UPBEAT COUNTRY MUSIC We're the Wilson sisters. We live and breathe horses ` we ride them, train them, show them... and fall off them. Vicki's the oldest. She's what we call the talent, because she's good at everything. Vicki took all the bravery in the family. I love extreme. Fast, little bit dangerous, little bit scared. Kelly ` she's like our media rep. And smile! She's the girly one ` the princess. If something's going to go wrong and I'm involved, it's drama times five. And then there's me, Amanda ` I'm the baby of the family. Amanda's always been the mischief-maker. I'm the entertainer, if you will. ALL LAUGH (EXCLAIMS) We're unorthodox,... competitive... I got it! I got it. That was me hitting it. That was me. There were two shots. ...and don't hold back. The hell is wrong with you? Oh my goodness. Me and my sisters are about to take on our wildest ride yet ` saving NZ's Kaimanawa horses and training them for the first ever National Wild Stallion Challenges, but there'll be casualties on both sides,... HORSE WHINNIES ...no guarantees of success,... Just very disappointing, and he's not enjoying it at all. My horse is gonna be ridden by little kids in a week. In one week? Bullshit, Kelly. ...and it might get a little out of hand. < Can you see? It's a surprise! And I have a bikini on. The name of the game is to tame our stallions in time for the challenge and prove to everyone these wild horses are worth saving. But can we do it? It's gonna be a wild ride. Tonight, the muster of the wild Kaimanawas begins. There's a foal. I can't believe they'd actually try to bring it in. But which six stallions can we save? Is the dapple grey with the long dreadlocks going to slaughter? And what unexpected news shocks us all? That sucks. It's a beautiful red sky on the morning of the muster in the Kaimanawa ranges. Get in shot, Amanda. Quickly! (EXCLAIMS) Is it snow? It's so exciting! Kelly and I are heading to the muster briefing at the army headquarters in Waiouru. I can barely see out my front window, and I can barely see out the back window, so I hope there's no car coming. I'm really excited but a little bit scared. These Kaimanawas are seriously wild. The country is just like the horses ` wild, rugged, beautiful. The ranges have been their home for over 100 years. Most were farm escapees or unwanted horses just dropped off on the desert road. Welsh ponies, thoroughbreds, Clydesdales; now the numbers have grown, and they're a real mixed bunch of wild horses. They can be small, but they're tough, competitive and have a free spirit that you just don't find in other horses. The opportunity to train a completely wild horse is so cool. OK, let's do this. Hello. It's only our second muster, but we've gotten to know the regulars pretty well. We are so excited you girls` I love` This is so cool. Nobody loves the wild horses more than Elder Jenks. He runs a charity that puts huge effort into giving them a bright future. It was the charity's idea to launch the first ever Wild Stallion Challenges this year. Not being awful, but if people outside were taking bets, who do you think they'd bet on? Oh, Vicki. There's no way` I don't have a hope in hell of winning. Oh, you do! No I don't. It'll depend on the horse you get. Yeah, but whatever horse I get, it might be able to do something cool with me, but if it was with Vicki it would be amazing, like... But I know Kelly, and she won't be giving up that easy. She's right, though. Our sister Vicki will be stiff competition. She's not at the muster even though she's the most experienced of us all,... You do realise 150 bales will only last us three weeks. ...because being the boss of our family business, she's gotta keep things running back in Northland. Unfortunately, it requires a little bit of work. Vicki's only 26, but she's a massive overachiever, and she never stops working. She's got a real knack with troubled horses. There is no life without horses. No, that is my life, and I absolutely love it. It all started, really` My mum and dad got me a little pony when I was 2, and I used to canter behind her out on the farm on a long rope. Uh, it wasn't until I was 8 that I got my first real pony, but as soon as we got it home, it was very wild and naughty, and she would bolt flat out towards the` (LAUGHS) towards home and then slam her brakes on at the gate, and I'd go sailing off over the gate. It's been a really really important part of the journey, and having young horses and problem horses has been incredible. Absolutely. Very very rewarding. Whoa. Harvey, you're scaring all my ponies. While Vicki's training the horses and running the kids' holiday camps, in Waiouru the briefing's begun. We're gonna talk about some of the places that we're gonna