('COUNTRY CALENDAR' THEME) - The best of New Zealand's rural heartland. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2025 - I like the fact we're preserving the breed. - The Clydesdale stud... - I love having the foals. - ...and the dairy farm. - I've been out here my whole life. It was my grandparents' farm. - (HORSE WHINNIES) - Rex! No. - When it goes right, they're lots of fun. It gets very stressful when it doesn't. It only takes one vet bill to wipe out any profit that you make. (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) My parents bought me a pony when I was born, and I've had them ever since. I used to ride competitively, but not so much any more due to a back injury, so I thought I'd start breeding Clydesdales. - Can we do the same again, and you hold this? Help me with this, Jamie? - Yep. - Jamie Sugden now has a Clydesdale stud near Whanganui. She's brought a pair of horses and a wagon to town for a special event. - We've got a main street parade down Victoria Ave of Whanganui. It's celebrating 100 years of Whanganui becoming a city. - Jamie's husband, Lockie Jenkins, runs their dairy farm, while Jamie focuses on her horses. - Back up, Bree. - Back up, Bree. Bree was actually my first Clydesdale. I got given her as a yearling, and she's just been with me ever since, and she'll be with me till she dies. Lockie always tells me I'm gonna have a whole lot of geriatrics in the paddock, but that's fine by me. (BAGPIPES PLAY 'SCOTLAND THE BRAVE') - Horses and crowds can be a tricky combination. - If there's bagpipes and stuff going on, the horses can get spooked, but hopefully they keep a level head and behave themselves. (BRIGHT MUSIC PLAYS, DRUMS BEAT) It's Bree's first time out doing something like this, so anything could go wrong. (CHUCKLES) - But Bree's taken it all in her stride. Lockie and Jamie's farm is 15 minutes from Whanganui at Pakaraka. (GRINDER WHIRRS) - We feed our horses daily. We feed a mixture of black oats that we crush ourselves. We feed them 50/50, which is 50% barley, 50% maize. They all get vitamins, and they get lucerne chaffage as well for a bit of roughage. - Jamie started with one horse, and the numbers have multiplied. - I'm not actually sure how many (CHUCKLES) I have, to be perfectly honest. I think there's about 20. (COWS MOO) - Genevieve is the latest mare to give birth. - Our foal is 4 days old now. He's by Monarch. I was surprised that he wasn't black, actually. She had a black foal last year. But he's gonna be a beautiful colour. - He's hungry. - He is hungry. - Hey, boy. - Monarch is a 4-year-old stallion that we bred. He hasn't been broken in yet, but he's going to be very soon. - The horses bring in money when Jamie sells a foal, which happens three to five times a year. - They pay for themselves. In a good year, you make a little bit of money, but it only takes one vet bill to wipe out any sort of little profit that you make. So it's more about the love of it than a money venture. (BRIGHT MUSIC) - A century ago, Clydesdales did the work on farms that tractors do today. These Clydies now earn their keep pulling carts at shows and street parades. Lockie's taught himself how to drive them, with a bit of help. - Got some good friends that have shown us over the years ` still learning. Hey, boy. I think you always will be learning. - Collecting enough harnesses and tack is a work in progress. - We've just picked it up over the years off people. It's quite hard to come across. It's very expensive, and you have to find people that are willing to part with it as well. People like to hang on to it or put it in their gardens and stuff, so I like to try and save it from getting to the garden. Open. Open. Open. Good boy. We are getting new stuff made, but it costs about $16,000 for a double harness for the two horses, to get nice show stuff made. - Lockie enjoys driving. I like the breeding side of it, so I make the decisions on what stallions to use over which mares to breed horses with good conformation, cos we wanna preserve the breed. Whoa. Back. - Back up, Bree. - Bree's been a brood mare pretty much her entire life, but she's retired from breeding now. - Back up! Back up, Bree. Good` Good girl. Whoo. Whoo. - We decided that we'd break her into harness, but she's very lazy. - Walk up! Walk up! Get up, Bree! Get up, Bree. Bree, get up. Get up, Bree. Pull, Bree! Get up, Bree. - She's very quiet, which is almost a pain cos she doesn't like to move much. (CHUCKLES) But she'll get there once she learns to really put all her effort into the collar. At the moment, she's just, kind of, trundling along beside Frank. He's doing all the work today. - Walk up, Bree! - Bree isn't the only student here. - Walk up, Bree! - Lockie is learning. He's doing pretty well. He's quite fearless when it comes to horses, but he picks it up really quick, and he's doing really well. He's been driving for about a year now. When we first started, Lockie was a typical dairy farmer ` didn't really like horses, but I've had them my whole life, so now he's` Basically if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And he really enjoys getting out and the driving side of things. - Up you go! (CLICKS TONGUE) Up! All good. (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) - Veterinary fees are the most expensive part of running a Clydesdale stud. Wilna Labuschagne from Whanganui Vets is here to check on Jamie Sugden's three pregnant mares. - Good girl. - That enough? - Yeah. Last week, eight days ago, she had a positive scan at 16 days pregnant. So we're just confirming that that pregnancy is still there, cos she's prone to losing her embryos early in the piece. And I'm just doing ultrasound on her uterus to confirm whether she's still pregnant. And she feels pregnant, so that's good. So there's your pregnancy there, and there's the foal there. - Lockie brings in the next mare for scanning. - They've got lovely temperaments. We very rarely have one that gives us a lot of grief. Even as youngsters, they're very agreeable. I really enjoy the Clydesdales. I think they're good fun. Yeah. But very large. Very large. You are right. So she definitely still feels pregnant, Jamie. - Jamie and Lockie keep a close eye on the mares leading up to the birth. - They go into the paddock near the house, and we have spotlights on, and we get up every couple of hours. We have used a foal alarm in the past, but it wakes the entire house up, and when you have little people, (CHUCKLES) it's not really ideal. So one of us is always getting up, and we just poke our head out the window. If we can't see them, we turn the torch on them. When it goes right, they're lots of fun. It gets very stressful when it doesn't. But, yeah, it's quite nice. I love having the foals. - You can definitely see it there. - Oh cool. Awesome. - Yeah. Good. - Wilna is a dentist as well as a large animal vet. - He's fairly quiet. - We're just giving him a little bit of sedation to just take the edge off, so he'll stand nicely with a gag in his mouth. It'll take about five minutes to kick in properly, and then he'll be nice and sedate, and then we can calmly look in his mouth, rather than it turning into a rodeo, so... which is a good idea, eh, Jamie? - Absolutely. - There we go. - One thing about Clydesdales is they're cheap drunks. They don't take a lot of sedation. - An adjustable bit keeps Summit's jaws apart while Wilna works her magic. - He's never had a bit in his mouth, eh? - He's just had a regular bit, but not very often. We're only sort of starting it now with him. - Started with mouthing? - Yeah. - Wilna is using a Clydesdale-sized drill to file off the sharp points. - Their teeth do get quite sharp when they're young. (DRILL WHIRRS) Got really nice straight teeth. Great. - Summit will take a while to recover from the sedative. (SUMMIT SNORES) - Lockie and Jamie bought their farm off his family. - We own it. We've got 68ha here, and we milk 170 Friesian cows. It is a small herd, but, yeah, it keeps me out of trouble. - JAMIE: Lockie is a very old-school farmer. People ask him how much grass he's got. He's like, 'gumboot height' or whatever. He's like, 'There's no point worrying about grass if you don't have it,' which is fair. - Lockie has milked in here since he was a boy, but the shed is a lot older than that. - My grandfather milked in here for years, and his uncle milked in it before that. And I've milked in it for 26 years. It'd be a good 80-odd years old. The cows pay the bills, but I enjoy my time over here by myself. I get to think about plenty of things. - The cows love the dose of molasses that's waiting for them in the shed. - It's a sugar. I think they're addicted to it. They come running into the shed for it. Just boosts them, gives them energy. - To improve animal welfare, Lockie's put non-slip rubber mats in the shed. - The main reason we put the mats in was for cows slipping over and injuring themselves. I put it in after I lost one of my best cows from slipping on the concrete, so I reckon a good two a year, most probably, from getting knocked over. It's well worth it. (GENTLE MUSIC) - As new calves arrive, they're moved to a run-off block. The girls stay there until they're mated and returned to the milking herd, while the boys stay until they're big enough to go to the works. - Hey-oh! Hey-oh! Hey-oh! - Today, Jamie and Lockie have the help of son Angus and his younger brother Harvey. - Come on. Hup, hup, hup! - Yeah. Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Get up! - Lockie leases a large grazing block off his grandmother, just a few kilometres away from the home farm. - We take them off their mums because we need the milk in the vat. We take the calves off them and put them in the stable and rear them. They get four weeks at home, and then they come up here for the rest of their time. Keep coming. Whoa! - The male calves would once have been called bobby calves. These ones are called beefies because Lockie's mated his cows with beef bulls. - Up you go! Bobby calves are just 4-day-old calves that go to the works. People that milk cows ` they just want the milk and to get rid of them. They're just a by-product to the dairy industry, really. But we put beefies over our cows so everything gets reared and comes up here. Come on, guys! Hup, hup, hup! They've all got a purpose on our property. We haven't sent bobby calves for 15 years. I like to see them grow into big animals. It's quite enjoyable. - The growing calves get fed milk from the 'calf-a-teria' till they're 12 weeks old. - We feed them 2 litres twice a day at home, and then they come up here and get 4 litres once a day and meal. They seem to do all right like that, so we're happy. It is nice up here. On a good day, you can see both mountains ` Ruapehu over there, and Taranaki over there. Great views up here. - Farming can be stressful, and coming up here is an escape for Lockie. - I usually come up here and try and hide away from people. Yeah, there's always plenty to do up here, and nobody can sorta find me. It's quite good ` get away from it all. We've had this place 30-plus years, and we've done a lot of work here over the years. And, yeah, I like looking back at what we've done. - Lockie dreams about buying this block from his grandmother. - Hopefully one day we'll own it. Just a matter of getting debt down and, yeah, trying to soldier ahead with everything. But, yeah, I believe that I will, one day, own up here. Um, where's my phone? It's right there, son. No. I'm certain that's your phone. No. This is my phone. The one with the googly camera, no scratches. This is not my phone day Santa. This is mine boy frog. Not true gnome king. Is so Man-Witch. Elf lord. Elf lord. Mince and cheese. Mince and cheese. Not-ting. Yes it is. You could ditch that old dunger. There's a few ways I can get you a new one. Yes! this is your... Shhh... VOICEOVER: We've made it easy to get you a new phone, whenever you want. One New Zealand, let's get connected. (TRANQUIL MUSIC) - In a couple of days, Jamie Sugden and Lockie Jenkins will take some horses from their farm near Whanganui to the Stratford A&P show. But before they do, the horses need some TLC. - We usually shoe them every six weeks. They need to be replaced. These guys haven't had shoes on for a while. - Farrier Kevin Campbell has a lifetime of experience with horses. - I am just lowering its heel down, so its level with its frog. The frog is a shock absorber, and a pump ` pumps the blood back up the leg. We're just taking off any raggedy bits, so no stones can get trapped when they go down the road. Now we're just gonna rasp it up. And here we're just relieving sole pressure, so when the shoe goes on, the shoe doesn't touch the sensitive part of the foot. The wall thickness here doesn't grow any wider, so when the a foot's trimmed correctly, it should be the same width all the way around. So it needs a little bit more off there. So we'll just nip a bit off. Next process is just heating the shoes so we can fit them hot. - It's hot work. - It is. (CHUCKLES) At least it's not 25 degrees. - Shoeing Clydesdales has particular challenges. (WATER HISSES) - You can't shape a shoe cold. You've gotta have the forge and everything is twice as big or three times as big, the nails... And, obviously, the effort that goes into it. It's just a job I've done for years and, you know, I enjoy it. - And the job's not without its risks. - I've had my leg turned inside out, broken through the joint; that's really the only thing. But you get knocked around a lot, you know, and you get pushed around and pulled, and it's pretty hard on your body. Oh, you get a few nicks here, so I've got a bit of blood running out there now, (CHUCKLES) but, um, it's mainly wear and tear on your joints, you know. I'm quite stiff in the mornings. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I do take a few anti-inflammatories and` Yeah, but keep going, you know. We got to. He's a good boy. (CHUCKLES) Want your ears scratched? (CHUCKLES) Good boy. (GENTLE MUSIC) - A&P shows are a big event for any rural community, and Stratford is no exception. Jamie and Lockie have brought four Clydesdales to compete and friends to help. - We haven't done a lot of shows over the years. It's something that we're just getting into. It's a lot of fun, gets us off the farm for the day. At the moment, I'm putting a mane roll in. This, I've only done about six times, so I really have to concentrate. I get quite nervous when they're competing. It's more anxiety, but just making sure everything goes right and you remember everything cos I guarantee, we'll always forget something. It's just a bit of fun, really. It's not serious. (HORSE WHINNIES) - Rex. No. - Stallion Rex is entering a ring full of mares, so anything could happen. Judge Gareth Pryce keeps him apart from the others. - I've just asked the gentleman with the stallion to wait there. Once they have gone, we'll get him to go around and line up in the very front here to give good separation. - Lockie's better with the stallions. Just a bit stronger if something goes wrong, so I like to put him out with the colts and the stallions. - Keep your head up. Yeah, he's going all right. He'll settle down, yeah. Just a bit excited about all the` all his friends around. Yeah. - Hopefully he behaves himself. He was a bit toey this morning, but he's a good boy. - Morning. - Gareth, how are ya? - The judge judges on the conformation, the rump angle, the leg angle, that they've got good bone, a nice sloping shoulder and good feet. - Half the points are awarded to the horse and half to their companion. - They're looking at you as well as the horse ` just how you present yourself, how tidy your clothes are that you're wearing and what outfit you've got on. - First place goes to Kathy Cummings from Taihape. - Nice tight plaits. - Lockie and Rex come in second. - Presented him well. Nice tight mane roll. The gelding there just slightly better presented, because his tail is tighter and done up nicely, but nicely shod. Um, nice weighted shoes on him. Well done. - Awesome. Thank you. I'm happy with that, yeah. It's been a bit of a hectic morning to get here. Had to milk and stuff before I got here, so, yeah, just one of those days. It's all fun ` fun and games. - In this class, both Rex, the stallion, and Summit, the ungelded colt, are in the ring, and Jamie has to step up. This father and son are the only two horses competing for the title of Reserve Champion. - We're looking for the movement of the horse, so looking that he's striding out well. There's no signs of lameness. He's got nice coordinated gait. His legs are moving freely from him. - And the boy outshines his dad. - So well done. He's presented nicely today. He's got nice supple movement, and he's worthy of the Champion Entire today. - Thank you. - We had a really good morning. The horses behaved really well. It's more about experience for the young ones than anything else, so we're just happy that they behaved. (CHUCKLES) - But winning a few ribbons is a nice bonus. - That's just the cherry on top, really. It's not what we come for; we just come for the fun. But it's always nice to win something. - When Jamie started her stud, Lockie was a reluctant participant, but he's come around. - I didn't think I'd have this much to do with them, but I'm enjoying it. I'm hoping to get into working them more and ploughing and doing that sort of thing. I enjoy doing all that ` the working side of it more than the breeding side. So that's a bit more me. Good boy! Good man. - We just enjoy having the foals, preserving the breed. The numbers have dropped over the last 30 years, so it's nice to keep the breed alive and going. I dunno, hopefully we breed the perfect horse, but that's no easy feat. One day, maybe. - Next time ` a 30-year-track record's proved the doubters wrong. - One of the neighbours said, 'People aren't gonna pay to come and walk across this shitty farmland.' - And the income's been good for the next generation. - We wouldn't be here without the walkers coming through. It's enabled us to carry on farming. - We're pretty lucky to have the opportunity to be here. - That's next time on Hyundai Country Calendar.