Training Day

On Friday the Kiwi's came through on the promise of Nation's Cup horses. We were relieved because of the, errrr, fluidity, of the entire itinerary thus far. As promised 7 horses per team were rounded up and assigned. That gave us the chance to "throw out" two horses and pick the best five that most suited our riders.

Thursday evening Robyn and I had the official IPE meeting with the IPE officials and other coaches and managers and we were assigned group C of horses and we were given their "resumes." I had to get the other team's managers and coaches to help translate the heights of the horses and heights that they jumped because it was listed in centimeters and that was Greek to me. I needed fence heights in feet and horse height in hands! Once the conversions were done the numbers made sense, I was pleased with the roster because the horses all looked experienced and safe. I shared the roster with the girls and they each picked the horse that most suited them.

Friday morning we met up with our group of horses. We had a varied selection in our group. (Each group is assigned so that it's the fairest selection possible, for instance we each had a pony, a greener horse and some more experienced horses instead of anyone being stuck with all ponies, or all greenbeans or all schoolmasters- it levels the playing field.)

Team USA horses:
JK Santa- Holsteiner gelding, 4 ft jumper, evented through preliminary, owned by a woman who had evented through advanced and was shortlisted for the Syndney Olympics!
Wynyard Mickey- Irish hunter gelding, evented pre-novice (our training level)
Whippy- 14.1 pony jumper, pony clubbed and evented to pre-novice (our training level), show jumped to 3'6
SS Imperial- TB gelding, Intermediate eventer, owned by one of the NZ IPE riders
Zebedee- 3/4 TB 1/4 warmblood gelding, pre-novice eventer, owned by one of the NZ IPE riders. Just gelded a few weeks ago!
Renzo- 6 yr old TB gelding, evented pre-novice (our training) but still green
Bay gelding whose name I've forgotten- TB gelding evented pre-novice

We had about 45 minutes to get all 7 horses ridden, evaluated and paired with the most appropriate rider. I was happy with the first horses that Kelsey, Kaleigh and Susan were matched with and I decided to try different horses for Kiersti and Alexa so it was a bit frantic to get it all done in 45 minutes and I had a minor scuffle with the IPE coordinator when she came and bullied me because she was bullied by the NZ coach who was mistakenly only given 30 minutes for her session. (The lesson learned was that NZ is nice until they're not which was a lesson I'd already been introduced to last year in Hong Kong.) I had to keep moving fences because the footing was so greasy- we were jumping on sod field and if you've been keeping up with our posts, you'll know that it rains quite a bit in NZ. I didn't want any horses falling (especially borrowed horses) so every few jumps I would move my fences so the take-offs and landings didn't get too slick. That took up a lot of time.

The final pairing ended up being Kaleigh on Santa, Kelsey on Imp, Susan on Zebedee, Alexa on the pony Whippy, and Kiersti on Renzo. All the horses were lovely- I would have been happy to take any of the 5 home with me. It was so incredibly generous of the owners to lend them out. In the morning they are running an Owner's Round as a thank you and incentive for them loaning the horses out.

What's That Smell?????

What’s that smell? It smells like rotten eggs. Oh, why, that would be the town of Rotorua, New Zealand! Rotorua is a “thermal hotspot” that has some very unusual geological features such as boiling mud pools, geysers, and steaming pools and the whole entire area smells like sulphur. It has the feel of a tourist trap town- think Gatlinburg or Myrtle Beach that smells like rotten eggs. It is an extreme sport hotspot as well- you can bungee jump (originated in NZ), jetboat, shweeb (not sure what that is- you’ll have to Google it) or go Zorbing (you climb into a giant hamster ball and roll down a mountain).

Our hosts that “billeted” us last night dropped us all back off at Lake Rotorua this morning. (See soon to be posted blog entry for our experiences with host families!) We boarded the bus and went to the Western Heights High School for a Mauri experience. We were treated to a formal welcoming ceremony by the students. They then performed several traditional Mauri songs and dances. The dances involved lots of stomping, hand gestures and very pronounced and distinct facial configurations that essentially all conveyed the message “If you come as our foe we will eat you.” (The Mauri used to be a cannibalistic culture, but luckily for us, they are not anymore. Hooray!)

