A special place for the Bibby family

RIDING’S IN THE BLOOD: The Bibby family, (from left) Dylan (12), Hamish, Katie (5), Kelly with Ruby, Amy (8) and Leah (11). Picture by Diana Dobson/The Black Balloon

GISBORNE will always hold a special place in the hearts of Kelly and Hamish Bibby.

The Ongaonga couple are in the city with their four children for the Larsen Sawmilling Showjumping Championships. But if it weren’t for Gisborne, and more specifically Merran and Sid Hain and Waikura Station, they wouldn’t have a truckful to bring north.

Kelly was Merran’s groom for years. She started as a teenager and was there when Merrain and Tregonning won their first Olympic Cup as Showjumper of the Year.

It was one day after a busy run of shows that Merran gave Kelly and farmworker Hamish the day off to go to town.

“We came back engaged,” Kelly said.

They didn’t live it down for a while.

“I just loved my time with the Hains,” she said.

“I was treated like one of the family and still talk about Trigger (Tregonning) as if he were mine. Merran is just amazing and I learned so much.”

It’s knowledge Kelly is now sharing with her children, Dylan (12), Leah (11), Amy (8) and Katie (5).

Family farm in OngaongaWhen she and Hamish left the Hains, they went to work for Pam and Darcy Hamilton, where their two eldest children were born, before heading to Hamish’s family farm in Ongaonga in 2006.

While Kelly may be an old hand at shows, the family are relatively new to life on the road. Dylan started competing at nine at the Pony Club Show Hunter Champs where, on debut, he placed seventh with Lumancanda.

While there may be something in the genes, both Kelly and Hamish put that result, and those that continue to follow, down to their fantastic team of ponies.

There’s seven-year-old Daisy Patch (owned by Pam Hamilton and Lyn McPhail), who is ridden by Dylan and doing very well in show hunter and looking promising in showjumping. Dylan’s other horse is nine-year-old Boogie, a small thoroughbred in her first season out.

Then there’s a big jump in the ages. Leah’s Half Pie, a well-performed show hunter, is 21 years old. Amy’s Dream Spinner is 22 and is a former top showing pony who has made the switch to show hunter. And Katie, the youngest in the family, has the oldest pony in Lumancanda.

Hamish says it is ponies like these that build all-important confidence in youngsters as they find their feet in the competitive world.

“You just have to make sure you really look after them,” Kelly said.

She would love to get back into competition but said with four youngsters it is a big ask.

“My time will come back round,” she said.

“At the moment we’re just dedicated supporters of this crew. This is the most incredible sport and I love that we can all go out for a ride together.”

Three generationsThat ride can sometimes encompass three generations, when Hamish’s mum, and proud grandmother, Lyn joins them.

“Equestrian may be a lot of work, but it is definitely worth it.”

Kelly said coming to Gisborne always feels like she is coming home.

The family’s Gisborne show got off to a good start with Dylan winning a fistful of ribbons. Leah was sidelined for the opening day after a kick from a horse — not her own — but she’s hoping to get back out before the end of the show.

The family run a 500-hectare property with sheep, bulls and grazing dairy heifers.

In addition to his feats in the show hunter and showjumping rings, Dylan has also had success breeding black and coloured sheep. He both sells and shows them, and has nabbed many a top championship ribbon.

His efforts have caught the attention of Country Calendar, who are heading to the farm to do a programme on the talented youngster.

“We head to shows with both sheep and horses sometimes, and need two trucks to get everyone there,” Kelly said.

“Sheep are a whole lot easier to deal with though!”