JAUNTY 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. 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'll make a very special treat for Lukas. That's awesome. We've spent the last 20 weeks training the Kaimanawa stallions we saved from this year's muster. There's been casualties on both sides. It's just mangled meat. We've been flooded, forced to make some heartbreaking decisions... I'm sorry, dude. ...and faced some major hurdles. I dunno. It's just very disappointing, and he's not enjoying it at all. Tonight ` the country's first ever wild stallion challenge is here. We're taking three of our Kaimanawas to compete at Equidays, NZ's world-class equine extravaganza. So will all our hard work pay off? Oh my God. Like, it can go so wrong. It's all go. Our last-minute preparations for the challenge are under way, and I'm running out of time. Going through my assortment of... goodness knows what I'm wearing. I've got feathers, beads, whatever that is. We're going to Equidays very soon, and I don't have a routine. I have no idea what I'm dressing up as. KELLY: And you have no music. > I have no music. Probably should get on to that, eh. Ah, just hoping I can just go in there and luck it. You need to have a routine for your halter and your ridden. It took me probably an hour to figure out each, by trying to shuffle` Yeah, but we have different personalities. You plan; I do. What's gonna happen if I go in there and happen to pull it off with my supercool costume, which I haven't made yet... (LAUGHS) ...and my supercool routine, which I haven't planned yet, on my supercool horse, which I haven't trained yet, and I beat you? (LAUGHS) Well, it's gonna be so far-fetched, I'd be lost for words if it gets to that point. While I'm winging it, Kelly's planning on ticking all the boxes. Did you not read the email that we got last night... No. ...about how the whole event is structured? I see them come up, but I'm just like, 'Boring.' There's grass they might try and eat. Uh, what? There's grass` nah. See, you should know these things! What?! If you'd read all the information that you get emailed` Hold up. Stop, stop, stop. I thought we were doing it on a sand arena? You got emailed it out last night. Oh my gosh. A grass arena is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for Nikau. There's no way he's gonna listen to me. This is seriously bad news. Wooooow! Ha. Oh my God. Aren't I the cutest? All of my own. This? This? All of my own, guys. Does she look like Mary Poppins? I look like Mary Poppins. But don't you need a wide-brimmed hat? You wait, I'll` I'll get the music on, and you guys are gonna laugh. Dude, you actually did good. > If you put that skirt on, by the time you're on a horse, you're gonna be showing a lot of thigh. I know. Might get me extra points. Not that she thinks she needs them. I have the winner of the whole lot, who's gonna win the entire competition, and that's Argo. I think you should come and figure it out, just for five minutes, on paper. I don't need to figure it out. I'll just do what I was doing. You won't remember what you were doing on the day. No, I know what I'm doing. I freestyle. That's why it's called a freestyle performance` No, it's not. ...not an organised performance. Freestyle is what you choose or you put into it. Or a planned performance but a freestyle. Look, my horse backs up... Timing's really really important. You only have four minutes in the routine, so you have to have all your good moves in there, and if you go over time at all, the bell rings, so you get no points for anything over time. Why don't you just come in over the bridge, and then do two 20m circle figure of eights? OK, shut up. I'm doing my own thing. This is all me. Just do two 10m circles in each rein so it's like a figure of eight. Thank you, Kelly. I know what to do. And then trot all the way up` Kelly! I don't care! She doesn't even know what she's doing, so she's not going to be able to repeat it on the day, cos she has no plan, so the timing is always gonna be different. No, cos once I know the music and the cues, then I just go from that. The worse she goes, the better I'll get. (LAUGHS) It's her funeral. Down. Down. Hurry up, down. I've worked out he doesn't go down if he doesn't like the sand. Down. I can trot him straight to the sawdust and within two seconds straight on the ground. LIVELY MUSIC Hey, Amanda. We've been working towards the stallion challenges at Equidays for five months now, and it's departure day. Equidays is a very different competition to our normal shows. It combines all the equestrian sports, trade stands, a lot of clinics and demonstrations, so it's gonna be really exciting. We have to wash the