Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Vicki Wilson stars in American equestrian spectacular

By Kristin Edge
Northern Advocate·
24 Mar, 2017 05:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Vicki Wilson during her introduction to the massive crowd gather in Kentucky. PHOTO/Road to the Horse

Vicki Wilson during her introduction to the massive crowd gather in Kentucky. PHOTO/Road to the Horse

Accomplished horserider Vicki Wilson will have just three hours to tame a horse that has run untouched for three years before putting it through its paces at a equestrian spectacular in America.

Whangarei's Ms Wilson is one of four women to compete in the World Championship of Colt Starting competition at the Road to the Horse event - one of the most coveted titles among all those offered in the horse industry, equivalent to Badminton in the eventing world and the US Open in golf.

It is the first time a rider without a background in western riding has been invited to the event staged in Kentucky touted as the "horse capital of the world".

Today Ms Wilson will get to choose a horse from those that have run wild on a quarter horse ranch for the past three years.

Untouched horses will be trained in three hours by talented horseriders including Whangarei's Vicki Wilson.
PHOTO/Road to the Horse
Untouched horses will be trained in three hours by talented horseriders including Whangarei's Vicki Wilson. PHOTO/Road to the Horse
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I am incredibly honoured and excited to be invited to compete at Road to the Horse in 2017. It's such a unique and prestigious event, I'm humbled to be involved," she said.

"I am looking forward to the opportunity to share my methods of starting horses under saddle, on the other side of the world."

But the talented equestrian, with a stunning showjumping record on New Zealand turf, is no stranger to gaining the confidence of wild horses having starred in the television series Keeping up with the Kaimanawas with her two sisters.

The show saw the sisters train the wild horses and highlighted the challenges of dealing with horses that have had no human contact.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Vicki Wilson will select one of the wild horses - which she will train in three hours before putting it through an obstacle horse. PHOTO/Road to the Horse​
Vicki Wilson will select one of the wild horses - which she will train in three hours before putting it through an obstacle horse. PHOTO/Road to the Horse​

"It's about trying to get inside their head and find out what works individually for that horse. We don't apply the same method to every horse because every horse has a different way of learning," Ms Wilson said prior to the event starting.

Organisers have said spectators witness the partnerships that develop and see the setbacks and triumphs, as competitors build a relationship with an untouched horse.

Judges take into consideration every horse is an individual and there are many methods of horsemanship that are "natural" or respectful of the horse, its nature and how they learn.

Judges watch and score every moment of interaction between horse and rider, saying it is not just the performance in the obstacle course that decides the next world champion, but every step and breath taken from beginning to end.

Discover more

Sport

Kiwi Wilson wins 'Road to Horse' title

27 Mar 02:31 AM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'A long hard-fought dream': Fire destroys vessel but vision remains

10 Jun 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

Kaipara’s ‘Trump of the North’ Jepson exits mayoral race, endorses deputy

10 Jun 05:30 AM
Northern Advocate

'Winterless North' revisited: Snow-like sightings stir memories of snowfall

10 Jun 04:20 AM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'A long hard-fought dream': Fire destroys vessel but vision remains

'A long hard-fought dream': Fire destroys vessel but vision remains

10 Jun 05:00 PM

Early on Saturday over 50 people gathered for a blessing ceremony at the site of the fire.

Kaipara’s ‘Trump of the North’ Jepson exits mayoral race, endorses deputy

Kaipara’s ‘Trump of the North’ Jepson exits mayoral race, endorses deputy

10 Jun 05:30 AM
'Winterless North' revisited: Snow-like sightings stir memories of snowfall

'Winterless North' revisited: Snow-like sightings stir memories of snowfall

10 Jun 04:20 AM
'It's a total loss': Fire reignites, destroying home and car

'It's a total loss': Fire reignites, destroying home and car

10 Jun 03:00 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP