Byebye Aoteoroa

I had such a good time in New Zealand that I decided it was worthwhile sacrificing 7 of the 10 days I was suppose to spend in Fiji to stay a little longer. When I texted Julie the date I would be back in Auckland she replied with such enthusiasm it made me feel like going home. As they had a new horse ready to be ridden the timing was perfect. Kiwi, an appaloosa (horse with spots..) has a perfect jump on him but gets a bit overexcited and when that happens it's kinda hard to stop him.. One of the first challenges was participating in a showhunter practice day. Showhunting is a jump parcours with natural-like jumps where rithm, balance and control the aspects are the jury pays attention to. Kiwi was to be ridden by Louise and I would ride Comet, Julies horse. Comet hadn't jumped since December and I haven't jumped for about 10 years so that made a great combination. Julie told me it was just a day of practice but when I saw the jumps, the jury and the ribbons I wasn't that convinced... After two practice-jumps it was my time to go in and Julie briefly mentioned that whenever Comet refused he would turn left. That wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear but it was exactly what happened at the first jump. Comet saw an imaginary monster behind the jump, turned left, and as he was positive the monster was following him, he cantered around the arena while I was frantically trying to get my stirrup (and my control) back. I did finish the whole round, it just took me a few goes :-). Maybe I didn't get a ribbon, but I was definitely the most entertaining.
Kiwi did very well if it had been a showjumping contest where time is the most important factor. It was if the accelerator was out of control and the breaks where nowhere to be found. Louise got him over all the jumps and as she couldn't get him back to trot she cantered out of he arena through the waiting horses.. All good, at least Julie was very excited and kept saying it all looked great apart from the refusals..
Over the next days we took Comet and Kiwi out for a few forest- and beach rides and Kiwi was just a dream! Once we were cantering along the beach and as the tide came in we had to hurry not to get stuck somewhere, as we could see the strip of sand getting smaller and smaller. The whether was quite rough and when some white foam came flying towards us Comets instinct took over; screamed 'MONSTER!' and leapt into the air trying to kill the thing with a ferocious kick which almost made Julie come flying off. I saw Kiwi's eyes following this whole spectacle thinking: 'What's all that about?'. The good lad stayed with me, thankfully.
Another time we raced each other in full gallop up Andrea's hill and a third time we watched quietly as four deer, two females and two big males with huge antlers jumped across the fence in front of us. I'm unable to describe the freedom, power and partnership you feel while doing a horse trek like this but I love it. The fact that you're riding an animal so much bigger and more powerful than you'll ever be and the way you can make them listen to you by being honest and fair is amazing.

One night we went to Jordan's school to celebrate Matariki, Maori's new year. There was music and they prepared a 'hangi' for us, a traditional Maori meal, cooked on hot stones in the ground during the day and it was absolutely delicious! A firedancer made the night complete.

Now I'm in Fiji, where 'Kia Ora' became 'Bula' (welcome, Maori vs Fijian) and again I had to say goodbye to a great country. Bye Aoteoroa, thank you.