Unbridled passion: Kaley Cuoco swaps jeans for jodhpurs and displays her competitive streak at a Santa Barbara show jumping event



There have been some major changes in her personal life over recent months, but the one constant has been a love of horse-riding – and Kaley Cuoco was spotted indulging her passion for the equestrian sport on Monday.



The 27-year-old actress took some time away from her day job on Monday when she took part in a horse-jumping competition in Santa Barbara.



With her jeans traded for jodhpurs she looked markedly different as she trotted around the course lie a true pro, her blond locks tucked beneath a black riding hat.



Gearing up: Kaley looks good in her riding gear as she trots across the course

Taking the reigns: Kaley Cuoco gets into full swing during a showjumping competition in Santa Barbara on Monday

Indeed, the actress appeared to navigate the short course with ease, often prompting her stallion to quicken the pace with a riding crop before leaping over a variety of obstacles – amongst them a parallel oxer and a triple bar.

Kaley matched her jodhpurs with a pair of conventional riding boots and the standard black jacket and white shirt worn by professional riders.



The actress was enjoying some quality time away from her ditzy role as Penny on hit CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory, which returned with a seventh series in September.

Here we go: The actress looks like a pro as she trots around the course Me and my stallion: Kaley sits astride her horse as she takes to the course on Monday Along for the ride: The 28-year-old star was taking a break from her role as Penny on The Big Bang Theory

Kaley returned to the saddle last year after a freak riding accident left her with an ankle injury so serious that doctors initially contemplated amputating her foot.



‘I'm hysterical and the doctor comes in... and says, "OK, gotta go over your options; one (of) them is amputation,’ she told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in 2010.



‘All I'm thinking is, "I'm gonna have to call work and tell them I only have one foot,"' she said.

Incoming: The actress approaches one of the jumps at the Santa Barbara course Bare faced: Kaley was almost unrecognizable after taking to the course without make-up and dressed in conventional showjumping attire Over we go: Kaley shows off her equestrian skills by leaping over a triple bar

'He really was telling me that they were thinking there was infection... (I thought) my foot was gonna be gone...



‘They had to tell me because I was going into emergency surgery that I might be coming out with one foot.'



Kaley recently surprised fans by getting engaged to tennis player Ryan Sweeting in September – just three months after they started dating.



Her romance with the sportsman closely followed a brief, two-week fling with Man Of Steel hunk Henry Cavil, with whom she was frequently spotted strolling the streets of Los Angeles hand in hand.



The actress was spotted side by side with Sweeting in the studio audience while they cheered on her younger sister Briana – currently a contestant on talent show The Voice.