Jonelle Price celebrates with husband Tim Price after he, riding Ringwood Sky Boy, won the title for the 2018 GBR-Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials CCI4*. Photo / Libby Law Photography
Jonelle Price celebrates with husband Tim Price after he, riding Ringwood Sky Boy, won the title for the 2018 GBR-Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials CCI4*. Photo / Libby Law Photography
The talented Price family are headed to Hawke's Bay for one of the biggest events of 2019 - Horse of the Year.
It'll be the first time that Tim and Jonelle Price have returned home to New Zealand since 2004.
They will be the headline acts of the show's newBurghley Day-themed cross country competition in March which annually attracts top Kiwi riders, all vying for lucrative titles and prizes.
The couple, both from the South Island, made history in Rio as the first husband and wife on the same Olympic team in 2016. Sir Mark Todd also rode alongside them at his seventh Olympics.
Jonelle Price rides Classic Moet during the Cross Country for the FEI World Team and Individual Eventing Championship. Photo / Libby Law Photography
The Price's appearance in next year's line-up was a "must-have" for Horse of the Year event director Dave Mee , after he watched the duo in action at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and Badminton Horse Trials.
"It could be argued that many Kiwis underestimate the talent of our top eventers. The cross country fences these guys and girls face would question anyone's courage. To have such a dedicated and talented young couple like Tim and Jonelle flying our flag on the world stage is great for New Zealand and great for the sport.
"We thought, let's celebrate their achievements by bringing them home to compete. This is our chance as a country to salute and really make a fuss of what they've accomplished."
The power couple are the first married couple to win equestrian's two most prestigious titles in the same year, since Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips emulated the feat back in 1971.
Tim Price rides Ringwood Sky Boy during the CCI4* Cross Country at the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials, Gloucestershire, Great Britain.Photo / Libby Law Photography
After Jonelle Price took top honours in the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials in May, Tim Price, 39, won British eventing's other major four-star crown, the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials in September.
They refer to themselves as "the best of friends and fiercest of competitors" and say they're excited to headline New Zealand's pinnacle equestrian event.
"We're thrilled to be asked to compete at the Land Rover Horse of the Year Show. It's been an incredible year for us both and we want to come home and show all our supporters that Kiwis [like us] can take on the best of the world," Jonelle Price says.
Fans can catch the pair in action at the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds on Saturday March 16, 2019.
