ESNZ

Sophie attends Ashburton Intermediate School and has been riding for five years. She has been riding her pony Tilly for three years, and they have been attending Tinwald Pony Club for the last year. She currently holds her D certificate and is working on C.

Sophie has been competing at Pony Club level and is looking forward to moving up to compete at ESNZ level. She is excited to be a Star Spotter as she believes it will give her and Tilly the push they need out into the competition world and help them work as a team as they learn and gain experience.

Her goals for the season are to be competitive at 70 and 80cms, jumping clear rounds with no time faults, and to pick up some ribbons and placings along the way. Her show goal is to compete at the Canterbury Christmas Cracker.

Good luck for the season Sophie and Tilly!

Eleven Year Old Darcy has been riding for four years, three of which she has attended Tinwald Pony Club where she has her D and D+ certificates.

She has had her pony ‘Oscar’ for six months and whilst they have gone to lots of Pony Club Shows, her aim for this season is jump the 80cm in the Springston Trophy.

Good Luck for the season Darcy!

Coming from an equestrian family, it’s no surprise that eight year old Madison Worker was in the saddle before she could walk! She started riding seven years ago on her first pony, Taco, and for the last three years she has attended Papatoetoe Pony Club where she has achieved her D certificate.

Over the last ten months, she has been riding ‘Mischievous One’, also known as Ginger. Over the winter, they have been competing at the Brookby winter events at Papatoetoe Pony Club and their main goals for the season are to get confident at jumping 70cm with the aim of competing at Horse of Year show.

We can’t wait to watch you become a star Madison!

Alannah attends John Paul College in Rotorua, she has been riding since she was small enough to be led around on a miniature pony. For the past five years, she has been a member of the Ngongotaha Pony Club, and holds her C certificate.

She has been riding ‘Roo’ since April 2024 and in Roo’s first season of jumping, they competed in Pony Club events at 80cm and under. They have also done school Show Jumping events, gymkhanas, gamblers stakes and SJ/SH practise days.

Alannah would like to become more competitive at Show Jumping and move up to the next height successfully. She would like to take Roo out and about to as many events as her mum will take her to!

She is lucky enough to have former Lady Rider of the Year winner, Mikayla Herbert mentoring her.

We look forward to seeing Alannah and Roo progressing through the season!

Darfield High School student Ashley has been riding for four years, three and a half of which she has been a member of Bangor Pony Club, where she holds her D+ certificate.

She has been teamed up with “Penny” for the last year and a half, and over the winter they have been Eventing at 65cm. Between Penny and her old hack, “Polly”, Ashley has competed in the 2024 and 2025 South Island Secondary School Champs and done a small amount of 65cm Show Jumping, Hunter Jumping and Dressage.

Penny isn’t overly keen on jumping the bigger heights, but if she can get her on board, Ashley’s goal for the season is to try jumping 80cm, as well as doing more Hunter Jumping and Show Jumping in general.

We look forward to seeing Ashley and Penny out and about over the season.

Fourteen year old Maddie has been riding since she was knee high to a grasshopper, and whilst she has done some Eventing and Showjumping up to 80cm, and Level 2 Dressage on her previous pony, she has only been partnered up with ‘Storm’ for 9 months.

Maddie is a Kaiapoi High student and has been a member Eyreton Pony Club for four years, where she has her C certificate and is working towards her C+.

Her aim with Storm is to be jumping 1m-1.10m by the end of the season, as well as trying her hand at Show Hunter.

Maddie’s scholarship has very kindly been funded by the Canterbury Area as their second U25 Star Spotter.

We are looking forward to seeing Maddie and Storm progress throughout the season.

Eleven Year Old Zoe attends Halcombe School and she has been selected as the Star Spotter for Central Districts along with her pony Hawkdun Red Dazzler – also known as Dusty. Eighteen year old Dusty is Zoe’s first pony, and he has taught her a lot in the two years they have been partnered up. Together, they attend Te Kawau Pony Club and while she already has her D+ certificate, Zoe’s goal is to sit her C Certificate later this season.

Zoe & Dusty have explored many disciplines together, Pony Club, sports days, showjumping, games, dressage, show hunter and eventing, but they rate showjumping as their favourite. Over the past year, they have been showjumping up to 80cm, even representing Rangitikei Pony Club in the Bilbar Shield last year.

