Two weeks later the girls and the young rider they mentored were invited to see these ponies out in the wild.
"We were ignorant beforehand, we just had no idea about the scale of the problem but once we saw them in the wild firsthand it made a difference."
On their first trip they saw about 500 Kaimanawa horses ready to be mustered.
Of those, 100-180 are taken to the slaughterhouse so the number of wild horses is maintained.
This hit home with the girls so they decided it was time they did something to help.
Amanda said in their first year they trained about 30 Kaimanawa horses and homed 11.
"It takes up a lot of time and patience but was a phenomenal experience and we became emotionally connected."
She said it could take anything from eight days to 500 days for the horses to get comfortable and relaxed around humans.
The trio would start by getting them used to the human touch and Vicki said it was a huge milestone when they would eat the grass out of their hand.
"We would then ride them bare back so it was gentle and relaxed. It was sometimes scary but we would never get on them until they were ready.
"It was important not to rush as the time it takes them to become emotionally and physically ready varied."
Once the news started to spread that these girls were saving, taming and training wild horses they were approached to make a television show.
At first they were not keen to be in the public eye but once the sisters realised the awareness it could raise they agreed to it.
"We started to realise the benefit of it but we were very particular about filming. We told them we could never get the horses to repeat something and if they missed it they wouldn't be able to go back," Amanda said.
"The film crew got stressed at the start but it meant it was authentic and natural. Only one cameraman and director were allowed on the property so no one interfered with the training."
After the first year of the show hitting the television screens of the 191 horses mustered 119 were homed and in the second year 100 per cent of the muster was saved.
The trio have since been mentoring young riders in hope of passing on their knowledge and experience so their legacy is continued.
At this year's HOY one of the horses they saved and trained Remembrance RH is competing with rider Shanti Aplin and has so far been successful in the show hunter and showjumping.
"It just makes you realise how important it is that we continue to save these animals. It has been an amazing experience so far and is very gratifying," Kelly said.
