COUNTRY MUSIC We're the Wilson sisters. We live and breathe horses. Vicki's the oldest. Vicki's crazy. every year, she comes out with something new. I love extreme, a little bit dangerous, something different. Kelly, she's the girly one, the princess. It'll be one of those storybook endings, where you're even better at the competition than you are at home. And then there's me, Amanda. Amanda's always been the mischief maker. Today I'm making a very special treat for Lukas. Mmm. That's awesome. Me and my sisters are on our wildest ride yet. (WHINNIES) Ow, my face. We're competing in NZ's first-ever Kaimanawa Stallion Challenge, and there's less than four weeks to go. Dream team right here. There's been some rough rides, but these horses are really stepping up. Oh my goodness! Copyright Able 2015 COUNTRY MUSIC Tonight ` (LAUGHS) Argh! ...diving head first into a magazine shoot. That's nice. It's a bit scary, cos we're quite private and quiet people. Hitting a roadblock. We still have major issues. (SNORTS) And the risks of going public. He's gonna try and jump out. So there's always, sort of, that question mark about how it's gonna go. Chase him back. Chase him back. Vicki! I'm awake. I thought we didn't have to be ready till 9. Yeah, and it takes a long time for you to look pretty! Ew, we're not wearing dresses, are we? Amanda, you need to start making yourself pretty. I am pretty. It's horrendous trying to organise their lives. They will leave it to the last minute. My book about our childhood and our previous work with wild horses is coming out in a few weeks. And today Woman's Weekly is coming out to interview us, so the ponies have to be clean, and we have be looking pretty. I don't think you're supposed to put it on the bottom. No. Really? Do you put it over the top? You don't wanna look like a stripper. This is the longest time it's taken me to get ready for anything. No wonder people spend an hour in front of the mirror every day. It's no wonder we that don't see Kelly till lunchtime. Vicki, don't. Oh my God, you're so annoying. You're annoying. She just takes the piss on purpose. She's not taking the piss. This is Vicki trying. This is the first time Vicki's ever tried to put on her... It's the first time I've done it that way. Thank you. I could be a little sensitive, but it's a pretty big day for me. I'm really excited about the book. It was cool seeing the draft, but now that it's actually in finished book format, it's, like, oh, OK, you know, it looks really cool. I don't think I have a thank you. Ow. Phar Lap. Don't do that. Ow! Kelly, be careful. Ow, my ear, actually burnt it. OK. Be gentle. Mum, Screamer's eating your roses! It's my blueberries! Oh, your blueberries. (LAUGHS) Isn't he the cutest! Watch him get smacked. Why is she patting him? She loves him, secretly. POP MUSIC 'Damn. We could get some dates looking like this, if we weren't so picky.' I could never, ever date a butcher. Any guys watching, if you're a butcher, that's a deal-breaker. A plumber too. A plumber. Anything else, Kelly? A dentist. A dentist? You need a doctor. Well, if I get a boyfriend, I want a fully trained one. ALL LAUGH POP MUSIC 'We're finally ready for the photo shoot, but up first is a chat with the journalist.' It's great. Beautiful visuals. Theo's trying to bite the paper. (LAUGHS) Are you not following the story? You want your own book, don't you, Theo? How does it feel for you all to see your story in a book, like this? It's crazy. It's pretty amazing when it comes out like that, yeah. < It's weird that people would read about us. The journey takes a lot emotionally out of you, and you get very attached. Like, we have a better bond with the wild horses after three months than we do with our showjumpers that we've owned for five years. For a change, it's not the horses out of their comfort zone but us. Nice. It takes a very good cause to get me and Vick in a dress. Kelly owes us big time. I feel like I'm about to fall off the log. The whole thing is a different type of experience for us. OK, one more time. The same thing one more time? It is fun, and at the same time it's really... ...a bit scary, cos we're quite private and quiet people. (LAUGHS) Argh! This sort of opportunity, you're lucky to get once in a lifetime. ALL LAUGH I like this last one, actually. I do like that. BOTH: Wow. The publicity is a really great way to promote the Kaimanawas, and with just four weeks till the challenge, it really shows how far they've come since the muster. Well, most of them. I had no idea what I was in for when I saved Elder. Our relationship started well,... We're gonna be besties, you and me. ...then went downhill fast. Oh, He's crazy, man. (WHINNIES) I'm