The three sisters who star in the hit television show Keeping up with the Kaimanawas uplifted riders and spectators spirits at Horse of the Year on Saturday by initiating a mud fight .
Torrential rain overnight Friday had turned the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds into a muddy mess. Making fun of a bad situation Kelly, Amanda and Vicki Wilson rallied the troops and got everyone covered in mud from head to toe.
The trio thought of the idea after becoming bored by the continuous rainy weather.
Kelly said they noticed some of their riders were also becoming bored so wanted to add some excitement.
What started with about 30 people soon turned in to about 60 with a few adults also jumping on board.
"I just loved how everyone embraced it. There was about 100 people watching and the numbers of people playing grew as those covered in mud would go and hug those on the sideline."
"They would then rush in and dive in to the mud too, it was a lot of fun."
The group played all kinds of games with bullrush, rugby, soccer and stuck in the mud just to name a few.
This mud extravaganza turned out to be Kelly's highlight of the show and she was thrilled with the way everyone got so involved and committed.
"We didn't want people to get down about the weather and knew this would be a fun way to get everyone involved."
"This topped off a great week and it was definitely one of the best we have been to."
She said on the riding front the girls had good results with placings in most of their classes making for a good Horse of the Year 2017.