1 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, like, definitely the boss. Vicki's crazy. Every year she comes out with something new. I love extreme. Fast, a little bit dangerous, a little bit scared. Kelly ` 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 entertainer, if you will. ALL LAUGH I lassoed me a man! We're competitive... I got it! I got it. That was me. ...and a little outrageous. Excuse me, it's a surprise. It's a surprise. And I have a bikini on. Me and my sisters are on our wildest ride yet. We've got to tame our Kaimanawas in time for NZ's first ever Wild Stallion Challenge. It's probably one of the most terrifying things I've done. We're going to prove to everyone these horses are worth saving. Copyright Able 2015 Tonight, a daunting decision. He is in agony. He hasn't got a little toothache. Check this out. The bets are on. My horse is gonna be ridden by little kids in a week. In one week? Bullshit. And call me a medic. Just mangled. It's just mangled meat. UPBEAT COUNTRY MUSIC The day's finally arrived. We want to ride our wild stallions for the first time. What's happening? Aw, he says, 'I don't like this place.' I haven't ridden Argo yet, but I've managed to lie on him a few times, and, uh, riding him today, it's a whole new story. (SNORTS) We stand still, remember? No. I know it's scary being in a new place and all. There we go. Now we come... to my neck. Good boy. Aw! You're so good. Hey, Argo, shall we go for a walk? I think we should. GENTLE MUSIC What the heck is this, Nikau? (CLICKS TONGUE) Vicki makes it look really easy, but I think if I try to ride my biter Nikau today, I think we're just going to freak each other out, so I'm just gonna let him enjoy himself. That's the happiest I've seen him the whole time. I'm taking it slow, but Kelly's keen to up her game, or just get up. I'm gonna try and ride Anzac. It's` And it's baby steps, like, I'd be happy if I just lay across his back today, but even just getting him used to the weight is probably quite a big step for him. So, straight up. (CLICKS TONGUE) Come on, boy. Yep, and I hold all your weight. Good boy. Really? Cos I'm pretty sure I'm holding my own weight and my Achilles is killing me. OK. And again. Just up. Don't go across. Don't go across. Good. OK. This time you go up 50/50. 'It's an incredibly unusual thing for a horse to accept a rider. It's not normal.' Anzac, he's had a herd and had mares and foals, and he's had to look after them. They're trained instincts are to react. That does really play a part in our breaking-in process. Are you ready? Here we go. Oh my goodness, Kelly. One step. And again. I think he thinks you weigh like a whale. I do weigh like a whale! (LAUGHS) Argo being younger is an advantage, I guess ` a lot happier to accept new things and follow a leader. First canter! The beach is an incredible adventure. I want it to become a partnership, and he'll come away from this wanting more. He'll want to go out all the time now, cos it's fun. Isn't it? Really fun. I think you're kinda giving them a new life. GENTLE MUSIC Hey, little man. Unfortunately, Vicki's other Kaimanawa, Doc, is showing no sign of accepting his new home. You're not going to let me any closer, are you? We know Doc's problem is pain-related because of the noise he makes. It's called wind-sucking. Good boy. It's OK. I have to come in here. (SNORTS) They draw in air, or wind, through their jaw, and it relieves the pain. It becomes a habit for them. (SNORTS) I didn't touch you, dude. What do you want me to do, little man? We can't let him continue like this. We're taking him down to the vet in Auckland. It could just be his teeth, but I want to rule out any other possibilities. UPBEAT MUSIC HORN HONKS Vicki's got lessons to teach, so me and Mum are the ones hitting the road. Come on, Doc. You've been off before. Watch you head. Come on. This may just send him through the roof. Hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey! (SNORTS) It's all right, matey. Before he can be examined, Doc needs to sedated. Mum used to be a veterinary nurse, so he's in capable hands. Good man. Oh good! I'm a genius. I've done it. (EXCLAIMS) Bit scary. My heart's going flat out. The exposed root canal and broken teeth are not the only things the dentist and vet are worried about. Can you see that? The lines running through? Yeah, so they're just gonna snap off? They're all breaking off on those lines. One day will he lose them all? I think they're all gonna break, yeah. The cracks show just how sensitive poor Doc's teeth