horses, clean all our gear, make sure our entries are correct and we know where we're supposed to be when we're supposed to be. We've got a huge amount of gear. We've got eight saddles, probably about 15 lots of bridles. Everyone's pitching in. Even Dad's doing his bit for the competition. He's donating his favourite sculpture to the Stallion Challenge winner. Mum's got her hands full packing the trucks. Where's the safest place to put` to hang up anything that needs hanging? No, don't! It's got the little butterfly things on them, and they're back to back so they don't get squashed. OK, well I'll have to do a little adjustment in here, then. Can you imagine how much baggage we're gonna have? (GROANS) We're gonna have their bedding and their pillows and their clothes. Kelly's make-up bag would take up half the truck. (LAUGHS) COUNTRY MUSIC (HONKS HORN) Hurry up, guys! Mystery Creek, Hamilton, here we come. I just hope we're not all heading for public humiliation. TENSE MUSIC Having made it to Equidays, there's just one night between us and the first competition. It's too late. I mean, you can't change anything now. The horses are gonna go how they're gonna go, and it will be very telling what we've accomplished in the last five months. Quite excited about the challenge tomorrow. Um, it's gonna be really interesting. And things are definitely bound to go wrong, and it's never gonna be quite how we've planned it in our minds. There's gonna be a couple of surprises. Yesterday I thought it thought it was a vague possibility. Well, you think about it ` tomorrow's gonna be a completely different ball game with all those` < How? But Argo is perfect. ...all those people watching. I'm feeling really stressed. I don't even know what my costumes are, so tomorrow I'm just gonna pull it all out and slap it all on and hope it looks good. ROCK MUSIC It's day one at Equidays. PA: That is one high-headed cow. This is probably one of the biggest horse shows in the country. And we've trained some of the wildest horses on the planet. There's gonna be thousands of people watching. Oh my gosh, this could go so wrong. (LAUGHS) Yeah. OK, can we have muscle power, please? The first challenge for our once-wild stallions is the ridden class, and we're all battling the clock to get our horses ready in time. This is craziness. Mum is very stressed. Extremely stressed. When you're told to lie down, it would be really nice if you actually listened this time and actually decided to do it. Amanda's stress levels are right up there as well. He'll be dressed up, and I will be wearing... And I think Kelly's must be very close to that as well. KELLY: I actually have to make him get used to the wings, cos that is not something he's completely happy with. My biggest worry is to keep Argo relaxed enough so that he lies down on command. So I thought I'd just hop on him and school him a little with the bridle and just make sure he's soft and listening and relaxed. No, don't touch him! He's got hay on him. I don't care! I don't think I've ever felt this nervous, not` not even for, like, a big showjumping class. Feel like I'm gonna throw up. PA: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses inaugural Stallion Challenge. Next up, we have Tommy Waara. 12 of NZ's leading trainers are competing in the challenges, and I'm really feeling the pressure. My gosh, he's pretty jolly flash. It really makes us look like country bumpkins. Competition's fierce. I think what's happened is in the last six weeks people have stopped posting what they've been up to. It's not what I expected. I thought everyone would come in green. A lot of people coming out and giving us a bit of a fright. The competition's tough. Kelly's the first Wilson up. To show far Anzac's come, I've got 8-year-old Amelia riding him in my butterfly-themed routine. Anzac's a little bit unsure of the crowd. I don't think the wings are helping. But Mouse is handling him really well. It's awesome. It's incredible to be able to put an 8-year-old on a once-wild horse in this atmosphere. The gear's coming off, and she's about to get on. (SNORTS) Look at him. What a good boy. He's a pretty clever little fella. I can't believe Kelly's kicking my arse. What do you expect? She's done so much more work than you. What do you...? (LAUGHS) Funny. PA: That was Kelly Wilson and CopRice Anzac KH. It was gorgeous, Kelly. It was cute. Really cute. It's not as good as we practised, but it's a lot better than I thought it would go. So I'm quite happy about it. PA: Next up, Amanda Wilson and CopRice Nikau KH. Let's hope he behaves himself. No bucking. No bucking would be a great start, wouldn't it? She puts a hand up, and he paws the ground. Backing up isn't