be at, and most importantly, some of the safety concerns that we need to pass on to you. The actual muster itself occurs entirely within the Waiouru military training ground. The NZ Army and Department of Conservation runs the musters every two years. They say limiting the herd numbers helps prevent over-grazing, over-breeding and too many sick animals. If they didn't muster, they'd have to shoot them to control numbers, which I think is a really sad way for the horses to die. The muster can't start till the weather clears, so we're taking a look at the map. We're hoping to find some inspiration for our new horses' names. I think that's a road. This is the army base here, so this is the Desert Rd. Look, Kelly, the name Lion King, which means I can call my two Timon and Pumbaa. You're not calling a horse Timon or Pumbaa. OK, so this is the Argo Valley. Yeah, so we'll call one Argo. There's a Thunderbolt Creek. Which is way the dumbest name I have ever heard in my life. No, it would be cute. The clouds are gone, the sun's up and we're rolling on down to the muster yards in the Argo Basin. Catalyst would be quite a cute name too. Catalyst? That's the dumbest name I've ever heard. Here, Catalyst! Here, kitty-cat, kitty-catalyst. So lame. Now, where are the horses? Yeah, they're right on the road! Look, look, Kelly, there's three just there, Kelly. Where? They're not on the road. Kelly, there's two right there, you idiot. Just there. There's three. Holy. It's amazing. We've got the best seats in the house ` overlooking the yards where the horses will come in. Oh, I'm so excited. HELICOPTER WHIRRS There's over 60,000ha at the military camp, so the horses will be coming in a long way. Here they come. There we go. And then they go left` Nah, they're going the wrong way now. Oh, they're going the wrong way. They don't know where to go. Sad. We can see the lead mares are trying to keep their herd together. It's incredible watching the horses come in, but it's so sad, because they have no idea their time in the wild is over. Oh, they've just come through the river. This is the tricky bit, trying to get them in. It looks frightening, but DoC believes using helicopters is the least stressful option for herding the horses. They're just coming round the corner, Kelly. It's totally random which horses are caught up in the muster, but DoC is hoping to round up 170 this year, leaving a sustainable 300 to roam free. Oh, look at these guys. They're getting grumpy. Life is over as they know it. You can clearly see just how wild they are. It really sucks that the old and the injured horses are going to have to be put down. Oh no, no! (EXCLAIMS) Look at that one go! It's giving him a good run for his money. He's escaping while the going's good. That's the first time I've seen that happen. MAN: It's the first time I've seen it here too. 1 Kelly and I are watching the wild horses come in at the Kaimanawa muster. Oh, but isn't it so nice to look down at the pens and know that, like, pretty much everything sterling that comes in isn't destined to go to slaughter. The horses coming down in the next lot are horses that we've most likely seen before. We photographed these lot in the snow last year, and I suppose it's because we've seen them in the wild before, and it's so hard watching them come in. Sadly, keeping mares and foals together isn't always possible. There's a foal. I can't believe they'd actually try to bring it in. They got split off from the herd. They` He couldn't keep up because he was too little and too young, and so the mother got mustered in... And the fact that they've even gone out to bring him back in. And he's just walking. He's just walking, look at him. The helicopter is going so slowly and so gently just so they're not rushing him cos his little legs don't go very fast. We have so much respect for DoC and the army and the helicopter pilots. They're just fantastic drivers. I mean, they have to be mustered, and that's sad, but, I mean, the way they do it, there` there's really no better way. I'm sure someone out there will` They'll find a cool home. And there's nobody keener to get these horses rehomed than Elder and his charity. They have two things going for them ` they're very intelligent, and the second one is they're different to other horses in as much as they bond with human beings. They bond, like, I'd say, a Labrador dog would do with you, and the reason mainly is these guys are` live their life as a family until the girls are old enough to pick a bloke and go form a new band, but, uh` So they've got this family thing going that other horses have had bred out of them, and so that's a big difference. The way it was going, they` the herd would double in size every four