After watching the Mauri children perform we moved on to more lighthearted entertainment. We rode a gondola to the top of a mountain. At the top of the mountain we had a wonderful panoramic view of Lake Rotarua and the whole town. We were then able to “luge” down the mountain on “roller sleds.” We all enjoyed getting to ride the intermediate and advanced tracks down the mountain and had a chuckle about getting to ride something in NZ on an intermediate or advanced track. (That’s a little eventing joke there for you non-horsey folks.) Only a few of us came to grief on the ride!

A visit to Rotarua wouldn’t be complete without stopping to check out the geothermal features. Our first stop was at Wai-O-Tapu, a boiling mud pit. It was essentially a 1 acre pond that is burping and belching sulphur gas and mud. It was incredible to see such an unusual feature- imagine the sound and sight of someone blowing bubbles into a huge grey milkshake and you have a pretty good idea of what the boiling mud pit looked like. We then moved on to a hot water creek. A few brave souls donned their “togs” (swimsuits) and ventured into the sulphurous creek. The less adventurous among us took off our shoes and waded knee deep into the 85 degree water. (The bus now smells like rotten eggs.)

At the moment Robyn is narrating the bus ride back into town with the bus’ microphone. Our resident tour guide David has apparently run out of things to say so Robyn was recruited to take over. She just informed us that we were going to stop for a “potty break” and none of the other countries knew what this meant- they thought we were stopping for a “pie break.” We are now in the midst of a competition to see what country can come up with the most euphanisms for bathroom breaks. I couldn’t make something like that up.

Tomorrow we supposedly get to ride our group of Nation’s Cup horses and our girls are so ready to ride. They’ve been going a bit stir crazy since they’ve been off a horse for so long. The weather forecast for Saturday looks pretty dismal- lots of rain is expected and the Nation’s Cup at Kihikihi is supposed to take place on grass... Fingers crossed that we’re able to run it, I don’t know what we’ll do if its canceled.

A Billeting We Shall Go

Janna: I was billeted at Sandy Matthew's house along with Hong Kong's coach Tara Delaney, Canada's coach Margot Vilvang, and the NZ's team reserve member Emma, about 40 minutes out of Rotarua. When Sandy picked us up it was pouring rain (big surprise in NZ!) so we piled ourselves and our luggage into her car and off we went. She lives on a beautiful farm in the foothills and raises Friesian bulls for export to North American McDonalds. According to Sandy their meat is then mixed in with steer and heifer meat (which is fattier) to create the "ideal" hamburger. Her daughter used to event at the four star level (completed Adelaide in Australia twice!) but isn't riding much anymore, so Sandy now has a few racehorses. Sandy made an excellent meal for us, I then enjoyed a nice warm soak in her bathtub (three cheers for not having to do the community shower thing!) and then went to bed (queen sized in my own room... no bunks and no roomies!). The next morning I was able to appreciate how beautiful Sandy's place was- she has a panoramic view of the surronding green hills and mountains and it is stereotypical beautiful NZ countryside- sheeps and cows dotted the neighboring hillsides. After a lovely breakfast we piled back into her car and she returned us to the rest of our IPE buddies back at Lake Rotarua. I enjoyed my night of "billeting," getting to meet Sandy and enjoying her generosity and hospitality.

Robyn: I was billeted out (after I figured out what it was) to a wonderful couple-Max and Nharni Pryce, the parents of Sandy, above. The rain was CRAZY on the way to their home but upon arrival, Nharni had a wonderful dinner ready for us and we actually watched TV! My fellow "billetees", were three of the other managers, Peta Duncalf, from Hong Kong, Carol Paterson, from Australia, Sheila Taylor, from Canada, and Merindah Thomson, the coach from Australia. We listened to wonderful stories from Max and heard how they have had 11,000 visitors in their house over the last 11 or 12 years!! They are in a program for homestays and have hosted about 1,000 people a year in this program. Nharni is an artist as well and her wonderful paintings are tucked around their house. They have been avid supporters of Pony Club and we were fortunate to see them again at the Nations Cup as well as the final dinner. We had actual showers, and real beds. Min and I were roomies and as usual we all went to bed very early. Great experience with great, interesting people!

