He was born in 2011, bred by Hallmark Thoroughbreds. He was not a very successful racehorse and did not have any wins. His last race was on 18 June 2016 and I bought him on 22 June 2016.

Warm-up arenas were very interesting for a long time, as he was very reactive if a horse cantered past too close, but he was never a nasty horse and I could tell from the beginning that he was very honest. He had a fear of narrow spaces after coming off the track, and still to this day, if show venues have narrow doors, he will sometimes burst out of them as if he is leaving the starting box!

HQ: What were your ambitions for him at the beginning?
Casey: I bought him with the idea of focusing mainly on jumping, but wanted to also do a bit of everything. My hope was to reach Open level showjumping with him.

HQ: What did the first stage of his retraining involve?
Casey: He was fit and sound after retiring, so we kept him in work from the beginning. I tried to focus on relaxation and suppleness. We worked on relying less on rein aids, such as teaching him walk/halt/walk, and later rein back transitions using only weight and leg aids, and other basics such as being able to keep a rhythm on a loose rein in both trot and canter.

HQ: When did you first feel that he might have the ability to go a long way in dressage?
Casey: I was doing a once-off lesson with a visiting instructor when Kepler was still Novice, and he made the comment that he thinks Kepler will one day be able to get to Medium level. I remember being so confused, thinking to myself, why only Medium? What is stopping us from going further? So in a way, I believed in Kepler since day one, but I can’t say back then that I ever imagined us making it all the way!

HQ: Could you talk us through the main milestones between his first dressage work and his first Grand Prix?
Casey: I would say the first milestone was being able to do a single flying change. The next, and biggest, milestone was the day he did a few steps of passage for the first time. That was the day that I knew that we could get to Grand Prix.

HQ: Which part of his development/training challenged you most?
Casey: The biggest challenge has been working without access to a trainer, and trying to improve my own riding and position without someone on the ground. We do always make an effort to attend clinics when available, but it’s not the same as having a regular coach.

With Kepler, the biggest challenge has been (and still is) achieving enough relaxation whilst still expecting him to do these high energy movements, in high energy environments.

HQ: How did you decide when he was ready to move up a level?
Casey: I realised early on that it was quite difficult for us to beat the Warmbloods at the lower levels, where their big expressive paces counted a lot. So as long as I could do all the required movements for the next level, and had obtained at least 10 points in that level, I moved up. The more technical the tests became, the better we scored against the Warmbloods.

HQ: Which Grand Prix movements are his strengths, and which have required the most work?
Casey: Kepler’s biggest strength is definitely the tempi changes. He also loves his passage and he can do a very decent canter pirouette. The piaffe took a lot of work, but it’s actually the collected and extended walks that are the most difficult parts of the Grand Prix for us. I still have to try to convince him that walking is, in fact, a legitimate movement. He prefers the other four-beat gait (the one that is not part of the Grand Prix!).

HQ: What else have you done with Kepler outside dressage, and to what levels? What does he enjoy the most?
Casey: I never lost my dream of getting him to Open Showjumping, so he competed semi-regularly in showjumping alongside the dressage. I wanted to do one 1.30m show before we started focusing solely on Dressage, and we reached our goal last year (2025), when we did our first 1.30m show! We also Evented up to FEI 2* and did Open Working Hunter a few times. He loves his work, and honestly enjoys doing anything I ask of him, but I think if he had a choice, he would choose the cross-country phase of eventing! Nowadays, we only compete in dressage, but still do outrides and pole work.

HQ: Have those other disciplines helped his dressage, or has his dressage helped him elsewhere?
Casey: I believe those other disciplines have helped his overall soundness. I am a believer that riding over different terrains and different surfaces leads to a hardier horse. I also think that varying the type of work keeps them mentally stimulated and motivated. The dressage definitely improved his jumping significantly, especially when it came to adjustability and jump-off turns!

HQ: And, most importantly, can you tell us about his personality and temperament?
Casey: Kepler lives every single day to the fullest (and at full speed!), but he is also the most well-mannered horse that you can find. Although he can be highly strung and sensitive, he truly just wants to please his rider.

HQ: What does a typical week look like for Kepler?
Casey: He is a very high-energy horse, so I try to work him at least five times per week. Usually it is three or four days per week schooling, and then either hacking, lunging or long-lining on the other days. He also gets as much turnout time as possible. He shares a huge paddock with his friend and they spend a good portion of their days galloping around like lunatics! He also has a stable that opens out into a run so that he can move around at night.