to five years, and the horses weren't in good nick. You'll see the horses today and you've seen them before ` they're coming out now in tremendous condition. The charity has created two wild stallion challenges to show these horses are just as clever and trainable as any other. Each of us are taking two stallions to train, and we'll compete in the challenges which are worth $50,000. Which is lots of money! (LAUGHS) It's expensive keeping horses and always a struggle. Vicki's the oldest, so she remembers how tough it was when we were starting out. We couldn't afford a saddle, so everything was bareback, and because we could never afford good horses or horses that knew what they were doing, everything was unbroken or had problems, and it was learning how to develop a feel for the horse. The first shows ` we used to do a lot of A & P showing and would` if we didn't win a ribbon, I would watch the next class and, like, 'What did I do wrong? How do I fix it?' Uh, cos winning was incredibly important, cos if I didn't win my entry fee money back, I wasn't allowed in the next show. from 14, Vicki covered our show expenses. She can transform an average horse into a champion. She's so driven, and that's what made our family business ` training horses and teaching riders. It won't make us rich, but when your hobby is your job, that's OK. Horses have improved me a lot, I believe. They've really taught me patience. I definitely love what I do, and I think I will never stop learning. LAID-BACK GUITAR MUSIC These horses are now sorted by their age and sex, so families are separated. Born free, they'll have no idea what's going on. The yards must be so confusing and stressful. This little guy is like a welcoming committee. HORSES WHINNY Then they'll draft out the best 20 with the vet. There's some real cute ones and then there's some real little ones. It'll be interesting to see what we get out of that, because out of that herd there's` some of them are a little bit small. If I could chose, I'd go for stallions that are over 140cm and somewhere between 4 and 8 years old. But we don't get to chose, so it's a bit of a lucky or unlucky dip. They haven't seen anything injured. Nothing looks lame. Nah. You` It's impossible to tell. It's not long before Kelly spots an old friend, and a Kelly drama begins. I photographed the grey in the snow last winter. Just seeing him come in today, it's pretty devastating, and because he's so old and he's come in lame, it's, you know, there's high chances he'll be going to slaughter. Amanda? What? I found a name for my horse. What? Elder. How perfect is that? Wow, that is cool. He's going to retire from Kaimanawa Heritage Horses this year, and he's been, like` A huge part of it. Yeah, that's so cool. Isn't it a cool name? That one's gotta come out of these ones. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) The vet's already sorting the horses for rehoming, and the oldest ones often don't make it, so I'm worried Kelly's chances of saving the old grey stallion, Elder, are drying up. The stats are in, and this year DoC have mustered in 162 wild Kaimanawas,... Get them up the next pen. Shut that gate! ...and they're wild, all right. Time for the ballot, which tells us which horses we'll get. Give them a really good mess-up. Can see why you're the major. (LAUGHS) It's the number nearest to ya. Number... six. Number six goes to Amanda Wilson. Hope he's a winner, cos I'm against 13 different trainers in the national competition. Number 11. 11 goes to Wara. Number seven. Seven goes to Kelly Wilson. Now that the rehoming ballots are done, the trucks are coming to take all the other horses to slaughter, so it's my last chance to step in and try and save Elder. Is the dapple grey with the long dreadlocks going to slaughter? Um, probably, yeah, at the moment he's` < What could` What's the reason for it? Just too old? Just old` old age, yeah. But confirmation he's all good? You're happy with that? Can I ` cos there's no room in the truck ` withdraw one of my stallion challenge horses? I think we've got enough horses, um, but... Um, yeah, if you want to do that. I'm so excited to save Elder and give him a second chance, and I can't wait to get him home, but to do so I've had to drop one of my horses from the stallion challenges. Uh, just because there's no room on the truck. You know, at the muster you have to make decisions that you can live with, and this is something I couldn't have walked away from. Apart from Elder, we've got no idea what our other Kaimanawas look like, or how Vicki will react to Kelly taking home an old, lame stallion. As our horses prepare to leave the only home they've ever known, none of us have any idea what we're in for. Thank you, NZ. Thousands