Pony Club Stars

PONY CLUB STAR OLIVIA BROOKS ENJOYS GAMES AS HER DISCIPLINE OF CHOICE, ONE WHICH HAS TAKEN HER ALL AROUND NEW ZEALAND AND EVEN TO THE USA! Parents: Rochelle and Lindsay Brooks-Hore Siblings: Morgan Brooks-Hore Age: 14 Pony Club: Puketapu Pony Club Career highlights: Representing New Zealand in the Under 17 World Mounted Games competition in Florida, USA in December 2015. It was an amazing competition and I learnt heaps. Friendly faces Heavily involved in Pony Club and even more so in team competitions, Olivia mostly enjoys the friends she has made as a member of Pony Club. “The friends I have made and the opportunity to compete against other people from other regions is what I love the most,” she says. “It’s fun catching up with the friends I have made when I go to games competitions. Pony Club is a great place to learn about riding and different disciplines and it is where I first got into games! We only had about 10 members at our branch so when we first trialed for a games competition pretty much everyone from Eskview Pony Club was on the team - we even made the Zones competition!”

Some of her best memories of Pony Club include representing Heretaunga for mounted games at Northern Zone Games last year, being captain of the Puketapu Panthers games team, and winning Zone 3 Games two years in a row. Not only interested in the more thrilling side of Pony Club, Olivia also enjoys the more relaxed Pony Club rallies like beach rides and treks. All fun and games Olivia’s strengths as a rider come from being very determined and enthusiastic about mounted games. “I love that it requires a strong partnership with your pony and that the ponies love games as much as their riders do! They really do watch the start flag!” she laughs. “My favourite competition is Horse of the Year, where every year they hold the National Pairs and Teams competition. It is a whole week of games and all of my games friends are there. This year I rode in the Open grade for teams and loved the thrill and pace of the competition!” Olivia has four ponies at the moment, two games ponies Briar and Concerto, and two jumping ponies Misty and Jett; however she says that she is just so keen on games that she might need to find new homes for Misty and Jett. Briar is Olivia’s new games pony, and she is a games machine, being three-quarter thoroughbred and very fast. “Her previous owner was a World Champion games rider, and I am so excited to have her and can’t wait for next season!” Her other games pony Concerto was lent to Olivia from a good friend of hers, and she is also very experienced and great at what she does. “There is no mucking around with Con, you need to get your vaults with her or she will leave you in the dust! She only worries about being first across the finish line,” she laughs. Team captain The Puketapu Panthers were fierce at this season’s Zone Games and Olivia was thrilled to captain them to victory in Zone 3. “It was pretty cool to win. We had been practicing together since before Christmas, and we also entered as a team for Horse of the Year,” she explains. “We had put a lot of time into getting there, we all rode really well with very few mistakes,” she says proudly. “The competition at Zones was tough but we kept it all together and took the win once again. We always have a great time when we travel to competitions together and our team are all good friends.” Being captain was an important job for Olivia and one she took seriously. “You have to keep the team focused, and if a mistake is made in a race you need to keep everyone positive and moving on,” she says. “You have to let the mistake go and get in the zone for the next game. With a team it is really important to be supportive but also to be determined as a captain to ensure your team does the best it can.”

Olivia prefers to compete as a team or pair, compared to competing as an individual, as you can laugh and enjoy the sport together. “If one team member isn’t as strong in one game the other team mates can catch the team up. We can support each other and give each other hints and tips on what might work better or make the team stronger.”

Olivia’s next goal is to be selected for the next Under 17 World Mounted Games Championship and to travel overseas and compete again. We have no doubt that with her determination, talent and passion she will get there and do New Zealand proud once more.

