Behind the scenes of Young Riders Producer Kate Peacocke and a camera operator capture the action at Land Rover Horse of the Year in March 2024.
Take ten teenage showjumpers, a whole lot of GoPro’s and helmet cams, and a committed TV production team and you’ve got a successful local kids show that is now in its fifth season. Young Riders is back on the road and camera crews are out at showjumping competitions across the motu as the latest crop of riders navigate another season of laughter, tears and celebrations. The half-hour show follows budding equestrians on camera with no frills attached and is published online on YouTube / YouTube Kids and on-demand on TVNZ+. It is funded by NZ on Air.
How it all Began
The series began as a concept when Kate Peacocke, a New Zealand television Producer, had an idea for a kids show. She has always been interested in horses and rode them as a youngster. And while producing the popular TV show Dog Squad: Puppy School, she struck up a conversation with her video-editor equestrian Amie Bentall about a new television project idea she had in mind.
Cara Quinn on Dakota, Young Riders series 1. Credit: Michelle Clarke Photography.
“I said to Amie, oh, do you know any show jumpers? and she knew heaps. But I said, no, young ones, like teenagers or something. And the next thing, Amie was busy finding all these links to possible riders we could follow and we realised we were onto something special! And so that’s how we got season one off the ground,” says Kate.
As a rider herself, Amie’s expertise came to the fore and helped with the programme’s development. Another rider, eventer Cecily Driver, joined the production team as a production coordinator / trainee director after a season working for ESNZ’s High Performance rider, Jesse Campbell, in the UK.
Seasons 1 & 2 were produced by Greenstone TV, an Auckland-based television production company that has made over 2,500 episodes of original programming distributed and viewed globally across multiple premium networks.
Holly Mackenzie on Badger, Young Riders series 1. Credit: Michelle Clarke Photography.
Showjumping vs Eventing
The series followed showjumpers, with season 3 focusing on eventing riders. However, it had been extremely difficult for the small production team to cover a full cross country course with the filming resources they had. Therefore, showjumping proved to be a more viable discipline where the production team could focus on a more defined space within a high stakes event that worked best for content making.
After a three-year hiatus Kate got behind getting Season 4 off the ground, successfully securing funding from NZ on Air again, and Young Riders was brought back to life.
“Everything had gone to sleep for three years with COVID lockdowns and floods in the Hawke’s Bay and so it wasn’t until last year, we thought, well, let’s apply for funding for season 4 and see what we could do,” she says. She was delighted when New Zealand On Air approved a half-a-million dollar budget for the on-line tv series to continue.
Tara Gower on Epic, Young Riders series 5. Credit: Julia Murch Photography.
Clip Gets Half a Million Views
“We released Season 4 right at the start of the April holidays. The showjumping season had just finished. Everyone wanted something to watch because no one was going to shows that weekend. And so we dropped [released] it over the holidays and then TVNZ played it on TVNZ+ a little bit later. It went off! We had an audience who both wanted to watch the show, but also wanted to follow us on our socials (Instagram and TikTok).”
The series was demonstrating that it had become cemented in the kiwi psyche particularly among Tamariki (child) viewers. One of Season 4’s most compelling moments was when they featured a cast member riding her horse on her home property, jumping a fence, rounding up a herd of bulls, then jumping back over the fence and riding home. The clip attracted over 500,000 views on Instagram.
“With Season 4, we built up quite a community on our social media platforms and I think that really helped NZ on Air see there was a strong following for the series. So, then we thought, well … actually … let’s apply for a season 5, which we weren’t particularly confident about, because it’s unusual for NZ on Air to fund five series of the same show.”
However, NZ On Air again came to the party, and Young Riders began filming this September, with series 5 expected to be released in April 2025 on YouTube / YouTubeKids and then on TVNZ+ in May.
Jess Hore on Mya, Young Riders series 3. Credit: Michelle Clarke Photography.
The Riders
Each episode features riders aged 14-19 years old who have ridden at local events and been placed in showjumping with a focus on the young and junior rider classes, but that is not the only selection criteria.
“We’ve tried to select kids who do all the hard yards themselves producing their own horses, where they do the work. Then we invite them to provide a short video introducing themselves and their horses and talk about their plans for the season. From this we can see if they will be comfortable on camera and are able to deliver a level of commitment the ongoing shooting schedule requires. We want boots and all. They can’t run away and hide if they don’t do very well, because then we’ve got no story to tell. We always need to talk to them after they’ve done their round whatever the result is, and we put a positive spin on it. We’re also aware that the riders we follow become role models for younger riders.”
The Weather
Currently in production, season 5 has been themed “Across the Motu” and the production is following five riders in the North Island and five riders in the South Island, each taking part in filming in the rain, hail, snow and sunshine as Kate recalls.
“Filming began in late winter. There were no leaves on the trees and a lot of mud leading up to the Rotorua Spring Show, but we still managed to get good footage and the riders delivered strong storylines.”
“Then we got down to Queenstown and we were waiting to film, and it was a wet, cold, dull afternoon and the forecast wasn’t much better for the next day. Then, overnight I woke up at about four in the morning and I heard this funny ‘pitter patter’ sound. I looked out the window and there was snow everywhere including about six cm on the roof of our car!”
A mother accompanying the cast suggested they pulled the plug on filming that day.
“I just said, no, no, no, no, we’ll build this into the story! They’ve got a spring show to train for, all the kids could really do is take the horses out for a stretch because they can’t jump in the snow, but the footage looked just amazing. You always go out with a plan of what you’re going to film, but if things that we plan to do are always fluid,” she says.
Molly Moffatt on Larry, Young Riders series 3. Credit: Michelle Clarke Photography.
The Course Designers
Over the multiple series, the television crew has become a welcomed part of the landscape at many equestrian venues. Course designers have accommodated the placement of the cameras and often help the crew to find the best place to locate a mini Go-Pro to get the best jumping angles. Kate says having a rapport with the designers is very important: a television production is always looking for the visual aspects, and a course designer is looking for the technical aspects. Marrying the two can deliver a great result.
She says members of the public frequently come up to them and tell them how much they love the TV show.
“The audience of Young Riders is all kids who ride or like horses, some may never be able to afford one of their own, but they still watch the show. We have had lots of support from the equestrian community including the pony clubs. When it comes to releasing the show, we contact the pony clubs around the country including those where our kids started at and say, Young Riders coming out, would you like to give us a plug? And they’ve been very good at doing that.”
Sophia Blackbourn on Blue, Young Riders series 3. Credit: Julia Murch Photography.
A Great Boost for our Sport
Equestrian Sports NZ Jumping Sport Manager Marilyn Thompson says she is delighted to see the popularity and tenure of the Young Riders series.
“When Kate first approached us with her idea, we were excited to have someone take Jumping into TV land. The series promotes the healthy and positive aspects of a partnership with a horse, including the ups and downs, the hard work, and the amazing benefits and fun. Riders, their families and friends all form part of the picture and portray what our sport is about. The cast members have benefited from the exposure, and many have become positive role models for those coming into the sport,” she says.
In the next few months, the Season 5 riders will be competing at five more shows, including Defender Horse of the Year in March 2025. The riders are: North Island – Sophia Blackbourn, Tara Gower, Matisse Masterson, Wiremu Priest (also narrator), and Dylan Burton; and South Island – Molly Moffatt, Jess Hore, Molly Smith, Cara Quinn and Holly MacKenzie. Sophia, Tara and Cara have been selected for the ESNZ High Performance Talent Identification Squad.
ESNZ hopes to catch up with some of the cast from earlier series, many of whom have gone on to mentor riders that have joined the series after them.
You can see series 1-4 here: (series 5 is released next year)
https://www.youtube.com/@YoungRidersTV_Kids
https://www.youtube.com/@YoungRidersTV
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/young-riders
And follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngridersnz
and on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@youngridersnz