HER season might not have started the way she wanted it to but Kitty King insists dealing with highs and lows is all par for the course in eventing.

The turn of the year brought renewed optimism for King, who is based in Lower Stanton St Quintin, after she was promoted onto British Eventing’s World Class Performance Programme.

But while benefiting from extra funding, a series of niggling injuries – most notably to her best ride Zidante – has restricted her progress and she missed the Badminton Horse Trials in May.

With Zidante still recovering, King has turned her attentions to rising star Persimmon although recently they suffered falls on consecutive weekends at Tattersalls and Bramham.

King is disappointed with her progress so far in 2014, but she there are plenty more opportunities left to impress before the end of the season.

“I’ve not had the best of seasons so far – unfortunately it’s all gone a bit awry, a few of the horses have had set backs and a few niggles – but that’s the nature of the sport,” said King.

“With horses and the way the sport is, you can be flying one year and do nothing wrong and then have a set back the next. It is frustrating but that is the way it is.

“Persimmon did great last year and we have high hopes for him but he had a fall at Bramham recently.

“We are only half way through the season at the moment so we will regroup and go again. We have got quite a few events coming up this summer to improve at.”

Zidante’s injury has however ruled King out of making her third appearance at September’s Burghley Horse Trials, which along with Badminton and Kentucky forms the Grand Slam of Eventing.

King insists she will be channelling her disappointment instead towards the bigger picture, which includes making the Great Britain team for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

“You need to have a four-star level horse for Burghley and Zidante is just coming back from injury,” she added. “Burghley is not the sort of track where you can take a horse who is just coming back from injury.

“It is a shame but you have to look at the bigger picture. The aim is to make Rio and I’ve got some nice horses at the minute who should be the right age for Brazil.”

The multi-award winning Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials (4-7th September) has been established as a major international equestrian and social event in the Autumn Sporting Calendar for over 50 years. For more information visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk