Since the Chronicle last caught up with Kristin Hardin after she won the $25,000 HITS Arizona Grand Prix with Bert in March, she’s been on quite the winning streak.

In that article, which appeared in the March 31 issue, Hardin discussed the quirky Bert. “Every day I stay on him is a good day! They say I’m the only person who’s ridden him who hasn’t gone to the hospital, so I’m trying to keep it that way!”

With the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Clinton, Hardin has since won five grand prix classes over the last eight months, including the Markel Insurance 1.40-meter Grand Prix series final at the Las Vegas National Horse Show (Nev.) on Nov. 11.

That same weekend, she captured victory with Aran, a 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Oklund—Everygirl) in the $30,000 Las Vegas Speed Classic and took home several more blues in the high performance hunters with Pamela Levin’s Gambler’s Choice and in the 1.30-meter jumpers with Gavin Brodin’s Zalza.

Hardin splits her time between riding hunters, jumpers and Arabians and half-Arabians and runs her business, Kristin Hardin Stables, in New Cuyama, Calif. Her husband, Cole, works as the resident farrier, while her daughter Tyler, 10, and son Zacko, 8, compete with her in the hunters, jumpers and on the Arabian circuit.

Kristin’s had the ride on Bert since he was a rowdy 7-year-old with an impressive buck. She kept him in the smaller grand prix classes last year to make sure he was never overfaced—a strategy that’s been working out in spades this season.

We caught up with Kristin, 47, after her stellar weekend to learn more about Bert’s quirks and juggling her time in two different horse show worlds.

Chronicle: You’ve had an amazing year. Can you talk about capping it off at Las Vegas?

Hardin: They’ve all been great all year and the group of horses I have is really competitive right now. Our plan going there was to win, so it’s good when it all works out that way.

I knew that Bert would be really competitive in both the classes I showed him in. When Aran is having a good day, she’s really hard to beat. She’s super fast. It’s really nice when the plan works out!

The hunter I have, Gambler’s Choice [owned by Con Caletto Enterprise], is a really special horse. Normally I just show him in the derbies but I was going to Scottsdale [for the Arizona Finale I Horse Show] after Vegas and didn’t want to leave him home for a week, so we decided to show in the performance division. His first show was in July and he won his first derby. He’s a true show horse. He walks in the ring and that’s when he’s the best he is all day.

It must have been nice to have your children there showing with you.

They had a great time. Last year I went and thought maybe next year they’ll be old enough for the bowling alley and to go and enjoy Las Vegas. We brought their horses and they were awesome.

What do you like about the Las Vegas National?

You don’t even have to leave the casino—you stay in the hotel and go downstairs and the barn and the arena is at the bottom.

I walked through the casino but I’m not a gambler. I figure I gamble every time I walk in the ring, so that’s good enough for me!

How has Bert’s season been going?

He’s just an incredible horse who keeps getting better and better and more reliable and consistent. I can pretty much trust him 100 percent. He’s yet to ever let me down. When he walks in the ring, I figure my job is to stay out of his way and let him do his job. He’s very, very competitive and loves to show and he’s super careful.

Tell me about Aran.

She’s owned by Pam Levin. She bought her a few years ago by herself in Europe and told me she had a surprise for me. When I first rode her I was like, ‘Uh oh!’ She was really super hot and super hard to ride, but a cool horse that I thought would take a little while.

She’s really come around. She’s as reliable as Bert, but they’re a different type of horse and a different type of jump. She’s super fast and periodically her legs go a little faster than her mind and it’s harder to keep the jumps up, but when she does, she’s almost impossible to beat. She’s really a fast horse. She’s a kind mare and has come a lot farther than I ever thought she would when I first rode her.

She went 11th in the [Las Vegas Speed Classic] and I had to watch 60 horses try to beat her and it was pretty nerve wracking. There were a lot of great people in the class and they couldn’t catch her. It was her night.”

How does she differ from Bert?

I would say she’s 90 percent heart. She has scope but it’s not a physical power jump. She just wants to jump. Her style is a bit different—kind of like being strapped to a rocket.

The reason Bert hasn’t moved up quicker is because he jumps too high. He needs to learn to jump across. But both are great and both are fast.”

Bert is definitely a unique horse. Tell me about his personality.

He can be a difficult horse. When it’s a horse that special, I just try to get along with him and make my program fit his personality. I don’t think he’s for everyone, that’s for sure.

He’s really difficult to warm up. The first day of the horse show he was quite a handful and I think made his presence known as he was darting out of the warm-up arena through all the tunnels. I had to get off four times! Everyone looks a little bit horrified but it doesn’t bother me because he’s just excited to be there and once he gets in the ring he’s all business.

We have to time the warm-up so I only get on him about three or four horses ahead. The first day I got on about six horses ahead and it was too early. When he’s like that, I just get off and let him calm down and get back on again. He’s not trying to be bad, he’s just very exuberant and has a hard time containing himself.”

How rewarding is it to have taken a difficult horse to the point you’ve reached?

It’s incredible. Rewarding is probably not even the right word. It’s kind of a dream come true to have a horse like that.