Kelsey & Alexa: We were lucky enough to stay with Debbie and Nigel Heron and their two children. Nigel picked us up at Lake Rotarua and (quickly) drove us out to their small farm in the country. By small farm I mean they had two horses, one mini pony, three dogs, two cats, goats, ducks, and chickens! When we arrived Nigel went out to do chores, and we started to chat with Debbie. After a few glasses of wine, it was time for dinner. Debbie had been told that we were vegetarian, and didn't eat dairy. So she decided to get Chinese take out instead of try to worry about cooking, which was fine with us!! The food was delicious, and the conversation even more enjoyable! Debbie and Nigel really were the nicest they could be! Nigel grew up with horses and even showed us a video of one of his Standardbred's winning a race! Eventually we retired to our room, (huge queen bed!) and enjoyed the free wifi (the only time in the country we had actually free wifi I do believe). In the morning we had a quick breakfast, played a little with Scotty (their 4 year old son), and then were on our way back to Lake Rotarua to get ready for our Mauri experience! Debbie and Nigel were great, and we can honestly say it was one of the best nights of the trip!

Kiersti:

Susan and Kaleigh:
We were billeted with the Pearce family. Mrs. Pearce, the family's German Exchange Student, and the youngest daughter picked us up from the bus to bring us back to the family's small farm outside of Rotorua. Oliver, a boy from the NZ team, was also billeted with us. When we arrived at the farm, we were dropped off at the guest house to get settled while dinner was cooking up at the main house. The younger of the two daughters gave us a quick tour and then left us to get our overnight bags put up before heading up to the house for dinner. We were pleased to see that the had queen sized beds- one for Oliver and one for us to share! One of the beds had a playboy bunny comforter...we let Oliver take that one! When we arrived up at the house, we were able to meet Mr. Pearce who was extremely nice and fun to chat with. We had some snacks and a few drinks as dinner was finishing up. This was the first time that we were able to just sit and watch TV since coming to New Zealand. It was fun to see their television programs and have a family-style experience. When we sat down for dinner, we were so happy to see something other that potatoes! We had been eating so many potatoes that we were almost beginning to dislike them- even though they are normally one of our favorite foods! After our dinner, we had Hokey Pokey ice cream and a delicious homemade apple crisp. We may have even finished off the entire carton of ice cream because we were so excited to see dessert! We stayed up at the main house talking with the entire family until nearly 11:00PM. It was refreshing to have an evening with a family and it was one of our better meals on the trip. When we got back to the guest house, we got ready for bed and set our alarms for the morning. We were so excited to get into a nice queen sized bed; however, right after we turned off the light, Kaleigh was stung by a wasp who had decided to join us for the evening! After the wasp was removed, we went straight to sleep and woke up feeling more than prepared for our Mauri experience in Rotorua!

Caving!

Has anyone out there watched BBC's Planet Earth? If you have, then you'll know why we were all super excited to visit NZ's amazing Waitomo caves. Glowworms galore...or that's what we thought...

After waking up early at the Rob Waddel Lodge, we all piled into the bus and drove to the Black Water Rafting Co. headquarters, near Waitomo caves. We were booked on a three hour excursion into the caves, but we weren't quite sure what awaited us. We slipped into our bathing suits upon arriving, and then struggled into thick wetsuits, booties, wetsuit jackets, and helmets. Everyone looked a bit like ungainly penguins but spirits were high as we loaded into a bus with our two guides for the short trip up to the entrance of the caves. Before entering, we picked out inter-tubes, took some silly photos, and learned how to float and paddle correctly (on dry land). Then came our first test. As there were a few small waterfalls in the caves, we needed to learn how to jump down them correctly. We lined up and one at a time jumped backwards (intertube first!) into a stream. Cold! Nothing like some freezing water up your nose to wake you up from a long bus ride! We then descended into the caves...

