Jumping over a three-foot-tall fence on horseback at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair last month was child’s play compared to the health hurdles Haldimand teen Kylie Searles had to clear in recent years.

Early in the young equestrian’s training, Searles had to rebuild her self-confidence after being bullied to the point that she developed an eating disorder.

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And the 17-year-old’s quest to return to North America’s top indoor horse show took a detour when she had emergency brain surgery at McMaster Children’s Hospital in April 2024.

“I kept getting told I had anxiety,” said Searles, a Grade 12 student at McKinnon Park Secondary School in Caledonia.

She was experiencing nausea, headaches and acid reflux, and would fall into such a deep sleep that she had to be loud

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