Extract: Horses & Us, by Johanna Emeney

The bond between human and horse is so special. Horses & Us brings together 23 true stories from across Aotearoa New Zealand which show the incredible things that are achieved when humans and horses come together.

With illustrations by award-winning artists as well as poems, artworks and photographs, Horses & Us is a big-hearted, moving and engaging celebration of the animals we love and the people who love them. Aimed at young readers, it will delight grown-ups too!

Extract from Horses & Us: True Stories of Horses and their Humans by Johanna Emeney (Massey University Press, $37.99), with kind permission.

Chapter 3: Rising Fast

Ben Weir - Waitoki, Tāmaki Makaurau

Ben Weir is a full-time rider, coach and trainer who has his sights set on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. His background, however, is not in the least horsey; there is no family tree with equestrian-laden branches. Ben simply started riding at 10, when his sister, Emma, got a pony. After a two-year ride-share with Emma, he managed to persuade his mum and dad to buy him a horse. Coaches were quick to see Ben’s potential, and he rapidly amassed win after win in show jumping and dressage, cantering away with prestigious Young Rider titles in both disciplines. Now, based between his parents’ Waitoki property and Vaughn Jefferis’s yard in Mātangi, Waikato, Ben is taking some time to gain experience in the ring so he can work towards an overseas campaign.

Image Credit: Grace Klava

I definitely wasn’t born with the pony genes. As a youngster, I was into more typical sports like tennis, cricket, hockey and rugby. Then my sister, Emma, got a pony — the gorgeous Poppy.

At first, I would hang around the Dairy Flat Pony Club watching Emma ride, or we would take turns on Poppy going for uphill gallops. We didn’t really have any idea what we were doing, but we did know it was a load of fun. I have vivid memories of us doubling to the public pool and tying Poppy to the fence while we had our swim, then trotting home, Emma and I dipping into a bag of hot, salty chips from the local shop. Poppy was a saint, and she showed me what my passion in life was going to be.

Soon it was clear to my parents that the ride-share situation wasn’t very fair on my sister, so they bought me my first little horse, Cooper. He could jump well and he gave me confidence. Poppy and Cooper shaped my tweens and teens, and they kickstarted my riding career. I owe them both a lot. Poppy is in her late twenties and is still ugely loved. She resides permanently at my Waikato base. Cooper, now also in his twenties, is still owned by us, but he is retired with a friend in Waitoki.

One of my other early influences, and still very much in my life over a decade on, is dressage rider, coach and Equestrian Sports New Zealand judge Melissa Steed. Even before I got Cooper, I remember watching Melissa hold dressage clinics at the arena next door. I was spellbound by the things Melissa had her riders doing, and I wanted to learn how to do them. When I got Cooper, I didn’t just want to attend pony club, I wanted to have dressage lessons.

It wasn’t long before Melissa invited me to ride her rather feisty young pony, which was quite a compliment. She noticed the things that came naturally to me and praised me for them, but she could also see what needed to be improved. She taught me everything — not only in terms of dressage, but later, too, with my training and coaching business.

In recent years, Melissa has also allowed me to compete on her amazing gelding NPE Del Rico. Rico is such a sensitive horse, and full of personality. I have to ride exactly the right way to get the best from him, so it’s very rewarding when we accomplish a great performance together. We made the big step up to the U25 FEI Medium Tour early in 2024, and managed some fantastic placings. When Rico puts his best hoof forward, he’s an absolute champion.

Riding incredible horses owned by my mentors is something I am very grateful for. I certainly don’t underestimate the role of Vaughn Jefferis’s mare Lanice van de Heffinck in our FMG Young Rider Series win for 2022–23. At just over 15.1 hands high, Lanice was not the biggest mare out there, but she was so competitive that she’d fly over jumps of 1.4 metres in some of the shows by sheer force of will. She is now owned by Grace Klava, who is doing some great jumping at the 1.3-, 1.35- and 1.4-metre heights.

My mentors share the philosophy that happy horses come first. What matters most is the mental and physical health of your equine team members. On my 2023 trip to Europe to observe the methods of some of the top international equestrians, I heard that message again. Whether it was British Olympic dressage rider Carl Hester or Swedish Olympian Peder Fredricson, the advice was the same: pay attention to detail where your horses are concerned; give them generous paddock time and grooming; keep your stables immaculate — don’t ever think you are too important to muck out or to tack up. Maintaining relationships with the horses you produce and ride is key to how successful you are.

There are no tricks to achieving as highly as top riders like Carl and Peder. You just have to put the horses’ welfare above all else and do the work without short cuts.

This European trip, my first overseas experience, was mind-blowing in many ways — for the quality of the competitive horsemanship and the scale of some of the equestrian establishments and venues. What I enjoyed most, though, was seeing how down-to-earth and committed to their horses’ well-being these elite equestrians were in real life.

World Equestrian Games. Olympic Games. These are huge goals, but I need them to motivate me and keep me striving to improve. For now, I’m focusing on getting as much riding experience and ring-time as I can, as well as giving those things to the young horses on my team — particularly, the beautiful grey mare Celestial, and the young stallion Balou Barbados. I’d definitely like to campaign overseas because there is so much to pick up from riders and trainers abroad — and so much to bring home. I think that’s what makes equestrian competition so fulfilling: you’re always learning, always refining your skills, and if you work as a coach the new ideas and practices can be passed on to other riders.

Image Credit: Maria Gobbie

Horses & Us is available in all good bookstores now.