Upon entering the caves our guides told us a short bit about their formation, and pointed out the wetas (massive cave cricket type creatures) that were hanging out up on the walls. We then started our journey into Waitomo caves. We were underground for around an hour, spending part of that time walking and part of it floating, though there was always water flowing through the caves. For the most part our only light was from our helmets, though at one spot daylight made its way through (I think they said from 60 m above!). Our flashlights weren't the only lights in these caves though...we had entered glowworm territory. Throughout the caves, tiny blue lights on the roof of the cave, which made beautiful constellations , hung above our heads.

A bit about these "glowworms" that we learned while in their caves. First, they aren't worms at all! They are actually maggots. Second, they don't glow! It's their poop that glows. These maggots attach themselves to the roof of the caves, then let down long threads of slime. The ends of these threads glow, attracting food, which the maggot then reels back up to eat. Yum. Once these maggots turn into flies (or moths or something) they copulate for a day and then die. What a life...

Towards the end of our trip through the caves, after jumping backwards off waterfalls, getting quite cold and wet, and experiencing views of the most beautiful maggot poop around, we all turned off our headlamps and floated in complete darkness through the last stretch of the cave. This caused a few bumps and scrapes on the cave walls, but the ability to watch the passing of the glowing constellations overhead was more than worth it.

We finally emerged from the darkness, and headed back to remove our wetsuits and rinse off in a hot shower, it was just too bad that no one had told us to bring towels! We were given bagels and tomato soup, which more than helped to warm us up, and once the second group was back we were back on the bus, this time heading to Rotorua for our billeting experience!

Alexa

Random Observations About New Zealand

Today was spent traveling via charter bus to Karapiro where we’ll spend the next part of our trip. Karapiro is located at the top of the North Island, somewhat near Auckland. Last night we had a celebratory dinner and we gave gifts and many thanks to Sally for hosting us at the Makahika. We all appreciated her hospitality and generosity for taking on the housing and feeding of our IPE group.

Since today was somewhat uneventful (40 of your closest international Pony Club friends on an all day long bus ride...) I’ve decided to share some of our random observations about New Zealand.

1. There are a lot of sheep. About 40 million to be exact. This works out to about 10 sheep per person in NZ.

2. There may be a lot of sheep, but there are even more possums. About 70 million possums to be exact. Ponder that for a minute.

3. There is not a word to describe the shades of green in this country. Everything is either grass, a fern, or some sort of evergreen and it is just green green green as far as the eye can see. They seem to have fern moss, fern brush, fern trees, and your average everyday fern. Which leads into my next observation...

4. Everything is so green because it rains. A lot. Like, a lot, a lot. As in every day. (Are you getting the picture?) It usually starts off by raining in the morning so you dress in appropriate clothes and by lunch time the sun has come out and it’s warm. By the time you’ve stripped off your waterproof layers, located your sunglasses and worn them for a few minutes, the rain starts back up again. Rinse and repeat.

5. “Rat tails” are very popular in NZ. They’ve added a twist to the circa 1987 Rat Tail by making it an asymmetric Rat Tail, so instead of the Rat Tail snaking nastily down the center of your neck it is oriented to the side so that when it gets a certain length it can rest on your shoulder. We have seen this phenomenon on boys as young as 3 and on “men” as old as 40. We saw it on an alarmingly frequent basis when we went to the Shannon Rugby Club. 75% of the males were sporting one. I wish I was kidding. It sounds as sexy and chic as it looks. We’ll try to get a picture.

6. The men wear awkwardly short shorts. Imagine very skimpy running shorts. In denim. You will pass road crews working and instead of them wearing work pants like Carhartts they are sporting their short shorts... which causes us all to sing the Nair hair remover jingle "Who wears short shorts?" It’s quite a look.

7. The men also have an affinity for the “wife beater” type shirt.

8. Almost every horse wears a “rug” 24/7. (See Random Observation About New Zealand #4.) The weather hasn’t been that cold but most of the horses don’t have shelter- just some sort of windbreak (usually a tall hedge of evergreens). Most of the “rugs” are the old New Zealand rugs that many of you probably remember from the 80's and early 90's before the synthetic material blankets came out (Rambo was first soon followed by Weatherbeetas.) For those of you that didn’t have the pleasure of experiencing these first hand, imagine a very heavy, very stiff canvas tent with leather buckles that could double as a horse blanket. They weighed about 300 pounds and conformed not at all to the horse’s shape. Nor were they reliably waterproof and the leather straps would get crunchy and warped because of being in the elements. They rubbed mercilessly and the horse would cringe when it saw you coming with the “rug.”

9. New Zealand is not a nation of “foodies.” They eat to live versus many other nations and cultures that live to eat. There is one national food they seem to be especially proud of though: “Hokey Pokey” ice cream.

10. There are a lot of cows. It’s nice to see them out grazing in their natural cow habitat instead of the way they’re factory farmed in the US. Which brings me to the next Random Observation About New Zealand...

11. At one point in time, before the Mauri civilization and white man, NZ was only 5% grassland. The rest was “bush.” (Think ferns & evergreen. There are no native deciduous trees.) Now NZ is 51% grassland. This is not necessarily a good thing because.........

12. Many species disappeared with the bush and are now extinct.

13. New Zealand has more invasive and foreign species than it does native species. They tend to wreak havoc on the native species. See Random Observation About New Zealand #2.

14. Homeland Security is not a top priority here. I suppose I can see why... what are you going to take? Their sheep? Case in point: On the itinerary one day was a visit to the NZ Air Force. We arrived (unannounced I think) and the exchange at the security booth went something like this:
IPE Trip Leader: “Hi! We’re here with The Pony Club! We’d like to tour the Air Force Base!”
Air Force Security: “hmmm.... The Pony Club you say? Well, I guess so, come on in!”

We were then given an impromptu Air Force tour guide who drove us around the sprawling 4 acre compound. The tour went something like this:

Air Force Tour Guide: “Ok, we’re going to get off the bus and we’ll take you into the hangar where the jet is stored. We ask you to please refrain from taking pictures.”
IPE Member at the back of the group: “Did you say we’re not allowed to take pictures?”
Air Force Tour Guide: “Well, you know what? Go ahead, it’s ok to take pictures.”

We enter the hangar and see the jet. The next dialogue went something like this:

Air Force Tour Guide: “Ok, the weapons on the jet have not yet been disabled, so please take care when you climb up on the aircraft and don’t touch anything with a yellow or red handle or button because it will deploy some sort of weapon. Oh, and please don’t touch that button right there when you are climbing into the seat of the jet because that will deploy the ejection seat 200 feet into the air at a very rapid rate of speed. Ok, who wants to climb up and sit in the jet?”


15. Infrastructure is not a strong suit in NZ. Our journey today from Levin (about an hour and a half northeast of Wellington) to Karapiro (southwest of Auckland) appears to be about 200 miles as the crow flies. It took us 8 hours to navigate this distance.

16. NZ has some incredible geological features. One of the “places of interest” we stopped at yesterday was Huka Falls. Google it b/c nothing I can describe can come close to doing it justice. See if there is video footage of it.... incredible.

Janna

Our Day in Wellington

We woke up this morning extremely excited for our day trip to the coastal city of Wellington. After a scenic drive into the city, we had a quick stop at First Saint Paul’s Cathedrale. It was a beautiful, old, wooden church.

We continued to the Te Papa Museum where we took a quick tour of the museum’s first floor and even got to experience an earthquake simulation room! Then we all ate lunch at Mac’s on the wharf of Wellington. After lunch, we got a picture near the ocean, but it was hard to control our hair in the 90 mph winds!

After this, we split up into two groups. Janna, Alexa, and Kiersti continued to explore around the Te Papa museum which is one of the most famous museums in the world. Robyn, Susan, Kaleigh, and Kelsey went shopping down Cuba Street to most of the little stores and shops. Around 2, team USA met back up in the Te Papa museum’s gift shop where we spent a little bit of time before finding the bus to come back to the Makahika Lodge.

Tonight, we are having a big roast dinner and ice cream for dessert to celebrate our last night at the Makahika. We will repack and organize our bags to get ready for our all day travel tomorrow to Hamilton. We are very excited to start our second week on the IP Exchange!