not going in that paddock again. He's terrifying. He had terrible feet problems. And then things finally began to look up. This is the first time I've ever done this. I think we're finally getting somewhere. Well, not exactly. (SNORTS, WHINNIES) Oh. All right. Trying to tame Elder has truly been a lesson in patience. But for now, I'll give him some time off, and then we'll try again later. And when we come out the other side, it'll be so rewarding and so worth the journey. I would hope that, you know, we have this incredible bond by the end of it. Elder loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. (WHINNIES) (LAUGHS) He loves me not. (SNORTS) (SNORTS) I'm the only one left with two challenge horses, but Hoff's had serious teeth and head injuries, so I'm not rating my chances with him. It's hard enough just catching him. You got my back? He's got my front, and that's what I'm scared of. I've got your back. Argh! I can't do it! Kelly, I can't do it! Amanda, don't run. He's just learned that he can intimidate you. Back up. Just walk towards him. No, you walk towards him. No, I'm good. < Yeah, well, if he didn't friggin' charge at me, I would. Back up. Keep backing up. Actually, let's put Anzac in between us. Whoa, whoa. (LAUGHS) OK. Our horse shield. (CHUCKLES) Kelly, you keep the horse there, and I'll go underneath and get the rope. Even with Anzac between us, I'm still terrified. Kelly, He's leaving. What the hey! I got him. I got him. He's tried to attack every single person. Like, you can be miles away, he'll try and come over the fence at you, so I know where Amanda's coming from. Hoff's doing my head in. I have no idea what to do. Honestly, I just wanna quit. At 14, Hoff's had a long life of physical problems, but if he holds on to that memory of that pain, He's not gonna improve. What are you gonna do with him? I dunno. I don't wanna put him down, but Mum said that there's really not a lot we can do with him. I feel like you're this close. (CHUCKLES) Bollocks! No, if you can get past the pain. We've taken away a lot of pain even with what we've done, and we still have major issues. You're gonna have to push him through it and` Kelly, I can't! I've spent... ages. And I don't trust him, and I also doing think he enjoys it, and I certainly don't. I like Hoff. That's the problem. So work him for two or three weeks, and if he's not making progress, turn him out for a few months and try again. OK. ROCK MUSIC I think we're all feeling the pressure now that the competition's so close. You've got to get the basics down to avoid total embarrassment, but to have a chance of placing, you really need something special to wow the crowd. And down. I'm teaching Anzac to bow. (CHUCKLES) You really have to be this good on the day. Ooh! (LAUGHS) I lost my stirrup. It's Anzac's first canter in a saddle and bridle. Oh! That's so cute. (LAUGHS) My first canter. He's even jumping for the first time. He's way more talented than I thought he would be. You've got hope for you yet. He did it, like, six times. We're the dream team. Could be the ones to watch. But not if Screamer's got anything to do with it. (BLEATS) (BLEATS) DOG BARKS (BLEATS) ROCK MUSIC At least if Screamer was a competitor, we'd know what we were up against. I could do that with Anzac. I don't know. We're putting in a little Facebook time to follow some of the other trainers. Someone sent me a link. Oh, this is fantastic. See, and they bow. He has all of Anzac's tricks. But better. > It stays down. I don't get how they get them to stay down. Practice, Kelly. He's taught it to lie down. How cool's that? We've got some serious work to do. 1 The countdown's on, so there's no time to start changing performance plans, but that's just what Vicki's been forced to do. Because of my fractured wrist and collarbone, I've, kind of, had to change what I was going to do. I can't stand up on Argo any more, but I've got a new invention, and I'm about to test it. Let's go. Trot on! LAUGHTER I'd like a stronger trot. That's better. And we should canter! I don't know how Argo holds her. It's a little bouncy. Please work on your canter. Canter on. Trot faster! Trot faster! Keep pulling! That is a good trot. Thank you, ladies. I quit! Keep trotting! At the gate's when I quit! Hot damn. Any girls will be in love with you. But looks aren't everything. There's going to be hundreds of people watching the Stallion Challenge, and after seeing the flash moves of the other trainers, I have to face the truth. My plan for Nikau is... I don't even know. Maybe if I just plan a performance and make it look cool, it can disguise my bad training. Eh, boy? Let's go, Mustang. My horse is gonna learn to go without hands. What