must be. He's been wind-sucking to ease the pain. Doc might need root canals on all his teeth. You know, it's not fair on him to do the whole lot, you know? It's your cost, his pain. Yeah. It's the pain he has to live with in the meantime, until it can be done. Yup. Exactly. Poor Doc. He's miserable. It's very disappointing. GENTLE COUNTRY MUSIC I guess we can head home. We've got a big decision to make. Although he's Vicki's challenge pony, we're all involved. So the option is either we just go for the surgery and see if it makes a difference, and if it doesn't, then put him down` He's gonna wind-suck for the rest of his life, and every time a tooth goes, he's gonna be in agony. I think that if you do the surgery and you fix his tooth, it's gonna be two months till you have to fix three more teeth, and it's the pain leading up to it and during the surgery, and afterwards. It's not gonna be fair on him. I vote put him down. OK, well, Amanda` Yeah? ...your horse also had lines in your teeth. Your horse too. Nikau. Terribly. I've looked through photos. Are you gonna put him down? They're way worse than Doc's, so are you going to put him down? Any horse that's in pain should be put out of its misery. Kelly, no other horse wind-sucks. Simple. Elder and Hoff and Nikau do not wind-suck. They're not miserable. He is in agony. He hasn't got a little toothache. What the hell? You shouldn't be` Oh my goodness. You wouldn't let the vet clip your horse. What the hell's wrong with you? Kelly, come on. That was pathetic. Kelly, when they die, it is instant. > He's not gonna die thinking, 'Damn it, I wish my hair grew back. I feel so ugly. 'This is not how a man is supposed to die.' Oh my gosh! How are guys attracted to this? SLAP! I think he's the most... ALL LAUGH I think the horse has to come first, no matter what. Warwick and the vet both said put him down. I think I value the vet and Warwick's opinion before any of yours. (LAUGHS) They do know what they're talking about, unfortunately. (EXHALES) I don't like giving up. I think it's awful that we're quitting on him, but I don't think he should be out there doing that in the paddock. We've agreed to follow the dentist and vet's recommendation and put Doc down. If only it were that simple. Now, we have a problem with little Doc, my little black horse who's been chosen for the challenge. The horse charity running the Wild Stallion Challenge also need to agree on what they think is best for Doc. ELDER: If I could speak to the vet and get something from them saying they recommend that because of what they've found, this is the way it should go. Yeah, well, I'm just concerned about his welfare, and he needs to be happy, and he's not. And I'm sorry. Yeah, me too. OK, dear. Bye. Thanks, Elder. Bye. REFLECTIVE MUSIC A few days later, I heard back from the horse charity. They've agreed that trying to fix Doc will still make him suffer,... You're being very brave. ...so as hard as it is, we have to put him down. Come on. You're very very slow. Come on. Come on. I'm bringing him in for the last time. This is genuinely not a happy horse. (SNORTS) This is it, Doc. (SNORTS) We need to walk up the hill now. SOMBRE MUSIC I'm sorry, dude. Very sorry. He's been put down. There'll be people that will judge us for it. There'll be people that would judge us for it if we didn't do it, so it's a decision that we've had to make for his welfare, and I'm not prepared to have a horse that's unhappy, and it's definitely a decision we haven't made lightly. With Doc gone, Vicki's throwing all her energy into Argo, her remaining challenge stallion. So for my challenge, I want to teach him to go on harness. And so my first step to do that is to teach him how to long rein and cope with ropes on his side. So scary (!) This is like going to the gym every day. (LAUGHS) She's just running like a rooster. Dude, she's kicking our butt. Walk, boy, and whoa. Whoa. Isn't he amazing? Beat that, Amanda. I can't beat that. I can't get on my horse. Trot on. Trot on. Competition definitely gets Vicki's blood going. Trot! We can long rein, we can ride, we can lunge, we can float, we can pick up feet, we can shoe, and we can clip! Yeah, whatever. I'm not afraid to put pressure on my horses so they learn quicker ` or my sisters, for that matter. One week, my horse is gonna be pulling something on the ground. OK, Kelly? You pick up all four feet and hold them in the air for a minimum of 20 seconds and trot your horse, I will give you $100 cash. In seven days? Seven days. All four feet, 20 seconds per