They gave Show Hunter a shot over the winter, and turns out they are pretty good at it. Achieving some great scores and being selected to represent Rangitikei Pony Club in the Cat B Show Hunter Championships held in Foxton at the end of September.

Zoe is excited to be a Star Spotter, as she loves jumping and wants to improve her riding and compete at some ESNZ shows in both jumping and Cat B Show Hunter. Her ultimate goal is to compete at Horse of the Year, and she believes that being a part of the Star Spotters programme and having a mentor to guide her will really help her achieve these goals.

Both Zoe and Dusty say a big thank you to Central Districts Show Jumping Group and Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre for this opportunity.

Good luck Zoe, we have no doubt that you’re going to achieve everything you’ve set your sights on.

Freyberg High School student, Miley has been riding for three and a half years, and for the last eighteen months, she has been teamed up with ‘Miss GI Jayne’, also known as Milo.

She started riding at Oakhaven Sporthorses, and still rides there to this day. Her passion for show jumping and her desire to continually improve her all-round riding ability has been the driving force behind her commitment to the sport. She has been lucky enough to have been able to ride a wide variety of horses and ponies, from green broken through to more experienced.

She has been keeping busy at low key sports days and a lot of practice days, where she has been Jumping, Hunter Jumping and even in the Pleasure ring.

Her aim is to get to the Horse of the Year Show and be as successful as she can. She is fully dedicated to putting in the hard work and effort needed to achieve this and believes with the right support, she can develop further as a rider, not only in show jumping but across all disciplines of equestrian sport. She has always been focused on working hard, staying disciplined, and pushing herself to improve, whether it’s through training , learning from others, or challenging herself at competitions.

“In addition to my competitive goals, I strive to be a well-rounded rider who understands the importance of building strong relationships with my horse and continuously refining my skills. I am committed to becoming the best rider I can be, and I am confident that this scholarship will provide me with the resources and opportunities to take my riding to the next level.”

We wish you the best of luck for the season Miley and Milo!

Tolaga Bay Area School student Emmy has been riding for just sixteen months, and has been partnered up with “Moon” since June 2025. She joined Uawa Horse Sports Club in June 2024, and Gisborne Pony Club in June 2025.

This has been Emmy’s very first season of competition. She began riding competitively in horse sports with Uawa Horse Sports Club at the start of the year, with her first events in January. Horse sports gave her a strong foundation and quickly revealed her passion for jumping. From there, Emmy has stepped into Winter Series and practice days, where she has been gaining her first real experience in the show ring. She is now preparing to ride at her first A&P Show, excited to build confidence, consistency, and continue progressing in her competition journey.

Emmy’s goals for this season are focused on growth, confidence, and building her partnership with Moon. She wants to ride positive, consistent rounds as she works her way through the 70, 80 and 90cm classes, always aiming to improve on her last performance. By the end of the season, her ambition is to be confidently competing at 1m+, showing how much progress a new rider can achieve in their very first season with patience, determination, and hard work.

We love your work ethic Emmy, and can’t wait to watch you and Moon thrive this season.

Sophie is a Year 13 student at Waimea College who has pretty much been riding her whole life. She would go for rides on her friends’ ponies, and after much begging she started getting weekly riding lessons that she kept at for around three years. Four years ago, and after a lot of convincing, she finally got her first horse.

She has been attending Waimea Pony Club for the past year and a half, and has her C+ horse master-ship certificate and will be sitting her C+ ridden certificate soon.

Sophie may not have much competition experience as she has only been to a small number of shows, but she has dabbled in a little bit of everything from both ridden and in-hand showing, level 1 dressage, 80cm eventing, 90cm show-cross and up to 90cm show jumping. Jumping is a solid favourite, but dressage is also a big focus as “I fully understand that I need the flatwork skills to move up the heights jumping”.

Sophie will be entering her first year of ESNZ competition on Parisian Belle, simply known as Paris, or ‘The Princess’ – as she can act like one at times, who she has been partnered up with for just over two years.

Sophie’s goals for the season are to build her confidence in the ring and hopes to step up to 1m later in the season. She also wants to give Show Hunter a go and travel to some more out of town shows, where Christchurch is top of her wish list as she has never competed down there before.

We are looking forward to following you and Paris on your journey Sophie, you are sure to smash your goals under the mentorship of the talented and successful Pieta Milne.

When he’s not attending Marlborough Boy’s College, you’ll more than likely find Ben riding his ponies – Solitaire, who he has owned for three years, and Summer who joined his team in May 2025.

