EQUESTRIAN: Girls ain't horsing around

Anendra Singh It's tricky when mums and daughters don't see eye to eye.
It's even trickier if they are stunt riders like Steph Coldstream and her teenage daughter, Kody, when the sequins and choreography don't fall into place.
Ask if they have any differences, Kody, sporting a mischievous grin, replies: "Which one?"
A smiling Steph cuts in: "We work it out."
Kody, 14, concedes: "Mum's the boss. We have differences when it comes to tricks and costumes - and then there's music."
Steph: "Okay, we do have choreographies and I'm still stuck in the seventies."
Kody: "And I like hip-hop."
What's important is at the end of the day the talented combination "work it out".
The pair, with Hastings-born Katrina Frost and her six-year-old daughter, Lequita, all live in Palmerston North and perform under the banner of Lone Ryders Stunt Girls.
Steph says they are New Zealand's first all-female stunt riders and believe they are the only mother-and-daughter combinations in the southern hemisphere.
"We perform graceful but daring manoeuvres on a galloping horse," says Steph, who has been riding and enjoying hack horses all her life and stunt riding for the past seven years. She and Kody struck a chord four years ago.
But it must take something special to be in a biscuit commercial that ex-All Black Carlos Spencer's six-pack abs made famous.
Steph travels to Auckland on Sunday as a stunt double for an actress in the Toffee Pops TV advertisement.
Katrina Frost says: "They are unsure whether the actress will be able to ride a horse. If she can canter then Steph will be her double but if she can't then Steph will perform the entire role herself.
"I'm not sure what the story line is but I do know it involves being dragged through a paddock full of cow poo," she says.
The Coldstreams have been regulars at the Kelt Capital Horse of the Year Show held at the Hawke's Bay A & P Showgrounds in Hastings.
Apart from horse shows, the quartet perform at corporate functions, race meetings and rodeos.
"I work fulltime and Kody and I are off to Sydney to work with film stuntman Heath Harris," says Steph, who was a stunt double in South Africa for leading actress Hayden Patrice in the film Racing Stripes, about a zebra fancying its chances as a racehorse.
"Heath has taught me a hell of a lot such as the horsemanship and showmanship skills," says Steph, who bases most of her tricks on Canadian trick rider Niki Commach's manoeuvres via videos and DVDs.
Both Kody and Lequita belong to Kairanga Pony Club and have been selected into the Manawatu representative team, with Lequita the youngest to be selected.
Kody, who rides nine-year-old Black Jack, doesn't know what she wants to be but stunts in films is a possibility.
Steph, who rides 12-year-old Queen of Clubs, also "re-educates horses with problems using corrective discipline".
"It is an acquired, unique skill. It's something I've been born with. Horses are less complicated to work with than humans. Nine out of 10 times they do things to please you.
It's just trying to help the horse fit into the human world," she explains.
Thoroughbreds are not appropriate and the hardest types to work with, Steph says, adding that station-bred or quarter horses are ideal as they are steady on their feet and calm.
"These horses (thoroughbreds) are basically rejects and were heading for the dog cans and we found a purpose for them. If a good horse comes along we may buy it but these horses are doing a good job and we don't want to part with them."
Thankfully, the odd accident has been confined to training, often ending with a sore backside but all the movement during shows can also leave them with red faces.
"The most embarrassing moment Katrina and I have had was when we appeared in the front page of a newspaper with the fly of our pants open. But it all adds to the atmosphere," she says with a laugh.
When Steph first asked a 10-year-old Kody if she wanted to perform, with Harris in Australia, the youngster thought her mother "was nuts".
Kody chuckles as she recalls some of her hairier moments.
"My big mission was to let go with both hands on a stunt saddle. It was so freaky but when I had done two strides I was so happy. Once I let go I said 'wow, it's so easy'.
"When I started on little old boy (Lequita's horse, Red) mum had the saddle loose to put it back up and I didn't realise it and fell off. Now I check my own gear," Kody says