Kaleigh

Birds

On Friday morning, we woke up around 7:00AM and loaded the bus. First, we headed toward the Royal New Zealand Air force base in an undisclosed location. We took a tour of the base and were invited to climb aboard some of the training planes used for new pilots. At the end of our lovely tour, we had the opportunity to check out the gift shop and snack bar…which only Robyn took advantage of by buying new batteries for her camera.

After our tour, we headed for Nga Tawa School, an all girls boarding school located about an hour and a half from Makahika. The Nga Tawa prefects showed us a short slide show about their equestrian program. We ate lunch in their cafeteria before taking a tour of the school facilities. Our tour finished at the stables where we were all given horses to ride for about an hour. Team USA used a large dressage arena to flat and practice over one fence. We greatly appreciated the opportunity to ride!

Today, we were supposed to head out to the high ropes course at Makahika; however, to our dismay, we were unable to do high ropes due to the rainy conditions. After having a slow and food-filled morning, all of the teams participated in a personality type activity in the Makahika commons area. We all related our personalities to birds: the hawk, peacock, owl, and dove. We had a great time joking about being ‘in touch with our inner bird.’

The Makahika is accustomed to 14 year old boys, so our bird and personalities activity was less than intellectual. Once we had been separated into our ‘flocks,’ we were all given a bag full of household materials. Our challenge was to construct an egg protection device so that an egg could be dropped from a ladder onto concrete without breaking (imagine middle school science class). Each group was also supposed to come up with a name and slogan for their device. Unfortunately, we were not as enthused about this activity as the average 14 year old boy.

After our activity, we were all given sad news after our personality activity. The gymkhana was cancelled. Everybody was devastated as this was supposed to be our first fun and competitive activity on horses. As we got over the shock of our first horse-related competition being cancelled, we got ready for the afternoon rugby game.

At 2:00PM, we headed into Levin to watch a game at the Shannon Rugby Club. We had a really fun time watching the game and getting to know all of the girls…and boy… from the other countries! Despite the on and off rain, the game was well played and we were able to get some great photos. They even served french fries (or should we say hot chips) at the Rugby Club! At last we were able to get our fill of much needed salty and fattening American foods.


Tonight we are back at the Makahika. Tomorrow we will head to Wellington to explore the multitude of free entry museums that are offered. We have also heard that Wellington has a great variety of foods. Eating is one thing that we all seem to be incredibly good at doing.
Susan

A Trip to Palmerston North

When Robyn & I woke up this morning we felt like we’d been run over by trucks thanks to yesterday’s “bush walk.” Sleeping in bunks didn’t help the situation much either. But we’re in New Zealand, so life is good!

Yesterday was filled with equal parts physical exhaustion and hilarity. The girls touched on some of it in the previous blog entry but I’d like to add one more funny story. As we headed off into the “bush” (basically a National Park) the goofier of our two guides warned us that we might encounter some possum traps. Evidently the possum is quite a problem in NZ because they eat the native birds and bird eggs- they are not indigenous to the country but were introduced and are quite a pest. (As are rats and ferrets...) Allen, our guide informed us that if we were to step on a possum trap that it “might make our eyes water a bit but wouldn’t break any bones.” What great news! He told us that the possums are trapped and their fur is plucked to be used for gloves and blankets. The blankets sell for thousands of NZ dollars. Robyn and I were horrified because we were envisioning the North American possum who is so often the punchline of jokes about the South. Evidently possum fur is a wonderful insulator, rivaled only by polar bear fur. Who knew? (Homework assignment: Google New Zealand possums... they are much cuter than their North American cousins.)

Today we went to Palmerston North, a town about 45 minutes away from the Makahika Outdoor Centre. We were all happy to get out and see some of this brilliantly green country. There are no deciduous trees indigenous to NZ- their native flora consists entirely of ferns and evergreen trees so even in the fall everything stays wonderfully emerald. We saw thousands of sheep (there are 10 for ever person in NZ) and lots of cows.