his favourite thing, so that's really good. I'm surprised how well Nikau's coping with the crowds and his fear of costume. (WHINNIES) TENSE MUSIC Wow, he jumped it. She's pushing her luck. I didn't know she was gonna put the jumps up, but she has. CROWD APPLAUDS (GASPS) He jumped it! Awesome! PA: Thanks very much, Amanda Wilson. He's just come out and taken it so well. I'm so rapt, so happy with him. PA: Next up, we have Vicki Wilson. TENSE MUSIC Oh no. The umbrella's gone inside out. The umbrella, it kind of flipped upside down and he was a little bit worried about it, cos it was just a little bit more different noise. And now the bridle's off; no reins. TRIUMPHANT MUSIC She's got no arms, arms out, cantering. She's taken him right to the edges to show the crowd. You wouldn't even know she's working with a broken wrist and collarbone. But she's totally pushing it to get Argo to sit down in time. She's got 30 seconds. Go down, you punk! Go on, go on, go on, go on. (SQUEALS) Go down, go down. But it's a no go today. Oh bugger. PA: Thanks very much, Vicki Wilson and Argo. It's always very different on the day to what you plan, and I think he did incredibly well for the situation. He absolutely loves the people and the crowds. His personality is incredible. We're through round one and all pretty stoked with our Kaimanawas. But what will the judges think? Hey, riders, this is the time you've all been waiting for ` for the ridden challenge. And now the judges have made their decision. TENSE MUSIC In eighth place, we have Amanda Wilson and Nikau. APPLAUSE I'm so happy to get a ribbon. I was expecting the worst. I expected Nikau to go out there and buck me off and make me look like an idiot, but he went like a pro. In fifth place, we have Kelly Wilson and CopRice Anzac KH. Give me a high five, Mouse. I was super, super happy. Top-five wild horse trainer in the country. Kinda crazy, really. We're getting down to the final placings. It's exciting. In fourth place, we have Tommy Waara and Tukotahi. APPLAUSE In third place, we have Tim Featherstone and Redcliffs Ted. We're down to the final two. Is it going to be Vicki Wilson and Argo, or is it going to be Paddy Mair? So, in second place, Vicki Wilson and Argo. Outstanding, Vicki. 'Yeah, second's amazing. Just` the quality of competition is incredible. 'Argo, give him a year, he's gonna be doing some amazing things.' So that leaves in first place, and very well deserving, Paddy Mair and his fantastic little horse Kachina. Paddy Mair was a bit of a sly dog. He had us believing he was only trotting, and there he is cracking whips and ducking between his horse's legs. Big ups to him. It's been a big day for our Kaimanawas getting through their first competition. But at least they get a rest before the halter class. For me and Vicki, the day's not over. We're competing our showjumpers in the Grand Prix. It's a big class. It's quite prestigious in the sense that we don't jump indoors very often. The wrist and the collarbone are a little bit sore. We've got some of the best riders in NZ competing. We're jumping, I think 1.4m, 1.5m tracks, and if you get it slightly wrong at that height, like, it can just go very wrong. Oh shit. Shit, she's on the ground! She's withdrawn. The horse is out. I'd better go and see her. That was not nice. PA: Well, she's up and walking, ladies and gentlemen. Unfortunate elimination for Vicki aboard Ngahiwi Showtym. It's the most horrendous thing to watch. Vicki'll be absolutely devastated, not because she didn't place but because there's a chance that he might be injured from it. It was kind of something that just, I guess, happened. Nothing we can do about it now. The horse is good, I'm good. Another day tomorrow. Bit of action, didn't you want? I'm giving it to ya. Day two at Equidays is the ultimate chance to promote the saving of the Kaimanawas. What's your name, sorry? I'm Alice. Alice? Kelly's book is doing its part in getting the word out there. There's a demonstration of the best Kaimanawa performances so far. And the meet-and-greet gives people a hands-on experience with horses who five months ago had never even seen a person. I wish he was bigger, cos I would love to keep him... I follow them on Facebook, um, and I absolutely love it, but just seeing them in person, it's just an amazing experience. It's the third and final day, with just one Stallion Challenge to go ` the halter class. He doesn't like being cleaned. But is she actually`? Vicki's got helpers and a backup plan to get Argo to sit down for this competition. Hopefully the sawdust does the trick. Oh, yeah. How much do you have? < A rubbish bin. A whole rubbish bin? < Yeah. My secret weapon? Cramming in as many new