Ben has been riding since he was fiver years old and has been a member of Blenheim Pony Club for the past three years where he holds his D Certificate.

Whilst Ben has done the winter Show Hunter Series, his goal for this season is to compete and win ribbons in Category B Show Hunter, as well a complete a 90cm round by the end of the season.

He is lucky enough to be mentored by Georgia Reid.

Best of luck Ben!!

Ward School student, Cairo, has been riding for five years. She has two ponies, Gadget who she has had for three years, and Snoop who just joined her team a month ago.

She has attended Awatere Pony Club for five years, and holds her D+ certificate.

Her first show was at Flaxbourne A&P this year, and her goals for the season are to gain confidence and experience while having fun along the way!

Have a blast Cairo, Gadget and Snoop!

Lucy has been riding for eight year, seven of those she has been a Pony Club member. She is currently a member of the Flaxmere Pony Club, and holds her C+ certificate.

She has been riding ‘Chewy’ for two years, and they have been to local A&P Shows, sports days, and jumping days.

Lucy is under the expert mentorship of Shannon James, and her goals for the season are to consistently place in 1m and 1.05m classes in both Show Jumping and Show Hunter, and to have lots of fun with her pony.

We can’t wait to see you smash your goals Lucy and Chewy!

Tulsi has been riding for four years, and is coached by Joanne Thomas. When she’s not baking, farming or hiking, you’ll often find her volunteering at horse camps and ribbon days, or riding her six year old mare ‘Promise’.

They have had a great lead up to their first ESNZ competition season, they won the 2024 Northgate Show Jumping winter series and also picked up some nice placings at Show Hunter practice days. They have attended a few ribbon days, picking up Champion Hunter Jumper at both Maunu Club and Northgate Lodge, and even had a crack at Eventing, jumping 80cm at the Whakapara ODE.

Tulsi’s goals for the season are to produce Promise by building confidence and consistency to steadily go up the heights. She is also hoping to progress her riding skills and confidently jump 1.10m by the end of this season.

We wish you and Promise all the best Tulsi!

Samantha started riding as a kid in the picturesque Wanaka, after taking a large break, she jumped back in the saddle in 2021 and completed her first full season of riding last year.

She comes into her first ESNZ Jumping competition season with ‘Drover’, and while they are a relatively new partnership having only been together for seven months, they are already getting on incredibly well.

Although Samantha hasn’t got a lot of competition experience and has mainly attended mini shows and low key jumping days, she did have some success on her previous pony. Last season, they were reserve champion in the Pleasure pony section at the Taieri A&P, 7^th at OSKAM shield – which was their first Eventing show – and 2^nd at Middlemarch ODE.

Samantha says that as they are a new combination, they have plenty of goals and experiences that they are excited to work towards. “One of my main aims is to begin competing in the Show Jumping Series, as this is a discipline I would love to excel in.”

Whilst she is working on gaining more confidence over bigger heights, most importantly she just wants to get out, have fun and continue to build a strong partnership with Drover as they grow together.

We are looking forward to watching Samantha and Drover grow together!

St Kevins College student Zara has been riding for seven years and has been attending the North Otago Pony Club for six years, where she holds her C+ certificate.

She has been partnered up with ‘Lockie’ for 18 months and they are currently competing at 90cm in Show Jumping, but they have pretty much given everything a go. From Games to Dressage, low level Eventing and even Endurance. She has also competed in lots of low level competitions, as well as some Saddle Hunter with her other pony ‘Blu’’.

Zara’s goals for the season are to compete at 1 metre and up, and to give Show Hunter a go.

We look forward to watching Zara and Lockie progress throughout the season!

Eleven year old Olive goes to Makarewa School and has been riding for three and a half years. She has attended the Invercargill Kennington Pony Club for the past two seasons and holds her D certificate.

On her previous pony, she was the Preliminary Champion in Pony Dressage at Southland for the 2024/2025 season, and also came third in the Tower Trophy 2024. For the past year, she has been partnered up with ‘William’ and they have been attending Southland Show Jumping practice days, jumping 50cm, 60cm and 70cm.

This season, Olive would like to get William more confident with fillers, give Show Hunter a go and most importantly, have fun with William and her friends.

We absolutely cannot wait to see Olive and William out and about this season.

Nine Year Old Harriet attends Waverley Primary School and has been riding for five years, for four of those, she has been a member of Patea Pony Club where she holds her D Certificate.