HQ: At the Toyota SA Dressage Champs at KPC, what were you most pleased with in his performance?
Casey: His willingness, his happiness to do the work, and the fact that he did every single thing that I asked of him. I am so proud of his consistency throughout the show. I could not have asked more of him.

HQ: Which achievement together means the most to you, and why?
Casey: I think what means the most to me is not one specific achievement, but the fact that Kepler has been able to remind people what a Thoroughbred can be capable of and how he has showcased the versatility of the breed at higher levels across three Olympic disciplines.

HQ: What comes next for you and Kepler?
Casey: We don’t have any big plans right now, but I hope to be privileged enough to attend many more SA Champs with Keppie, and maybe do our first Dressage Derby next year.
I also want to make a plan to take him for a gallop on the beach!

Health scare

HQ: If you are comfortable sharing it, could you explain what happened to his eye and how it was managed?
Casey: He had a melting ulcer but I am still not exactly sure what caused it initially. We tried to save the eye by boxing him to JHB to be seen by specialists, but his eye just kept rapidly deteriorating. He was in a huge amount of pain. After a week or so, the choice was given to me to try a graft or to remove the eye. A graft would have involved a longer healing process and it was not guaranteed to be successful. And even if it was successful, it was not guaranteed that he would have full vision, as his eye was already extremely damaged. It was a difficult decision, but in the end, I wanted him to be pain-free as soon as possible, so on the advice of two different vets, we removed the eye.

HQ: What did his recovery and adjustment involve?
Casey: It was incredible to see how quickly he was back to his happy self after his eye was removed. I think he was just so relieved to be pain free. His depth perception was slightly off for the first day or so, but other than that, the physical recovery was extremely fast without any complications. Once the sutures came out, he was cleared to go straight back into work. It did take some time for both of us to recover psychologically though. Our first show back after losing his eye was not easy. We entered a training show at Elementary level and got 40% due to spookiness. I sat in the car and there were a few tears because I was worried it was the end of his career, but we didn’t give up, and within a few months, we were back on track.

HQ: Does his eye affect any aspect of training or competing today?
Casey: I would say that today it does not affect any aspect of his life in any significant way. After the initial adjustment period, he has just continued to improve in his work as if he had never lost his eye. I just have to make sure I do not steer him too close to the arena barriers when they are on his blind side. It’s just little things like that that I have to be mindful of.

Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods

HQ: Have Thoroughbreds always appealed to you, or did Kepler change your view of them?
Casey: I have always loved and believed in Thoroughbreds but Kepler definitely expanded my view on what I thought was possible with a Thoroughbred.

HQ: From the horses you have ridden, what differences have you noticed between Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods?
Casey: I love both Thoroughbreds and Warmbloods but I like to treat each horse as an individual regardless of breed. I have ridden horses of both breeds that have been completely opposite to the general biases/beliefs that people have of those breeds.

Saying that, I have found a lot of Thoroughbreds to be easy-to-ride horses that truly love to work, are quick off the aids and are naturally forward but since they are bred for racing, their conformation often differs substantially from a purpose-bred Warmblood, which can limit them in certain ways. Comparing the power, expression, suppleness and natural carriage of a top dressage Warmblood to the average Thoroughbred would not be fair; however, I would definitely choose an exceptional Thoroughbred over an average Warmblood any day.

HQ: What would you look for in a Thoroughbred being considered for dressage?
Casey: I look at the same things that I would look for in any other horse: soundness, temperament, conformation and movement. A horse that shows the ability to do flying changes when at liberty in the paddock is always a good sign in my opinion.

However, when buying straight off the track, you don’t often have the luxury of viewing or trying out the horse. You often have to base your decision on one or two photos (and a short video if you are lucky), so when limited to buying a Thoroughbred unseen, I tend to focus on conformation. I like a horse with good hooves, straight legs and a neck that is not set too low. If there is a video, I like a walk that has overtrack, a trot that is straight and open (rather than choppy) and a relatively balanced canter that does not disunite. I also like an active hind end. If possible, asking the trainer about the horse’s temperament is also a good idea.

Whilst there are a lot of bloodlines that I would look for when buying a Thoroughbred for jumping, there are not really any well-known bloodlines for dressage. As such, I tend to look out for breeding that is well known for having good temperaments, but I would not pass on a good looking Thoroughbred just because the lines are unknown to me.

Final thoughts

HQ: Is there anyone you’d like us to thank for you?
Casey: I would like to thank every single person that came together when Kepler lost his eye. The community responded in a way that was truly amazing and made me realise how loved Kepler is.

I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Equi-Feeds, Bombers Bits and Max Gut Health for their continued support over the years. I am truly grateful to have had you all by Kepler’s side during this journey.