After a brief trip to a tack shop, a shopping excursion (we had to go in search of chocolate!) and lunch in a cute coffee shop, we went to Massey University and toured their vet school. We were given a demonstration of their equine treadmill (thank you Justin the Standardbred, you were a very good sport!) and then had afternoon tea with a Massey vet, Peter Jolley, who was a member of NZ’s 1981 IPE team! He told us that his exchange lasted 6 weeks! They basically started on Canada’s west coast and made their way east. He said they were having their 30 year reunion this year. This reinforces everything that I believe about this program- the friendships that are made on this trip last a lifetime and I can 't say enough good things about it.

Tomorrow we go back to Massey- we received an impromptu invitation to an Andrew Scott training theory lecture which will be followed by a two hour training school. Andrew Scott was one of NZ’s top eventers and now is one of the equestrian instructors at Massey’s High Performance equine program. We are all looking forward to it!

Becoming one with nature...

Today was our second day at the Makahika Outdoor Center. We woke up today and had eggs and cereal for breakfast…there’s never a shortage of food here! After we ate, we broke into our teams and talked about leadership skills and traits. Then we got into our hiking clothes and sneakers and the bush walk began. We spent six hours trekking in the New Zealand backcountry (bush). The bush walk was pretty much the Appalachian Trail meets Fern Gully all stuffed into one day. A few of us from our groups ran a mile race uphill (not a good idea). We hiked to the top of a mountain and saw a beautiful view of the country. We took a quick break for lunch by a small stream and enjoyed our smushed sandwiches. As we continued the hike we got in deeper woods and the trail got steeper and more slippery. Most of us ended up on our butts at one point! Then we stopped again and learned some survival techniques on how to make a fire (from Doritos) and how to build shelter. On the way back, we had to cross a stream multiple times so we had to jump over the whole stream or step on the small stepping stones to get across. We finally made it back to the lodge to shower and eat…again. There are rumors that we might be camping in the bush tents tonight. Let’s hope we get our showers in before then! We’re looking forward to tomorrow when we get to go to Palmerston North to shop for a few hours.

Kaleigh

We made it to New Zealand!!!

Ok, I think its safe to say that we are all traveled out. We started our trip at 5:00pm on the 29th of April and arrived at 10:00 pm on the 1st of May. We have no clue where Saturday went! Our trip consisted of three flights: LA to Brisbane, Brisbane to Christchurch, and then from Christchurch to Wellington. In Christchurch, we met up with the Australian Team and were greeted and treated to a very tasty dinner at the airport by the members of the New Zealand Pony Club board. Our travels did not end in Wellington; we took an hour and a half guided bus trip from Wellington to Makahika Lodge.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the Lodge we could not see how beautiful it was because the power was out! The winds had reached nearly 50 miles per hour and some power lines had been knocked down. It was a bit difficult at first to find everything (or see anything), but we got out the flashlights, or should I say torches, and it was no big deal. We met up with the other teams from Hong Kong, Canada, and of course, New Zealand. Everyone was so welcoming in spite of the minor power glitch. The owners of the lodge went above and beyond to get us all settled in with sleeping bags, pillows, towels, and delicious food. But we didn’t last long and quickly fell asleep on our cozy bunk beds.

This morning we woke up super early, actually our alarm was set an hour too early, and we prepared for our day of team building activities. The activities included abseiling (repelling) down a large rock, rock climbing and perhaps the most fun, the Flying Fox, which turned out to be a huge zip line through the New Zealand “bush”! SO FUN! Even Janna and Robyn took a turn! We also navigated a low ropes course, which was without a doubt the most hysterical part of the day. It was an entire course of low ropes where you had to move from point to point on thin cables about a foot off the ground. There was also an obstacle with a rope that we had to swing across to a very small platform. We took the challenge to move as many people as possible onto the platform; the past record was 16 people but we broke it with 18!

Right now we are enjoying some much appreciated down time at the Lodge before dinner. Tomorrow is our first competition, a “bush” navigation competition (no horses involved), followed by a night camping in the “bush”. Let’s hope the rain holds off!!

Field Trip to Palm Springs!

Wow, where to begin...

It is only day two and already I feel like there is so much to talk about! After a long day of traveling, the sea kayaking adventure, and an evening ride at the Wylie's yesterday, we all thought today would be a little less demanding, yet here we are- it's 10pm and we are beat!