tricks as possible. Good, keep going up. Good boy. Whoo-hoo! I've never done that before! Amanda, you've got 15 minutes to be at the ring. You'd think we would have learnt from the first challenge, but nah. Um, I need a wet rag, please. We're still running out of time. PA: Next, we have Amanda Wilson and CopRice Nikau KH. TENSE MUSIC The halter class is all about showing off a range of skills while the horses are led, not ridden. TENSE MUSIC She only showed him the umbrella a couple of minutes ago, and I can't believe it. It's amazing. At Matakana, he was genuinely scared of all the people, but today he's awesome. DRAMATIC MUSIC WHISTLING UPLIFTING MUSIC Yeah, that was awesome. Proud of Nikau, actually, as well. I'm so happy. He's so relaxed. He's just` He's absolutely in his element. He's not scared. He's not... yes. Aww. Good boy. Can you take that? Vicki's about to go, so` I'm not even sure what she's doing, so it'll be interesting to watch. PA: Vicki is one of NZ's most successful showjump riders and is known for her competitive edge. TENSE MUSIC He's pulling one of his props into the ring. I think that's pretty cool. Vicki's strategy is to surprise us as much as possible to make Argo stand out. APPLAUSE No, she'd slid off his back. It's very scary. Very scary for a horse. He's really solid with the stuff he knows, but he's starting to stress out a bit about the newer stuff he's learnt. He seems far more interested in eating grass than lying down before the bell. It's not about winning. It's about the journey. We're doing things we never thought we could have. Could have been better, but it was OK. PA: Next, we have Kelly Wilson and CopRice Anzac KH. And Kelly's away. She's doing everything she can to keep little Anzac focused on her and not the crowds. She's lifting up his feet while he's on the, um, bridge. Oh, good thinking, Kelly. SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC Yeah, he's starting to go in the float. It's a bit of a scary float. He's still a wee bit nervous. But Kelly's knocking herself out, and he looks like he's actually enjoying it. And she got the bow. BELL RINGS She could do well. Was it that hard, Kelly? I'm so unfit. ALL LAUGH It was super. I loved it. I thought the cutesy factor` That's awesome. TENSE MUSIC You know, I was thinking... Oh wow. ...and the music and, you know? Yeah. He got the feet up. It was there. Ladies and gentlemen, we have our results for this afternoon's competition. Sixth spot ` Vicki and Argo. Party at my place, guys. In 140 days, we've come a very long way. They want to be with us. They're now our friends, and I think that's gonna be a lifetime partnership. They're amazing. Well done. Fifth place-getter here this afternoon ` Kate and Bill. We move into the top-four positions for this afternoon's competition. Congratulations to Kelly and Anzac. I definitely was the dark horse. I don't have the experience of anyone else in the competition. Gonna be so happy with that. Yeah. Pretty unbelievable, actually. The things Anzac and I have achieved and our overall placings for this weekend are just something I'd never dreamed was possible a few months ago. And third place-getter this afternoon is Tina and Rock Star. The second place-getter this afternoon... is Amanda and Nikau. TRIUMPHANT MUSIC Whoo-hoo! Go, Amanda. > Well, what do you know. I didn't see that coming. Thank you so much for your sponsorship. Well done. Thank you so much. Yeah, how did you get second, Amanda? (LAUGHS) I have good spontaneity but poor` Organisation? No, poor working skills and organisation. Or work ethic. So imagine if I actually worked harder. You could've won! You could've won. I don't know if I could've been happier with Nikau. He's just blown me away. Overall top point scorer from the weekend is Tim and Ted. LIGHT-HEARTED MUSIC The competition has been a massive achievement, not only for a very deserving winner but for the horse charity that kicked it all off. It's been spectacular, and it's, uh, exceeded our expectations. I think what you've seen this weekend has shown people in the right hands these horses can go anywhere. We wanted to inspire a new generation to love NZ's wild horses. And probably one of the biggest moments for us is seeing all those horses out there and knowing that without the challenge those horses probably would have all gone to slaughter. For us, it's not even how these stallions do. It's what their legacy will leave, the lives that they're going to save over the next generation of wild horses coming out. These horses are used to running free, mountains and hills, rivers, and they had their freedom, and they've` the way every horse has adapted to this life is incredible. UPLIFTING MUSIC