of you have joined the conversation and shared a range of views on our flag. An independent Flag Consideration Panel has been appointed to take what you've said is special about NZ and use it to select four alternative designs to be ranked in this year's binding referendum. Next year's binding referendum is your opportunity to vote for the current flag or the preferred alternative. If you'd like to influence the selection of alternative designs, keep sharing what you think makes NZ special at standfor.co.nz 1 COUNTRY MUSIC At this year's Kaimanawa muster, we've been randomly assigned stallions to compete in the first ever National Stallion Challenges. We're amped about it. Only problem is, Kelly's already given up one of those stallions for a lame old grey. Now that we're meeting up with Vicki at the overnight resting yards, we're worried she'll flip out. (LAUGHS) It's about time. We've been waiting for over an hour. Kelly's already spilled the beans to Vicki over the phone about taking Elder, but I've got another surprise. You know how she saved Elder? Yeah? > Well, there was a grey stallion got put through to the sorting pen... Another one. A different one. Yeah, so we said, 'Oh, we'll take it.' We've named it Tulloch. Yeah, Tulloch, after John Tulloch the musterer. You're crazy. Oh my goodness. So you got two grey stallions that we didn't want? Yup, and after I` They're wanted. We want them. Shush! I went and told John Tulloch about it, he says, 'Oh, I bet he'll be a bastard of a horse.' I said, 'OK, thank you, John.' Vicki was not impressed. On top of the stallions and the two greys, we also saved three mares that needed to be tamed, and we have a business to run. (LAUGHS) Yeah. (LAUGHS) LAID-BACK MUSIC OK, so I just talked to Kaimanawa Heritage Horses. Every single stallion for the first time in history has been rehomed. Wow. OK, so I was really happy, like, happy happy about that. They've got mares and foals in the slaughter pen. Well` How many? Foals? Foals? Is it? Yeah, foals. How? They just didn't have enough trucks and didn't have enough homes, and there's foals left over in the slaughter pen. Sad. Yeah. Oh, I can't believe that they've sending foals in. That sucks. OK. Yep. Gonna be too late to save them too. Like, I know it's a very emotional thing what` everything that we've done, but just getting the news about the foals going to slaughter, it's kinda, like, makes you appreciate these ones a hell of a lot more. So I'm very excited to see what they are. HORSES WHINNY There's some pretty wild ponies in there, Kelly. You ready? Oh, the grey at the back's very pregnant. This one's cute as. It's like an army tank. Your grey's a bit cut up, Kelly. Aw, Vicki touched him. Vicki touched him before me. Vicki, you can't touch him before me. That's not fair. Well, he's got blood everywhere, Kelly. Well, they've had a pretty gruelling few days. Only 15 horses went to slaughter this year compared to 72 that went in the last muster, which is pretty amazing. Hopefully next time all the healthy horses will be rehomed. We got a phone call this morning, and it's really really good news. Uh, all the foals were saved, which is fantastic. And now we can't wait to check out our Kaimanawas. This chestnut I love. < You do? Mm. The bay colt and the black colt are both Amanda's, and then this big grey one here, big Clydie boy, that's mine, and the little chestnut mare beside it. So this is Elder ` the really really old boy that was going to slaughter. Oh gosh. He's, um, he's mine. In the wild he was impressive and strong and powerful, and he'll come back to that. It knocks them back a lot, the travel and the yarding process. ROCK MUSIC (CAJOLES HORSE) All the way! (ROLLS TONGUE) Vicki is so fearless. She's the only one of us brave enough to get in there. Hey! (MAKES HUSHING NOISE) It's OK. They're going. (CLICKS TONGUE) OK. Come on. (CLICKS TONGUE) Good. Isn't it sad? I hate that bit. Poor ponies. Although they scare me, getting on that truck must be terrifying for them. 24 hours ago they were running free ` no yards, no humans and no noisy trucks. Go. Hey, hey, hey. I'm really sorry, kids. REFLECTIVE MUSIC Vicki will be following close to keep an eye on them. So glad that we've got them out. Right now I'm glad. Might not be glad when they kick me and bite me. Every time he bites you I'm gonna be, like, 'Should have sent that one to slaughter'. And so an epic journey begins ` not only for the wild horses, but all three of us too ` from the cold of the Kaimanawa Ranges to the beaches of sunny Northland. I believe every horse has the chance to be a superstar, um, not necessarily just with jumping but with anything we do in life, and it's just allowing them to realise that potential.