do you mean, you're gonna cut your hands off? Usually, Nikau and I have the basics sorted. Get your horse away from me! But today, that's not even happening. Far out. What? Naughty, eh? Huh? He's naughty. See, why is he doing this? It's a disaster. I have no flash moves, and I can hardly ride my horse. He's just bipolar. ROCK MUSIC But there's no way I'm giving up. DRAMATIC MUSIC Oh my goodness! He's totally into jumping,... and he's a natural. Good boy! He's getting the idea, learning how to canter. I can't believe it. If he jumps like this in the challenge, I think we could do quite well. I finally have a plan. Yes! He's actually getting really cute. GUITAR MUSIC SEAGULLS SQUAWK Our wild horses also have to learn to behave in other environments, but apparently, Anzac didn't get the message. The sense of freedom's gone to his head. The first time he was just playing cos, you know, he was scared of the water coming up underneath him, but the second time... he fully went for it, man. He wanted me off. He's never done it before, and with the competition so close, it's really worrying. With that in mind, Kelly's decided it's her costume, not her horse, that may have to charm the judges. I found this awesome monarch butterfly. And it's, kind of, perfect with his colour, and it shows the transformation of Kaimanawas coming out of the wild and how far he's had to adapt, so I kinda think it will really look amazing. Whoa, Kelly, what's that picture for? For inspiration. When are you gonna start dieting? (LAUGHS) I'll wear the wings without the underwear. Really? With, like,... With the underwear. Yeah, clothes on top of the underwear. Oh. Hmm. Might cause a bit of a sensation if I just wore the underwear. I don't know if you can pull it off. Are you actually doing sketches? I am. Cool, eh? You should probably think about what you're doing for your costume. I just wanna train my horse. I've been practising on Argo with no bridle, just using my hands to steer him, my voice, and holding on with my legs. Left-hand turn. Good boy. Walk. Doing to him what she's doing right now is something she's never tried before, having no gear on at all. It's considered the most complicated thing you can teach a horse. Keep finding it. Then we should walk on. There you go. Just like that. It's embarrassing just how much we suck in comparison. I need, like, an umbrella now to keep the sun off me. Argo, you holding on? Cos if you take off, I have no control. So you must stay. You must like me enough to stay. Here we go. Good boy. The fact that you can hold an umbrella over a horse's head is pretty amazing. I don't know if any of our other horses could cope with that. You can be Mary Poppins. That would actually be the coolest thing out. You're going to fall off, break ya arm again. OK, Argo. Whoa. Argo. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Good man. OK. You're on your own. I'm on my own. Good boy. We should keep trotting. Oh, I like my pony. She's had horses for years and years that she's trained, and she hasn't even been able to achieve this. And Argo was a wild stallion only a few months ago. It's actually so impressive to watch. I mean, I'm just sitting here completely amazed and envious. (LAUGHS) The things she can achieve with horses is phenomenal. Walk up. OK, we got it. OK. At this point I don't think we can do anything to beat Vicki. No. No way. (WHIMPERS) Oh! I did it! Yes! Canter. But there's still a skill this dream team hasn't mastered. I think we'll do our lying down trick. Down. Doesn't listen, does he? What am I gonna do? We might have to restart this training programme. OK, let's go again. Walk on. Walk on. And now we have to go back in, back in, and we go down. Good. Down. Good boy. I think you're failing. No, I'm not failing. I'll show him. He looks like he might do it. > He's gonna do it. Yes! You're so good! Did you see that? That was only cos I showed him what to do. Did you see that? Not many horses would do what he does. 1 It's been four months since the muster, and I've made little headway with Hoff. He hates me in that paddock area, that's where he's the most vicious, so I thought if I can, sort of, befriend him in this environment, then hopefully, you know, he'll just see that I'm not out here to hurt him, because most of the time I'm coming out to the paddock, it's to chase him into the stables. I wanna sleep, I'm so tired, but I have to look up every, like, 30 seconds, because I'm scared that he's gonna be, like, standing over me. And, oh, I wouldn't even know what to do if he came close, cos I'd be too scared to move. So I do have to be careful. His reluctance to make any progress has led me to a big decision. It's way too late