She has been lucky enough to loan Afallons Royal Salute (Solli) from Amanda Tulloch and has been riding him for the past six months. In their short time together, they have had success in the Winter Series Show Hunter, and they are a member of the Patea Pony Club Show Hunter team in the coming weeks.

Harriet’s goal for the season is to consistently have great Show Hunter rounds to qualify for Horse of the Year. As part of the Star Spotters scheme, Harriet will be guided every step of the way with Denise Paterson as her mentor.

Can’t wait to see you and Solli out in the ring Harriet!

Young Georgia has grown up around horses, and it’s no surprise she’s ended up in the saddle, with her Mum heavily involved in the equestrian scene, whether through the lens of her camera or being competitive against the clock in the ring.

Here’s what Georgia has to say about being a Star Spotter:

“Hi, my name is Georgia and I’m 10 years old. My pony Puzzle is my best friend – we do everything together. I love jumping and riding out in the paddock, and I’m always trying to learn new things to help us get better. I look after Puzzle every day, and I like making sure he’s happy and healthy.

I’ve never been part of ESNZ before, but I’d love the chance to learn from experienced people, go to more shows, and see how far Puzzle and I can go as a team. I promise I will work hard, listen carefully, and always try my best”.

Her proud mum Christine says “Georgia is already showing exceptional passion, commitment, and potential in her riding. She and Puzzle have developed a strong partnership, and Georgia is eager to grow her skills, both in the saddle and in her horsemanship knowledge.

She dreams of progressing in registered Show Jumping and Show Hunter, and this mentorship would give her the opportunity, guidance, and confidence to take those next steps in the sport.”

Georgia has already kicked of her season in fine style, picking up some nice placings at her first ESNZ show at Brookby Show Hunter:

5^th in the Cat A HOYQ 60cm
2nd in the BOP & Waikato Show Hunter Groups 12yrs & under Equitation Series
6^th in the Category A Championship

We are looking forward to seeing you out and about on Puzzle this season Georgia!

Eight year old Lincoln attends Leamington Primary School and has been riding since she was just a year old. She has had her pony Boblee for a year and added Crystal to her team only three months ago.

Lincoln has gone to practice days and clinics, so competing at a show will be a whole new experience for her. Her main goals of the season are to start competing, to try and get Crystal to relax at shows and to gain experience with the ups and downs of shows.

We look forward to seeing Lincoln and Crystal out competing this season.

Cambridge High School student, Jasmine has been riding for four years, for 2 and half of those, she has been partnered up with her pony Balu. Having recently moved back to NZ from Australia, Jasmine attends Leamington Pony Club and plans on sitting her Pony Club certificates this season.

BaIu and Jasmine have been involved in Pony Club ribbon days, Inter-Schools Show Jumping, Gold Cup Teams Events, Leamington Gymkhana where they were the overall points Champion, sports days, Reserve Champion, Cowboy Challenge events and have competed up to 80cm Showjumping.

Jasmine’s goal for the season is to develop her riding skill and horsemanship knowledge as well as compete more in Show Jumping and enter some Pleasure Classes at A&P shows.

We can’t wait to watch you and Balu smash your goals Jasmine!

Solway College student, Sadie has been riding since she was just two years old. She has been attending the Wairarapa Pony Club for the past fiver years, and holds her D certificate.

She has been riding Marley for the last year, and they have competed at Level 1 Dressage, Show Hunter in the Cat B & C classes and Show Jumping at 80 and 90cm.

Her goals for the season are to:
Increase her dressage score on Marley to 70.
Be successful at Cat C Show Hunter.
To jump a 1m Show Jumping track.

We look forward to seeing to smash your goals Sadie!

Bailey attends Taupaki School, holds her D+ Pony Club certificate, and at the ripe age of 10, she has already been riding for half her life! She has had her current pony Buzz Lightyear for 1 year and has dreams to head to infinity and beyond!

Bailey and Buzz dabble in a bit of everything, ranging from Show Hunter (a firm favourite) to in-hand, with ribbon days, dressage, showing, and show jumping in between!

Bailey was the winner of the Waitemata Winter Pony series where she was turned out beautifully and listened to advice from the gate keepers and judges. She has gone from jumping 50cm at the first show, to 70cm by the third, which is a great start in the lead up to her first season at ESNZ competition as one of our Star Spotters! Bailey’s goal for the season is to qualify for 2026 Horse of the year in Show Hunter.

Have a great season Bailey & Buzz!