Olivia Lovelock and Dajata Podge winners of the Dig Deep Challenge at the Winter Olympics. Waipukurau, 2024.
With the Winter Olympics grassroots showjumping event coming to Waipukurau on 26 April, one young rider is looking forward to competing for the second time.
Last year, Dannevirke’s Olivia Lovelock (13) competed on 17-year-old Kaimanawa mare Dajata Podge and won a free membership to Equestrian Sports NZ in the Dig Deep Challenge. She also won the Mini Prix. Now, with the competition coming up later this week, she’s about to return on Dajata Splash, her sister’s coloured mare from the East Coast after Podge was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease.
Olivia loves Kaimanawa horses and also has a youngster from the 2021 muster called Billy (My Bestie). The family is waiting for a horse from this year’s muster too.
“I like the partnership with Kaimanawas, the progression and the trusting connection you can develop with them,” says Olivia. “They are clever and very willing.”
Olivia Lovelock and Dajata Podge.
Olivia is one of three teenage sisters who have competed at the Winter Olympics multiple times since the event was created. It was started by showjumper Claire Wilson and is held each year at her Mt Herbert farm in Waipukurau to raise funds for local causes, while also giving horse and pony riders of all levels a fun and encouraging experience in the world of showjumping.
Now in its 16th year, the Winter Olympics focuses on style and equitation, hunting and a cowboy challenge, and there are also lead-rein classes and an unmounted ‘fun zone’ where children can enjoy a variety of fun and games.
The competition attracts plenty of support from local businesses, and several organisations have benefited from the funds raised including Flemington School, Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter Trust and the Hawke’s Bay Cancer Society.
Claire and husband Simon work with a group of equally committed volunteers to make this all possible.
“Winter Olympics really is a great opportunity to give non-competitors a taste of competing in an encouraging and relaxed atmosphere. I am confident that this event has been able to inspire more riders to have a go at competing at their local shows,” says Claire.
Kathryn Lovelock says when the family moved from Levin to their Dannevirke dairy farm, the Winter Olympics gave them a chance to get to know the locals.
“It is a nice community-run day and we love Claire Wilson’s infectious smile which is so encouraging to all the participants. It’s given us the opportunity to meet local people and the girls have met friends who have also drawn them into pony club and hunting. It’s been really good.”
Olivia Lovelock will be competing on Dajata Splash for the Winter Olympics 2025.
Kathryn says her daughter Olivia was very proud to win the ESNZ membership at last year’s Winter Olympics, and it has enabled her to have a valuable season competing on her sister’s horse, Dajata Splash.
“She has enjoyed a full season at local shows in Category C Show Hunter and up to 95cm show jumping. Olivia has competed at CHB show, Central Districts Foxton Show, Feilding Show, Dannevirke Show and Taihape Show. She has picked up many placings and is looking forward to moving up the heights next season on a different family pony.
“Thank you for giving Olivia the opportunity to compete at a higher level this season. She gave it her all and had a lot of fun too,” says Kathryn.
ESNZ General Manager Community Jo Colin says Equestrian Sports New Zealand is delighted to support the Winter Olympics, an associated event that has a proven track record of encouraging grassroots riders into the sport of showjumping for the past 15 years.
“We are pleased to see that winners of the Dig Deep Challenge have benefitted from receiving our ESNZ membership prize, and many have gone on to become successful competitive riders. We thank Claire Wilson and her team for their ongoing commitment to an event that has become a jewel in the crown for the Waipukurau community,” says Jo.
Elder sister Hannah (16) won the Central and Southern Hawkes Bay jumping group’s Star Spotter Scholarship for 2024/25 on Dajata Splash, the mare that Olivia will take to pony club camp in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics at the end of the week.