for Hoff to even have a chance in the challenge, so I've asked Vicki to step in for me and see if she can do anything to help. (SNORTS) ROCK MUSIC Even Vicki thinks he's dangerous, um, and thinks that, you know, we're quite limited in what we can do with him safely. Argh! Vicki! Argh! We can't even give Hoff away as a paddock mate, because his first instinct if you get too close is to run at you. What you doing? No, thank you. He can be really really well behaved for 15 minutes, and then suddenly, he'll flip a switch. Hey. Hey, don't do that. Hoff is really unpredictable, so you never know what you're gonna get. Hey! Hey, don't do it. Good boy. It could be because Hoff's an older stallion, it could be because of the teeth pain ` we've had a lot of issues with his teeth; it could be psychological, it could be in his head forever, and it might not change. All we can do for him now is to turn him out in the top paddock, let him go on the hills for a couple of months and see if there's any improvement. BIRDS CHIRP Usually, it's only horse trucks in our driveway but today Kelly's got a special delivery. Who's it from? Random House. READS: 'Dear Kelly, Vicki and Amanda, warmest congratulations on the publication of 'For The Love Of Horses. Best wishes, Alex, Raewyn and the team at Random House.' Oh! That's nice. So cool. RATTLING TAPE RIPS Kelly's books have only arrived a day before her book launch, so there's not much time to get them all signed. We've got another 200 to sign. You're kidding. No, we have to do them all tonight. Ohhh! Amanda, can you start with those piles, Vicki start here? No way. Yep. Mm. OK. FOLKSY MUSIC That moment right there, where it all started. It's so weird to actually read back over where we've come from, like that photo there of us in Kumeu. Was I 4 years old? I was the cutest 4 year old in the world. What happened? You were very cute. I love this photo. ALL LAUGH Yep, thousands of books filled with a lifetime of memories. GENTLE MUSIC Kelly's book launch is in Matakana, but that's not all that's on show ` we're giving the Kaimanawas a trial run before Equidays. It's just a chance to get the Kaimanawas out and about before the challenge, which is only two weeks away. With the wild horses, there's always concerns about bringing them out into the public. Plastic bags can flap or, you know, things can move, or there can be loud noises. It's completely out of our control, so there's always that question mark about how it's gonna go. But first up it's the book launch, and way to go, Kelly ` it's packed out. It has been an absolute wild ride, and we're going to do a reading today. READS: Wild stallions are the stuff of legends, and as little girls, we had dreams of taming wild horses. 'Two years ago when we started the journey with the wild horses, no one really knew about them. 'Like, this kind of event, the book launch, the chance for the public to see them, 'the Kaimanawa Stallion Challenges in two weeks ` 'the publicity and the recognition that the wild horses are getting now is massive, and it really... 'it will save lives, because more people will be rehoming them, 'and so that's actually a really cool feeling.' Oh, it's so cool, isn't it? Who would have thought? (LAUGHS) Now it's our Kaimanawas' turn in the spotlight. I'd just like to thank you for all attending, cos it's a fantastic opportunity to get our wild Kaimanawas out here, just to get used to the public before our first competition. It's a much larger crowd than we expected. BLUES MUSIC So the big question is, will Argo sit down on request? SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC Vicki's a hard act to follow. Kelly's up next, and going bridleless is a big risk to her control. SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC Doing something at home, and then doing it out in the public in an area they're not used to ` it's so different. APPLAUSE, WHISTLING It looks like Anzac's beach bucking was a one-off ` Kelly's got round, no problems. Anzac, of all of the horses, I thought he might be the most claustrophobic and get really, kind of, worried in this kind of environment, but he was totally fine. And now it's my turn. (CLICKS) (SNORTS) (SNORTS) I'm gonna fall off in front of so many people. Ooh. He's definitely giving me some grief, even though the abscess on his wither has cleared up. Guess I've got some bad habits to break. There's not a lot I can do. I don't wanna risk jumping him. It kind of brought out how green he is still and how much more work I need to do with him. Equidays, I don't have huge expectations, because I know that it's very easy to get disappointed, um, and things can go wrong. Horses are horses and very unpredictable.