February 1, 2026 
It’s said that “life begins at 50.” Usually, it’s said as a platitude. The kind of thing you write on birthday cards to your middle-aged friends to make them feel better about aging.
But for Kyle King, 50 really is fabulous.
The speedy west coaster crossed the half century mark on February 14 last year and has gone on to have the best season of his career, on the best horse of his career: Kayenne Z.
King purchased the Zangersheide mare (Kanna x Canezaro) with the help of Greg Tomb last January, just a month before his 50th birthday. They made their international debut at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, CA on February 19, 2025, just five days after his 50th, and, in the 12 months since, have gone on to record the three best five-star finishes of King’s career.
In July, they jumped three clear rounds in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Spruce Meadows to finish second to Daniel Coyle and Incredible. By a mere 8 hundredths of a second.
In September, they finished second again at Spruce Meadows. This time to world no. 2 Scott Brash in the world’s richest Grand Prix, the $5 Million (CDN) CPKC Grand Prix.
And on Saturday, at the venue where their international partnership began, they claimed King’s career first five-star Grand Prix win with the CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup – Thermal.
“This horse means everything. She has been delivering dreams one after another here recently,” said King. “[She has allowed me to do] things that I’ve been wanting to do my whole career. I’ve been waiting for a horse like this. So, I feel like I was really lucky. She came along, and luckily, I had a person to support me to see where we can go.”
So far, that’s been to the winningest and wealthiest season of King’s career. More than half (nearly $1.23 million) of his career $2.47 million in earnings came in the last year. The lion’s share from Kayenne Z.
At 11 years old, Kayenne Z is just hitting her prime and at 50, apparently, so is Kyle King.
“You can go for a long time in the sport,” King said at Thunderbird Show Park last May. “I’ve got a lot of miles on this body, but I’ve been blessed to have been given a pretty strong body. My back gets a little weak here and there, but as long as my wife doesn’t let me catch-ride many horses and I can stay healthy and go on, I’m going to keep going until I can’t.”
With 20 points now on the board, King joins the North American League (NAL) Standings in 10th place with two qualifiers remaining. Conor Swail tops the standings with 51 points, followed by Kent Farrington (42) and McLain Ward (36).
The NAL of the World Cup heads to Puebla, Mexico next weekend and finishes in Ocala, FL on February 14.
Tickets for the 2026 Longines FEI World Cup Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, this April 8–12 are on sale now at fortworth2026.com.