foot, plus trot your horse 100m. That's a really dumb bet. No. Cos I'm totally gonna nail that. Those are fighting words, Kelly, for someone who can't even find their way out of a bucket. My foot's stuck in the bucket! < You guys need to up your game. I am upping my game! My horse is gonna be ridden by little kids in a week. In one week? Bullshit, Kelly. It will be! I'll get started right now. Come on, Anzac. We've got feet to pick up. Good man. No? If you get kicked by these guys, it's pretty bad. I'm the only one with my original teeth around here, and I'd like to keep it that way. Vicki laid me a challenge that I couldn't get all four feet picked up and I couldn't trot him within seven days, and within 15 minutes I have all four feet picked up, so now I just have to trot him. OK, let's get on him. Yeah. How cool is this? Like, just the coolest little pony. I can just get on. Who just gets on her wild stallion? I should, like, keep it a secret and not tell Vicki and Amanda and they'll be, like, 'Whoa!' That will be cool, hey? (SNORTS) While Vicki and Kelly are aiming to trot and pull stuff, I'm not even in the same paddock as my grumpy old Hoff. At this stage, I've only touched his head, and about 50% of the time he tries to bite me. I feel like I'm, kind of, a lot safer, like, obviously I have a fence between me right now, but` (SNORTS) Oh! OK, never mind. (LAUGHS) Hoff! That is not how you make friends. In the arena, the competition's on. Time's up for Kelly to show Vicki what she's got. Before I do that, I'm just going to show you this. OK. COUNTRY MUSIC What a cool pony. Mate, why are we backing up? Dude! (LAUGHS) OK. No, well, we can do it properly. He was just being weird. Well, here you go. Can you do this? Back up, Argo. Well, that backfired, but that was just an added extra. All I really have to do is get him trotting. (CLICKS TONGUE) That horse is not interested in trotting. He's on a leisurely stroll. Don't, Vicki. Please do not kick him up the bum. Get out of my space. I'm not gonna kick him up the bum, Kelly. He needs someone to go up behind him so he goes forward. Yeah, well, not you and Argo. Well, what are you going to do? Walk for all day? Get out of my space, Vicki! I'm leaving! She'll be walking all day. I think my bet's safe. OK, Argo. Good boy. We've actually changed the bet. If Vicki can get her horse to pull something while she's riding him, I have to muck out all afternoon. And if I can trot my horse, then she has to shoe him. Go! Run! Oh, Kelly, you're trotting! I am. This is perfect. We just have to get hay for everything we want to do. I'm a stallion whisperer. That's pretty cool, Vicki. We're equal. I will muck out every yard this afternoon. That's it ` done. All these? Spotless. To my standard. I can do that. It's like a free gym workout. OK. No problem. Don't get a body like this from sitting in my room the whole day. BOTH LAUGH OK, let's see what mood we're in today. (SNARLS) Oh! I'm starting to take it personally. He just... (LAUGHS) He just doesn't like me. Hoff, what's going on, eh? What's going on in there? Vicki, I don't know what to do. What are you gonna do? Yeah. Like, I feel like, what, we've been over four weeks? And I'm pretty much at the same stage I was` No further ahead? Nah. There's something going on in his mouth. I know, and I hardly do anything with him cos` But he could have fractured his skull with the hole in his head, or he's got teeth issues. It's really hard seeing him this unhappy, because, like, the whole point when we took him out of the muster was to give them another chance at life. It's gonna be OK, Amanda. Why are you upset? I don't know. It's just very disappointing. He's not enjoying it at all. Can I please have a look at the teeth? Hey, hey, hey, hey. Stay there. Stay there. Stay there. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. He's not biting us. That's a bonus. Be careful. Let me have a look. Man, he balls the grass up, Amanda. I know. (SNIFFS) It's fresh grass. Having already lost one Kaimanawa to teeth issues, Vicki's in full investigation mode with my stallion. We can all but try, right? The gag holds his mouth open... We need to get water in there first. ...so she can flush out all the grass and get a closer look at his teeth. That is really` He's not digesting it well, is he? That mouth is a mess. Oh, there you go. < What? OK, so there's` whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa. < Hop down, please. On the bottom tooth, it's going right up into the top of his jaw. He has a hole going to the