The 2008 Horse Expo Report

Horse Expo 2008 was a huge success!

Two musical freestyle dressage performances by 14-year-old Waitoki rider Sarah Wilkinson were highlights of a hugely successful fourth Horse Expo NZ at the Helensville Showgrounds on Saturday, April 5.

The Expo, which attracted about 1200 visitors, showcased the amazing variety of equine talent in Rodney and West Auckland. 

Helensville Pony Club took the crowd through a half hour of combined workouts, starting with the youngest lead-rein riders in fancy dress, followed by two off-rein riders jumping over cavalettis, and finishing with a jumping grid and tip ‘n’ out by the club’s older members.

Then the action turned to miniature horses and western riding with displays by the Auckland Miniature Horse Club and Kumeu Western Riding Club.

In the main oval top harness driver Mairi MacIver thrilled spectators with the speed and agility of her pony ‘Lorein Halley’s Comet’ in harness.  Mairi is another local who regularly competes at top level harness driving meets.

Sarah-Jane Pinkerton from the Waikato took an assortment of local riders and their horses through some of the disciplines involved in new equestrian sport Le TREC.

The horses included a pony club pony, a dressage horse, a Western mount, a mini in hand and a Haflinger, showing how this fun sport can be enjoyed by anyone. None of the riders or horses in the demo had participated in the sport before.

Le TREC is normally performed across countryside, incorporating orienteering, timing, natural obstacles and some set tests.  In the arena Sarah Jane set up a grid for the horses to manoeuvre around, a narrow ‘rail track’ to imitate a sheep track, and a frame which the horses and rider had to duck under at walk, trot and canter - easier for the pony, Haflinger and mini than the quarterhorse and dressage horse!

Later in the day Sarah Jane took three of the riders around a hillside situation and tested them over more natural obstacles like a bridge, ditch, up-hill tracks and over a steep hillside set of ‘steps’. The riders thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and Sarah-Jane received many enquiries about setting up a northern Le Trec group. 

Throughout the day the Calibre Boats Clydesdale competition ring was busy, starting with in-hand classes and a ridden class, through to working classes where these lovely animals tow sledges and wheeled vehicles. Organisers were thrilled to discover how many Clydesdales are in the area, many of which had never been shown before.

The novice classes were well contested and the inaugural Calibre Clydesdale trophy for Novice Horse and Handler was won by Helensville physiotherapist, Kath Long and her horse Dusty.

Clydesdale owners came from afar afield as Kaitaia and Dargaville in the north and Pukekohe in the south.  Hopefully this event will be the beginning of a new Northern Clydesdale Club, which Helensville Clydesdale breeder, Paul Stroobant, is keen to start. Paul & Bobby’s mare Palamar Esmerelda won both the Champion Female Clydesdale and the Supreme Champion.

The Clydesdales were a constant source of attention all day and many people commented on what a delight it was to see so many together. 

The mid-day crowd favourite was Sarah Wilkinson and her 18 year old Gisborne station-bred gelding, Greendowns Laredo.  To a combination of Michael Jackson soundtracks they impressed the crowd with their elegant musical freestyle.

As Sarah put ‘Larry’ through a practice routine, her mother Helen explained the moves and what the judges were looking for when they selected Sarah for the World Dressage Challenge. The routine highlighted how at just 14, Sarah is riding at Advanced Level, (just one level below Olympic level) and competing against adults in the regional championships.

Riding for the Disabled – Horse Expo’s nominated charity – put on an excellent demonstration with two confident riders.

Kelsie Collins, an amputee with one arm, did several jumping circuits on her horse Daniel and impressed with her determination and riding courage.  Like all great riders, when she had a spill mid-air, she climbed straight back in the saddle and carried on. And young Lucy-Jane Spiers on Ben demonstrated some of the physical therapy exercises. The enjoyment of these riders with their ponies showed on their faces and was heartening to watch. Horse Expo proudly supports RDA with a percentage of the gate take from each event (still to be finalised at date of publication). 

Polocrosse took centre stage at 1pm with a four chukka game between the newly formed Redvale Club and Counties of South Auckland.  Spectators were surprised by the range of ages of the players, and enjoyed the speed and agility of the riders and ponies.  The game is like a combination of polo, lacrosse and netball - on horseback.  An excellent commentary explained the rules of the game and illustrated how family-oriented the sport is.

Two lively displays which delighted the crowd were the Kidz Kartz & Pony Trust and the NZ Mounted Games Association.

The Kidz Kartz riders always have fun and are entertaining to watch.   Denice Goldsworthy and her team are to be congratulated on introducing us all to this great sport.
The Mounted Games display featured predominantly Rodney riders, and spectators enjoyed egging on the teams who flew up and down the arena popping balloons, picking up litter, doing mug and flag games.

Mounted Games is an equestrian ‘extreme’ sport involving high-speed manoeuvres by both horses and riders, sometimes involving obstacle courses. Horses are prized for their speed and agility around the course.  Integral in Mounted Games is sportsmanship and team play, and games are played at all levels from pony club through to international competition. It’s great fun for both riders and spectators.
Again, here in Rodney we are fortunate to have some of the top people in Mounted Games, including New Zealand Mounted Games team coach Margaret Welsby, and National Pony Club Games coach Sophie Wilkinson.

The many breeds on show at Horse Expo were of great interest.

These included the adorable donkeys (both miniature and large) and the equally fluffy Icelandic ponies - both ‘work-horses’ in their own right.  The Icelandics’ unique tolt and pace gaits and intelligent, sensible nature are very appealing.

The Haflinger (a cross between an Arab and the Tyrolean Pony) is a striking looking breed, originally bred as a mountain work-horse in its native Austria.  Shetlands showed in their many guises - from children’s riding ponies, to harness animals and pit ponies.

A display of two Peruvian Pasos was complete with authentic costumes from Peru.  The horses seemed to float across the arena and are reputed to be the smoothest ride of any breed.  The crowd were able to hop on and try out the unique action themselves after the display.

Read a report from the 2006 Horse Expo.