Tara Gower features in season 6 of the Young Riders TV series, interviewed by producer Kate Peacocke. Copyright Young Riders NZ
Picking up riders along the way has paid off, with plenty of action among the teen equestrians in the latest series of the Kiwi TV series the Young Riders, to be launched in time for Easter. Over the season, the cast has grown to feature more riders than ever before, and they’ve got the whole country covered.
North Island riders Tara Gower, Sofia Williams, Matisse Masterson, Matt and Cam Taylor, Tama Kururangi, Wiremu Priest (narrator), Sophia Blackbourn, Cole Sherborne, Chloe Armstrong and Emily Oliver; and South Island riders Jess Hore, Grace Hore, Casey McIntosh, Summer Borrie, Maygen Gubb, Cara Quinn and Molly Smith. The most recent recruit is Cruze Du Plessis.
The final two episodes were filmed as the riders scrambled for the final points to get them further up the leaderboard before the Jumping Series Finals on 9-11 April at the Fiber Fresh NEC in Taupō.
Young Riders creator and producer Kate Peacocke says it’s been “rocking along despite the odd curve ball that you get when you’re working with kids and animals”, but Tara Gower and Sofia Williams were two of the riders who delivered sterling results.
“Tara and Sofia have been going head-to-head in the Property Brokers Horse Grand Prix series on Riverhills Legend (Epic) and Grassendale Enzo. The friendly rivalry has lit up the screen. They’re stand-outs among some really great young riders that we have followed this time,” says Kate.
Tara Gower and Riverhills Legend at Pukekohe during the filming of Young Riders season 6. Source: Young Riders NZ
This is the third season that Tara has been on the Young Riders.
“Tara is totally dedicated to her riding. We worked out that she spends about 1,200 hours a year in the saddle. This includes training racehorses from 4.30 am, working with breakers, her own horses, competing at shows and playing her family sport of Polocrosse which Tara has represented New Zealand in both the under 21’s and NZ women’s team.
“Along with Tama Kururangi, Tara also turned her hand to commentating at Taranaki on the fun entertainment kids’ dog jumping race that we filmed. It was great!” says Kate.
Tara took media studies at school and says this has helped her understand the production process.
“It’s been an incredible experience. It has taught me a lot, especially learning how to be in front of the camera after a big success, and then being able to hold my emotions when things don’t go well. It can be really hard because show jumping is such an emotional support,” she says.
When she was little, Tara told her parents that she wanted to be a show jumper. After visiting a Horse of the Year show, they told her they couldn’t afford to buy her a show jumping horse, so they would have to try to ‘make’ one.
Her mother, Sue, bred a youngster by Euro Sport Centavos out of Destiny who is by Ranfurly, a horse with bloodlines back to her own top-level polocrosse mount. “Epic” is now nine.
“It’s pretty special as the TV show has actually captured three very important years of my jumping career together with Epic, as we’ve stepped up into the Grand Prix and the Premier Leagues and World Cups. It’s kind of like a little journal that I know I’m going to be able to look back at in 30 years, and I’ll be able to watch Epic all over again,” says Tara.
She says she is looking forward to seeing the latest season as, in the past, she’s been surprised to see how it looks once it’s been produced.
“Sometimes I wonder how they make us look so good. We had a cameraman last season who used to come up and tell me all the things I’d say when I’m riding my horses. I had no idea, and to be honest, it was quite embarrassing! But as it’s a kids’ show they edited it out. Yeah, I definitely had some very good bloopers,” she laughs.
The inside word is that episode seven will feature the Dunstan Horse Feeds North Island Show Jumping & Show Hunter Champs (hosted by TEJ), and episode eight will include Brookby Show Jumping (sponsors Fiber Fresh and Canter for Cancer), and the Marlborough Showjumping Top of the South Championships in conjunction with Nelson Area Jumping Group.
The first 2 episodes of season 6 hits the airwaves on Thursday 2 April, with the remaining 6 episodes releasing over the Easter school holidays. Kate says the riders have been remarkable.
“Horse kids are more mature than other kids the same age, because they have so much responsibility. They can’t just say, ‘oh, I just want to stay on my phone … I don’t wanna go and feed my horses’ because they’ve got horses out there that have to get fed and mucked out. So they’re actually really responsible.
“Sometimes I have to remind myself, hey, this kid’s only 16,” she says.
Young Riders will be available to watch on YouTube / YouTube Kids with new episodes dropping over the school holidays, and TVNZ+ / TVNZ2 at a later date. It is funded by NZ On Air.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@YoungRidersTV_Kids
TVNZ+: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/young-riders
Here is the promo for season 6: