Co-producer Michelle Lee said she and Brent were probably the only ones on the crew who weren’t Ngāti Porou.
“Over the years of filming we have built strong relationships with the people there. We wanted to start on the East Coast, Tairāwhiti, because of the relationships (we have) and the quality of horses and the commitment to the Naati horse,” she said.
The idea for the show came about after they helped establish the National Māori Horse Association Te Hapori Hōiho, which includes rangatira from across the motu who have had long and diverse careers within horsemanship.
“Because we didn’t have a national body, our people were finding themselves isolated and not getting resources and that was limiting their development across all sorts of different horsing codes. Those were issues for us, but also cultural issues that we felt weren’t being address so we set up Te Hapori Hōiho.
Following that, Michelle had the idea for this show, where horses and humans transform from strangers to close companions.
“We are horse people, so we come to these productions as horse people first, who happen to be producers, not the other way around.”
Within the 100 days of filming, Cyclone Gabrielle hit Tairāwhiti and the country.
Everybody on the crew of the show felt the impact of the cyclone in one way or another, Michelle said.
“It did threaten (to end) the show completely. It was only the result of people’s determination and hard-working commitment that we were able to pull it off.
“When you fall off the horse, you get back on.”
There are a few standout parts from the show the producers are rapt to have captured.
One is the scene recreating the first hōiho coming ashore to Aotearoa, a gift to Ngāpuhi chief Ruatara in 1814.
“We have been trying to get that shot for 15 years,” said Michelle. “It’s a complicated one to get because you need a horse that’s happy to swim without a bridle or halter and be let free on a beach, you need great water clarity, multiple cameras, health and safety regulations which is big for us, and also finding a beach without a house and someone brave enough to go in the water with a Go Pro. So we can say we are pretty proud of that scene.”
But she says her favourite part of the series happens in the final episode, airing on Wednesday at 7pm on Whakaata Māori.
“No spoilers, but I think people will laugh, cry, haka and hopefully finish it feeling triumphant. Bring tissues as I have to say it’s a bit of a tearjerker.”
Besides cinematography, there are different kaupapa Michelle hopes people take away from the series.
“I wanted to promote Te Hapori Hōiho because we want more of our people to join. It’s a national body and only costs $10 a year and it gives us a voice.
“Another is we are really tired of the Wīwī Naati horse being called a Coastie or just a Coastie horse, or Gisborne-bred, as they use the Coastie term to drive the price down, and they use the Gisborne-bred term to drive the price up. There is a real lack of acknowledgement of the 200 years of Ngāti Porou horse breeding and developing that breed, which everyone wants because of its temperament.
“Another is related te reo. We purposely spelt Ruatōrea as Ruatōrea, which some people think we have misspelt, but we did this as it’s a way to bring up discussion and discourse around the naming.”
Along with these kaupapa, the Native Ride crew have caught the attention of the Blackfoot Nation in Montana who saw the preview of the show and invited the whole delegation over to their reservation to premiere the series there.
“That’s the thing about horses, it’s about all our people.”
to Ngāti Porou.