gum. See that white tooth? There's a hole in front of it I can put my finger down into. So help me, she's even giving me courage. It will go over the ridge and straight down to the gum. Oh, yeah. Can you do that? Yeah, I can feel the gum. Yeah. That's why the grass is balling up, cos he can't process it past there. Wait a minute. It's just jammed. Why? I don't know. You'll have to ask Warwick. I'm not a dentist. Could have fooled me! But now we know there's a problem, we can get the real dentist in. See? He's completely softened. That's pretty remarkable. As soon as he starts relaxing, he'll become your friend, and he'll actually learn to like it. Such a pretty face. Have fun. I've never seen Hoff so relaxed, so there could be some hope after all. Kelly, your mucking out will take probably two hours. I think it will be quicker for her to shoe my horse than it will be for me to muck out her yards, so I think I got the shitty end of the deal. I'll watch you for a bit. This is entertaining. look at her go. She's an inspiration to us all. This is quite a novelty, really. Kelly doesn't really muck out. She's our little princess. (LAUGHS) Good job. Got 37yd to go. Anzac better enjoy his new shoes after all this. Well... You missed a big spot. Where? Just everywhere. I could watch Kelly work all day, but I can't put off my first ride on my stallion Nikau forever. Good boy. Amanda, you can't just be everywhere at once. Either I hold the face or you hold the face. Wait, wait. (GIGGLES) You hit me with your hand! (SIGHS) Nikau! Oh, he's going to kick me. Everything you do is stiff. OK. Relax. Yeah. Like, really relax. Oh, you look like you're very proud. I am proud. Just a little, little, little walk. Oh my goodness. Did it fit? Yep. Go. Better. OK. Stop now. And stop. You haven't trained him to voice commands. (WHINNIES) Idiot! I said stop. (LAUGHS) Horses can definitely feel and sense how you react around them. If you're nervous and you're worried or scared, then yes, it's definitely going to go straight though to the horse. He, like, bunted me! (LAUGHS) What does Vicki not understand about the word stop? I'm swapping horses and sisters. I'm hoping my favourite wild boy, Tullock, is going to boost my confidence. Let's just go for a little walk. Remember, if he freaks out, you've gotta stop him. Wild horses in particular are very reactive and sensitive. The difference between a domesticated horse and a wild Kaimanawa is they haven't had people; they haven't had boundaries set. Turn. Oh, he's a bit jumpy. They get scared, they get a fright ` their first reaction is to run. (NEIGHS) Ah, the joys of a stallion. You do have to be very careful not to forget that they are wild. DRAMATIC MUSIC ENGINE REVS Ripped her arm off. Just... real bad bite to the arm. (SNIFFS) You all right there? You're a bit pale. I'm pale? I thought she was going to die. He ripped a whole thing out of the inside of her arm. I didn't even know` Was there any flesh? Did you bring it in with you? Ew. Was it flapped? < Or did he eat it? I don't know why I'm laughing. I've been too shocked to take my riding helmet off! So he's got big stallion hooks that are, like, razor sharp. So he's dug a canine tooth into her elbow and ripped it like a stallion would in the wild. That's how they rip each other's throats out. I just want to see the wound. That's the only reason I'm here. Just quietly. I won't touch it. It's going to hurt anyway, whether I do it or they do it. (BABBLES) I know it's going to hurt. Oh shit, it's` it's inside the wound. (WAILS) (CRIES) OK. It's inside the wound. It's closed up. It's literally in your elbow. You weren't telling me stories. (GASPS) Can you move your fingers? Yeah, she can move everything. That's good. You're very lucky. Incredibly lucky. > It's just mangled. It's just mangled meat. Cut my T-shirt. BOTH: They cut your T-shirt! They cut in a place where` I was going to make short sleeves. It's my favourite one. I'm sure we can get you another one. I'll buy you a new one. > I'll buy you a brand new one. Oh, come on! > I will! That's the whole point of it. Scars are cool. > No guy's going to look at you and be, like, 'Ew, scar on the inside of the arm. Turn off.' (LAUGHS) They're gonna be, like, 'Wow, she's a fighter.' Terrified of...? > OK. See ya, Kelly. OK. No more dramas for a week, please. We don't know the extent of the injury, but I know it's definitely going to knock her confidence back a lot. And it could risk her stallion competition that she might not make it, and it's definitely going to be hard.