Jonelle Price is set to star alongside some of New Zealand’s greatest as part of the inspirational and aspirational Dream Catchers series.The world-class eventer was interviewed by creator Hilary Timmins with the episode to be screened on TVNZ on Saturday, May 5.
“I am honoured to be part of this,” said Price. “Anything where you are deemed to be inspiring a younger generation of New Zealanders is always a privilege and an honour. I met Hillary at an Eventing Team New Zealand function in London at New Zealand House. I remember looking over and going ‘oh my God, it’s the lady off It’s in The Bag’.”
The two got chatting and got on famously. Price admits Timmins was a bit of a childhood hero for her. “When I was about seven my school did It’s in The Bag at the annual assembly and I was the host of the show, so it is quite funny. It has been great getting to know Hilary.”
The show focuses on Kiwis who have gone to great lengths to pursue their dreams. “Us moving from one side of the world to the other, so far away from our families, and very much climbing from the bottom of the ladder to work our way up – that interested them.”
Price and husband Tim are very much looking forward to watching the finished product.
“It seems a long time ago they did the filming but I guess that shows how long it takes to get a production to air,” says Price. “We always say the Olympics are so special because everyone back home can associate with it whether they are horsey or not. People appreciate the Olympics are the pinnacle of sport. This is also showing our sport to people at home who may come from non-horsey backgrounds but they will be able to associate with it a bit and hopefully have an appreciation of what we embarked on and have been doing over the last 13 years.”
Price is part of the high performance episode which also includes a New Zealand RAF Red Arrow aerobatic pilot, a former sports star who is now building a gym empire in the UK and the goings on inside the Mclaren Formula One headquarters which honours Kiwi motorsport icon Bruce Mclaren.
Lizzie Brown and Jesse Campbell will feature later in the series as part of the educational episode.
Dream Catchers is described as an “inspiring and aspirational” series celebrating New Zealand’s global winners. It is written and produced by Hilary Timmins and features more than 32 “remarkable” Kiwis across a diverse range of occupations, exploring what brought them to the UK, why they stayed, the secrets of their success and their continuing connections to New Zealand.
“Dream Catchers will tell us the story of these remarkable New Zealanders, their informative early years, it will touch on their family life both here and back home and it will look at what it took to get them to the top and continues to inspire them,” says Timmins.
The eight part series began screening on TVNZ 1 in late April with the piece featuring Price set for May 5 at 3.55pm. It is also available on TVNZ OnDemand.
The whole series will eventually be made available to educational platforms which Timmins hopes will inspire young New Zealanders to reach for their dreams.
Follow Dream Catchers through Facebook through https://www.facebook.com/dreamcatcherskiwi
By Diana Dobson – HP Media Liaison
Photo by Libby Law/ESNZ