Kerikeri’s Liv Teixeira and Rosso are in the new series of the Young Riders.
When Kerikeri’s Liv Teixeira put her horse through its paces at a Waikato equestrian event, she was unaware she was successfully auditioning for a television series she’d watched since childhood.
Not long after the event, Liv was approached by the producer of Young Riders to feature as one of 10 characters in the show which follows their journey competing around the country’s 2023/2024 show jumping circuit.
Season 4 of Young Riders was released on YouTube over the school holidays and will debut on TVNZ+ on May 17.
“I was approached by the Young Riders producer if I’d like to be on the show. They were filming it at the time and were watching me.
“At first I wasn’t too sure, then I thought it would be a really good thing to get my name out there,” says the Kerikeri High School Year 12 student who hopes to one day compete internationally.
“I’d watched the show since season one and it was always good to see the ins and outs with what goes on with people.”
The show had taken a three-year hiatus due to Covid, cyclones and the wettest eight months in Aotearoa’s history and its comeback is promising a season full of thrilling competitions and drama, along with some of the less glamourous aspects of the sport.
Riders’ ages range from 14-19 and they hail from across the North Island with Liv, 16, the only Northlander.
The Equestrian NZ show jumping season starts off at the Rotorua Spring Show at the National Equestrian Centre, followed by a Development Camp where the riders work with elite coaches who have competed internationally.
The circuit then takes them to competitions in Hawke’s Bay, Pukekohe, Takapoto Estate near Cambridge and Hāwera in Taranaki before finishing at New Zealand’s biggest annual equestrian event – Horse of the Year in Hastings, Hawke’s Bay.
A&P shows are featured, where the horses are exposed to distractions such as ferris wheels, miniature ponies, bagpipes, dog trials and sheep shearing. Each show is different, some with fun that diverts from the serious side of show jumping, including a fancy dress speed class.
For this event, Liv dressed as a witch for her take on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with horse Rosso representing the lion.
In between competitions, are regular back-story catch-ups to get to know the Young Riders.
It covers how they and their horses are progressing, along with other interests.
As Liv tells the viewers, she has been riding since age three. Growing up on the family beef farm with several horses on the property and located beside a riding school, she was destined to ride.
“The whole family rides and we’ll go trekking together. My dad rides western and mum used to do a bit of low-level eventing when she was younger. My younger brothers can ride but not competitively.
“My grandad bred horses and I used to spend a lot of time on their property. We live right next door to Kate’s Riding Centre so I pretty much grew up there. I got thrown on anything and that sparked my love of horses and riding.”
Two of the Hawke’s Bay riders share stories of how they, their horses and properties suffered from the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle with one’s entire property underwater but their nine horses, including a two-month-old foal, surviving.
Among the Young Riders are the fiercely competitive Carrington sisters from Central Hawke’s Bay.
Older sister, Sam, has won more than a few Young Rider and Junior Rider classes previously, but is focused on beating younger sister Kim.
Another rider, Sophia, was aiming to be top of the table until a fall left her injured.
“I went straight down from two metres high and landed on my tail bone and compressed three parts of my spine,” she later told the camera.
While Liv escaped any spills on the show, she says her personal lowlight was being disqualified from Horse of the Year after jumping the gun.
“At the start of the round, I went through the flags as the bell went. It was such a shame as you work all season to get to that point and for that to happen was a bit of a bummer.”
A highlight was being filmed at home when the chiropractor visited and explaining to the audience how she and her horses get treated to keep aligned with each other.
“(The chiropractor’s) approach with treating horses and humans is he is treating us to be in tune and in balance with each other.”
She says it took a while to get used to being on camera but it soon became second nature.
“I’ve watched it with my friends and it’s quite funny to see me on a show that’s professionally filmed and hear what I sound like.
“I didn’t find it too embarrassing watching it back though, because it’s not too serious. There is some humour in it and it’s very realistic, nothing is sugar-coated. I think it’s a great show for kids and I used to love watching it myself.”
Young Riders Season 4 can be viewed on YouTube: youngriders.tv/G or TVNZ+ from Friday