TOP TIPS: Have fun – and be really kind to your pony! C

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FLYING HIGH ON HER TWO GORGEOUS TEAM MATES, ABRIELE’S HOPES ARE TO ONE DAY REPRESENT ALL NEW ZEALAND PONY CLUBS BY BEING SELECTED FOR THE INTER PACIFIC TEAM, ONE OF THE HIGHEST HONOURS FOR ANY PONY CLUBBER! TOP TIP: Fake it until you make it. I was a bit of a wuss when I started cross-country and my coach told me I had to pretend to be brave so I didn’t worry my pony. Practice something for long enough and it will happen!

Parents: Karen and Steve Morse Siblings: Kadin and Tayla Age: 16 Pony Club: Otipua Pony Club, working towards my B certificate. Otipua Pony Club Abriele started out when she was given a riding lesson for her ninth birthday. None of her family ride and she nagged them for a long time to be allowed to have a go. “Eventually my parents gave in and hoped that I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Unfortunately for them I loved it,” she laughs. “I went to a little riding school for a while, and soon after that I got my first pony Jake. Jake was the perfect first pony. He was clever and cheeky and he taught me how to stay in a saddle. We lived in town at that stage, and Jake lived down the road with my coach.”

Abriele doesn’t have any riding buddies close to home, so she loves being able to get together with her friends at Pony Club rallies. “We all get on well and have a lot of fun together,” she says. “There is always something to learn at Pony Club. Although Otipua is a very small branch, with only a dozen riding members, we are competitive. In 2014 our composite team came 10th at Springston Trophy and last year we were seventh. I have also been in our branch’s team at the South Island Show Jumping Champs for the last three years.”

Abriele loves competing in a team and being part of a group with a common goal. “There is a bit of stress caused by not wanting to let your teammates down, but my experiences have all been good. Things don’t always go as planned, but everyone supports each other,” she says proudly.

Long-term she would love to make it onto the NZPCA Inter-Pacific team. “Big dreams, but I believe anything is possible if you work hard enough.” Wembleybrook O’Driscoll and Mai Tai Abriele is paired with two fantastic ponies in Wembleybrook O’Driscoll (Drizzle) and her new addition Mai Tai (Maia). Drizzle is a nine-year-old Connemara who she has had for almost four years. “He is only 141.4cm but he doesn’t seem to realise it. He loves to do stuff - he doesn’t care what it is, as long as he gets to do something!” she says. “Drizz is a very competitive pony and a lot of fun to live with. He is bold and smart but careful and he looks after me.”

Abriele credits Drizzle as the reason she has been able to enjoy so much success in a variety of disciplines in the last three years. “We have done so much together including eventing, show jumping, dressage, Show Hunter, RTR and pony hunter, Pony Club camp… It’s very rare, regardless of what discipline we are competing in, for us to come home without a placing.”

Sadly for Abriele, this will be her last season eventing with Drizzle as she is outgrowing him. She describes her other pony Maia as being a real lady. “I got Maia about eight months ago. Maia is a show jumper and I competed up to Mini Prix on her last season. I have been schooling her in dressage and crosscountry and have now had a few eventing starts with her up to 95cm and I hope to take her to 105cm this season. She is so bold and has taken to it really well. I took her on her first hunt recently and she was great. She’s so calm and confident and honest and I love her.” The girl on the little grey pony Never one to let size stop her from achieving her goals, Abriele loves to compete in ESNZ events as they give her the opportunity to compete against adults on hacks. “I’ve had a few comments about being the little girl on the small grey pony, standing amongst the big guys in mounted prize givings,” she laughs. Prize givings are a familiar scene for the pair, who were most notably placed at the last two South Island Three Day Eventing Championships, and who also last year achieved the highest combined score at the Canterbury Interschool Dressage event.

“My first Springston Trophy was a big deal,” she recalls. “It was my first team event and it was very exciting. I have been to three Springston Trophy events, and finished in the top four in my height each year. Last year I finished in second place for my competition height. My trip to NZPCA Eventing Champs in Kihikihi 2014 was a big step up. It was a long trip, but worth it. I made a whoopsie on the cross country course in very wet conditions, but it was a fantastic event to be a part of.” C

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