- The best of New Zealand's rural heartland. Hyundai Country Calendar. - NARRATOR: They farm sheep and beef for a living. - Farming is farming, and we do what we do. But the Arabian horses ` it's like something special. Not only riding but also breeding for other people. - The horse work they do for love. - There's no money involved. - LAUGHS: No. - We do this cos we'd like to give something back. (HORSES NICKER) (SHEEP BLEAT) (HORSES BLOW) (HORSES NEIGH) - At Makahiwi farm near Taumarunui in the central North Island, Juanita and Struan Duncan farm sheep, cattle, and Arabian horses. (HORSE NICKERS) - We predominantly breed Crabbet Arabian, which means they can trace all their lines back to an English stud in the 1800s. (HORSES NEIGH, BLOW) - Come on, girls. - What we breed, you probably wouldn't call a classically beautiful horse. Come on, girls. We concentrate on breeding for sound feet, a good back, a good heart, and being able to ride it all day. They're the marathon runners of the horse world. - We breed what we love, and we hope that other people love it too. (HORSES BLOW) - Juanita and Struan's Makahiwi Arabians are in high demand, with mares being sent from all over the country to be mated with their stallion, Inshallah Colorado. - She's cycling, and he knows` - (WHINNIES) - (LAUGHS) So she's, um` she's in the season... and he's keen to come and meet her. It's a lot of work finding out where each mare sits in the cycle. We'll bring a mare in, I'll go and get Colorado, I'll bring him up to the gate, and then I'm looking at how the mare reacts. If she's in season and she wants to be his girlfriend, she'll go over and get all pally with him, and in the end she'll back up to the gate. So, if that's the case, I'll bring him in and see how things progress. They need to be ovulating before he'll serve them, and he won't serve them unless they're ovulating. Good girl. She may not be ovulating. He's not, like, real keen. And if she was ovulating, she'd want to be served. They have a five-day cycle, and one of those days in the cycle would be optimum. So you have to just keep trying until you get the right day. (CHUCKLES) - Breeding Arabian horses is a long-term commitment. - They're in foal for 11 months. Then it's another six to seven months before you wean the foal. We don't even put a saddle on their back till they're 4 years old. We wouldn't breed anything younger than that. (HORSES NEIGH AND BRAY) It's a hard thing with stallions, too, cos the stallion proves himself through his progeny, and by the time his progeny are doing any good, he's well through his servicing career. - Struan and Juanita love the horse work, but it's the farm that keeps things ticking over. - Our lamb sales is our dominant income. I enjoy the breeding, the hill country, the stock up on the hills doing well, but also enjoy when they get a bit more intensive, and seeing lambs moving around on crops and just putting on those weights. I enjoy it all. It's very... There's a lot of contentment in it. Come here, girls. (WHISTLES) (WHISTLES) It's the third day today for shearing. We'll get them in the day before, so they're nice and empty for the shearers in the morning. - Hup-up-up-up. Hush, hush, hush! - My eldest daughter, Calah, she's in the back, penning up. She's got a very nice way with the stock. - Hup-up-up, hush, hush, hush. I enjoy farming cos I really like seeing the animals thrive ` Being healthy, just being happy in themselves. Cos we know the end result is for the dinner plate, but they have a really good life up until then. (CHUCKLES) Hush, hush, hush, up-up. Hush, hush, hush. Uuup-up-up-up. - JUANITA: She's so caring about the stock. And she's also good with equipment as well ` she looks after the tractors and stuff. She would put a lot of young men to shame, because she just knows, she just keeps going and going all day. (LAUGHS) - Calah is a block manager on the farm, as is Marshall Guy. He's married to Calah's sister Georgia. Today, he's bringing the last mob in for shearing tomorrow. - They're just drying up. We've had the wind up all day, which has been real good. Be good to get these shorn and tidied up for the summer. - STRUAN: My son-in-law Marshall ` it's a little bit annoying, actually, because he's one of those guys that whatever he picks up, he's good at. Everything he does, he takes seriously and he works hard at it. So, you'll see him out here in the evenings, training his dogs after work. - Get in, Moss. I love it, actually. I've done quite a few years shearing. I thought I was living the dream then, and I probably was, but now my goals have changed a bit, and I see things differently. And yeah, I really enjoy the farming. It's got a lot of challenges, and I really enjoy that side of it, yeah. Steady. Go right, Moss. - The mob will be left to empty out for shearing in the morning. Juanita and Struan are off to see if the grey mare, Sasha, is ready to meet with Colorado. - Hey, girl. - JUANITA: Hey, girl. - All righty. See if there's anything going on today. - Yeah, she's squirting. - Is she? - And winking. (HORSES NEIGH) - Get off. Get out. - This is a different story to yesterday. - Nah, she's not on at all. - She's being mean to him. - I guess there's always a danger. That's why I only have one person in here. Then you've only got yourself to worry about. I've never seen them do... - No. - ...that before. (LAUGHS) We'll try her again tomorrow. And if it doesn't work tomorrow, it'll be the next day, until we've, sort of, got that five days. And one of those days will be the day. (BOTH LAUGH) And it'll be business time. VOICEOVER: Get your free Consumers's Guide to Hearing Aids. New Zealand's only independent guide to all the latest models. Choose the right hearing aid for your lifestyle and budget. Call 0800 45 45 42 for your free copy. And it'll be business time. Get in! (SHARP WHISTLE) Got her, Ralph. - Farming sheep and beef in the King Country is a family affair for Struan and Juanita Duncan. - We're just at the main woolshed/sheep yards and a new set of cattle yards, which our son-in-law Marshall designed. Marking calves through them, and it's gone really well. They flow nicely, so we're super happy with them. - Come on, girls. - He's married to our youngest daughter, Georgia. They live on the farm here with their young family, River and Ada. Marshall, he's coming along real nice. In fact, him and Calah could run this place on their own, no problems at all. (CALVES MOO, WHOOSHING) - Hush, hush, hush, hush. Hup-up-up-up! - Oh, you jump in there, Struan, if ya like. (CALF MOOS) - Some people wear cricket pads doing this. (LAUGHS) Either I don't play cricket or I'm stupid. I'll go with I don't play cricket. (LAUGHS) (CALVES MOO CHORALLY) - We sort of pilfer off the dairy industry a bit. They're a Friesian-Hereford cross cow. And we put a Simmental bull over them. The Hereford-Friesians milk really well, the Simmental gives a nice beefy calf, and we get some cracking calves come weaning time. We sell the calves as weaners, and the cows go back and calf again and go around again. Sheep is our major income, but you need cattle to go around and tidy up paddocks. They're like giant lawnmowers, and they condition the grass so that it's good for the lambs. - A stand of virgin native bush overlooks the new yards. - There's four or five of them dotted around the farm, which we're extremely happy about. There was another mill set up there. - JUANITA: Yep. Then there was another one on the ringer. - Uh-huh. - In the early 20th century, all these blocks in these hills here were milled, and a lot of the houses of Auckland and Wellington were made with the framing of the timber that came out of these hills. They ran a tram line from the farm here back to the main trunk line. - He loves history. And to be a part of... Well, we'll be a part of the history of this land one day. - Mm. - You know? It's such a special thing to be a part of, eh, Struan? - Yeah. And not just the milling, but the history before that as well, with the different tribes that met in this area. It's intriguing. - Juanita and Struan's regular training ride takes them past that meeting place ` a small marae just five minutes from the yards. - I wonder when the last people lived in here, eh? - Before colonial history, this was a boundary between Maniapoto over there, this land here we're on was part of Tuwharetoa, and on the other side of the river, just behind us, was Ngati Awa. The old copper. - The old fireplace. This is the Petania marae. There's a lot of stories about this area. The one I like is a couple ` one from Maniapoto and one from Tuwharetoa ` they got together, and then this is their marae. Where the boundaries came, the people met, and then they produced their own families. (CHUCKLES) Since we've gained the property, I feel like I've been whangaied to it. Just learning all about it, and just developing more of a connection with this area and with Petania, cos it's got so much history. (GENTLE MUSIC) - Arabian horses are a big part of Struan's family history. - When my father and my uncle came down to the King Country farming, my grandfather said, you're gonna need to breed your own stock horses. So they bought our first purebred Arabian stallion. And we started breeding from there. We did all our stock work on horseback, so we were brought up riding the Arabians. - In the 1970s, Struan's dad discovered the sport of endurance riding. - To bring a horse on for endurance ` long, slow, steady miles as it was back then ` was the way to do it. And that's what mustering and being in the saddle all day was. So the horses, they had the breeding for endurance, and then, they had the workout for endurance. So they were very successful in those early days, and we've just carried on the same bloodlines since then. - Struan and Juanita host endurance races on their farm every year. - We're coming up to an event on our farm this weekend, and we've got maybe over a hundred competitors coming, so it's pretty exciting. Struan will also be riding an 80km, plodding through the novice system. Good girl. - It's never a competitive thing with me. It's just the joy of riding and finishing and qualifying. - Today's ride is conditioning the horses for the event. - I'm not built for speed. The horse that has to carry me around 80km has to be, uh, well-conditioned, shall we say. (BOTH LAUGH) The two horses we've been riding, they're new horses. They're both only 5 years old. We've just gotta keep building that stamina. (TRANQUIL MUSIC) - And it's that stamina, and the ability to regain a low heart rate after a long ride, that makes others seek out the Makahiwi Arabian bloodline. - Attagirl. - This mare has just arrived from Waikato to be served by Colorado. She's at the right stage of her cycle. (BOTH HORSES MOAN) - (BLOWS, BREATHES RAPIDLY) - Yep. We have contact. (SHUFFLING, THUDDING) - (BRAYS) - And that is a serve. - Well done. - Come here, boy. - Good girl. (COW MOOS, BIRDS TWEET) (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) - Juanita and Struan Duncan run sheep and beef on Makahiwi farm near Taumarunui. They get a reliable weekly income from grazing heifers. - Yeah, they are huge. They're scary huge. - CALAH: They'll be too wide to fit in here soon. (LAUGHS) - These heifers belong to dairy farmer Daniel Schruers, who sends a mob to Makahiwi for a year every May. - Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch. - Up-up-up-up. - Come on. - STRUAN: We get them on at about 260 kilos, and our goal is to get them to 500 before they go home. - Hush, hush, hush. Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch. - What are they doing, Calah? - Yeah. - 460. - 460? - That was the heaviest so far. - 460? - She's 432. - (WHISTLES) - (CHUCKLES) They're not far off, Dan. - No. (ALL LAUGH) - Good girl, that's it, up. - What are we? The 12th of December? We just weighed them at 441. So, basically, we've got four and a half months left to only put another 59 kilos on them, so we're well in front. Up. They're gonna be well over 500 when they go home. So I think Daniel's pretty happy. - She weighs 444 kilos. - Beautiful. - (CHUCKLES) - Happy with that? - Yeah, very happy. Very happy. - Makes you very content. Seeing happy animals putting on weight and knowing they're going back to another good paddock. It's, um... It's awesome. Up you go. - She's 500. - LAUGHS: Ooh! - We have a winner. Number 49. - 49? - Yeah. - Well done, well done. - Daniel's not usually here for weighing, but tomorrow he's competing in the Makahiwi endurance ride. - 120km. (CHATTER) - It's a race. A test of endurance of a horse over those various distances. - We have people riding 120km, 100km, 80km, 40km... - 20km, 10km. - Yeah. - It's a lot of work for Juanita and Struan and the whanau, and they host it for free. - There's no money. (LAUGHS) There's a lot of time spent organising the track, getting it all ready. And we get officials ` we need officials from overseas; we need officials from New Zealand, qualified to be able to judge and also vet. - We do this cos we've always been in the sport and we've got a lot out of it and we'd like to give something back. (HORSES NEIGH) (BIRDS CHIRP) They know it's on today. - Even when I went and got them from their pens this morning, they were excited. (LAUGHS) - OFFICIAL: Flags ready! - I'm just hoping everything goes well for them. - Three, two, one. And you may start. - Have a nice ride. - See you, babe. It's about knowing your horse really well. And both of them have to be in the right frame of mind and the right fitness and the condition to do it. It's a tendency with Arabians that they'll give you more than they should really give. So you have to know your horse, how it's feeling, and know when you can push on and when not to. (GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) When you cross the finish line... - 70. - ...you have to present your horse to the vet. Your horse has to be metabolically sound... - ...and your horse's heart rate has to be under 65 as well. 86... 85... Well, it's normal for this stage. We'll just cool her down. - Cool up the neck, cos that's where the big blood vessels are, where the blood's close to the skin. - 73. - You can win a whole ride in a big competition. You can cross the line in first place, and if your horse fails the vet inspection at the end, you're out. All about looking after your horse. - 69... She needs more. - 66, 65. So, that's sort of right on the line. Here we go, we've got our drop now. OK. Let's go and see the vet. - Tony Parsons specialises in equine endurance and has come over from Australia. - Morning, Struan. You took a while out there. - She's hot. - Yeah. (LAUGHS) OK, 1 for skin recoil. Um... an A for mucous membranes still, and a 1 for capillary refill. Gut sounds are still good at an A. That's a 60. Good to carry on. - Thanks, sir. - Another of the race officials is Arabian horse breeder David Marshall from Canterbury. His mare, Taurere Miuccia, has been running with Colorado for several weeks. - We're wanting to get a pregnancy to Colorado, who's, um, proven to be a really great sire. - You're all good. - Some breeders actually don't make their stallions available to public stud, so it's a real privilege to be able to utilise other people's bloodlines. - Good girl, you're all right. - Vet Carin de Groot scans the mare so David knows whether she's in foal or needs more time with Colorado. - (BRAYS) - That's a good girl. - It's not painful; it just feels weird. So you just take it slow. - David has his fingers crossed for the sex of the foal. - Good girl. - Personally, I would prefer a filly, because a filly will be a mare that I would keep and then be able to breed more from that line. So your mares are really the future of any breeding program. - Did you hand-serve her? - STRUAN: Yes. - Yeah, about 18 days or something? - Yes. - JUANITA: Yeah, that'd be right. - Yep. - Nice. - Yay. - That's a beautiful pregnancy. - DAVID: Filly? (ALL LAUGH) - Uh, yes, I think it is. (ALL LAUGH) And it's grey. (HORSE NEIGHS) - JUANITA: It's an exciting thing, knowing that our bloodlines are out there. Great satisfaction. - STRUAN: Yeah, especially going to another stud like David's, cos he's a heritage breeder as well. He likes to keep lines going. It's important to us, cos there's a lot of history behind it. - And there's no point having this bloodline finish with us. We want it to be shared. We want it out there. - Next time ` - It's jellified ` awesome. You're a doctor for the bees, so your job is to look after the bees. - From beekeeping to a bustling market stall... - If it wasn't for you guys, the bees wouldn't be alive. - ...every jar of honey tells a story. - They're working so hard 24/7. No 10-minute breaks. - That's next time on Hyundai Country Calendar.