HP Team 2025 Off Horse Camp

What a weekend it was for the 55-odd athletes and HP team who attended the ESNZ High Performance annual off-horse camp in Cambridge. Attendees came from across the disciplines – jumping, eventing, dressage and endurance – and from all over the country to listen and learn from some of the best.

For some of the athletes it was their first taste of the high performance programme. They learnt about the HP team values, led by High Performance Sport New Zealand’s Christian Penny who is the leader of their coach accelerator programme and has curated bespoke support for successful New Zealand Olympic coaches and athletes.

Gold medal winning Olympic cyclist Ellesse Andrews talked about her journey and how she overcame pinch points in her performance and training. Christian has worked for some time with New Zealand’s top eventers as well as the likes of Dame Noeline Taurua and her Silver Ferns, Dame Lisa Carrington and her coach Gordy Walker, Michael Maguire’s winning Kiwi rugby league team and the Black Fern Sevens.

Aliesha Moroney-Ormsby, who with husband Chad Ormsby owns the very successful boutique horse education and training business Riverrock Farm and angus stud, presented on running a sustainable equine business, drilling down into the finer detail that can make all the difference to the bottom line. Her equestrian background coupled with her corporate experience has given her a very holistic understanding of running a successful operation and provided plenty for the athletes to think about.

Sports psychologist Jason Yuill Proctor who has worked for some time with ESNZ also spoke throughout the weekend.

ESNZ high performance general manager Jock Paget felt there was plenty of benefit in bringing together the cross discipline camp. “It is a chance for our athletes to build connections and learn from each other,” he says. “We have been doing some critical education and introduction to things they need to learn. Being off horse gives a chance to cover things there is often no time to cover when they are in (on horse) training environments.”

Talent Identification athletes who were at their first-ever camp were given an understanding of the system, the expectations and an outline of just what they were becoming a part of as they progressed through the pathway.

ESNZ successfully applied for Olympic Solidarity Funding to enable the camp to happen with athletes all paying their own way to and from Cambridge. Key priorities for the funding are championing athletes and building NOC’s capability to allow athletes to train and compete to their full potential, enable NOCs to responsibly fulfil their mission and ensure more people take part in and benefit from sport and Olympism.

By Diana Dobson – HP Media Liaison
13th August 2025