This morning we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to ride with Michael Cintas, the Modern Pentathalon Olympic coach, in Palm Springs. We drove about 2 hours out to Palm Springs, passing snow covered mountains, and about 1000 wind turbines! When we arrived at Michal's we quickly got situated with our horses (which were tacked up and ready for us!) and got to work! And oh did we work! We warmed up on the flat, and over fences, worked through a course, and then "drew" each other's horses and switched. We had ten minutes to ride the switch horse on the flat, and then three warm up fences before we did a course. Riding with Michael was such a treat, but after three hours of riding in the desert we were all exhausted (and thirsty!).

On the way back to the Wylie's we grabbed a quick lunch and had a short tour of Galway Downs Equestrian Center & Race Track (aka Southern California Equestrian Center). We were greeted at the Wylie's with a buffett of delicious food and a number of the Pony Club families. After a wonderful dinner and some socializing we escaped back to Mary's to be well rested for tomorrow, our last day in CA! We will be riding in the morning, getting some last minute "bush walk" necessities (whatever that might be!), and getting cleaned up for our midnight flight to NZ!

It's been a fast paced two days in California but I still feel like I'm on a riding vacation :)
-Kelsey

The Avocado Capital of the World!

With only minor travelling difficulties, the whole US team has congregated in Fallbrook, CA which happens to have the distinct status of being "the Avocado Capital of the World." We are being generously hosted by Sandia Creek Ranch Riding Center families.

Last night when Robyn and I arrived we were greeted by Mary Collier, a SCR mom and were taken to dinner in "Old Town." We found the most amazing and quite authentic Mexican restaurant. We got back to the Collier's house and met up with Susan Thomas who had gotten in earlier in the day. We were all exhausted from the day of travelling and the time change (east coast to west coast) so we promptly crashed! This morning Mary treated us to homemade strawberry filled crepes.... yum!!!

This afternoon we met up in La Jolla with the rest of the team that had flown in today- Kelsey Hamilton, Alexa Wolf, & Kaleigh Quinn. La Jolla looks over the Pacific and has some of the priciest real estate in the US. As a team building exercise we got to go sea kayaking in tandem kayaks. We saw a pod of dolphins, sea lions, and lots of really long strands of kelp. We got to kayak up to the entrance of the sea caves but couldn't go in because the water was too rough today. We even got to see Dr. Seuss' house which sits right on the cliff overlooking the bay.

This evening we rode horses at the Wylie's ranch so that I could get an idea of each rider's style. They have so many different types of horses so it was a wonderful variety and really gave me a feel for what horses to pair the girls up with in New Zealand. We had a wonderful BBQ to finish the night off.

Tomorrow we go to Palm Springs to meet up with the Modern Pentathlon coach and have a training session on his horses... should be fun!

Our Itinerary

We leave tomorrow for our training session in California. Have I packed yet? Nope! It is much more important to tell you guys about the incredible agenda that New Zealand Pony Club has lined up for us!

Our training session will be April 27-29 at the Wylie Family's Sandia Creek Ranch outside of San Diego, CA. We will ride their horses and will also get to go to Palm Springs and ride some of the Modern Pentathlon horses. While we're in San Diego we will be doing some team building activities- rumor has it that we'll be going sea kayaking in La Jolla!

We are scheduled to leave LAX late night on April 29. We fly into Brisbane (AUS) first, then into Christchurch, NZ, then finally into Welligton, NZ. The first week of our exchange was supposed to take place in Christchurch, which is on the South Island of NZ, but because of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that happened there in February we will be doing the entire exchange on the North Island.

Our first week will be spent at the Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Centre, Levin, about an hour and a half outside of Wellington. It looks like we'll be doing high ropes courses, hiking in the New Zealand "bush," climbing, abseiling (rapelling), and a high zip line called the "Flying Fox!" The whole exchange will be housed in a large lodge with bunk beds. Hopefully no one snores!

We will visit Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital which is New Zealand's vet school and looks to be the equine referall hospital on the North Island. We will get to meet their staff and tour the facility.

There is "horse trekking" from Makahika scheduled for late in the first week and Robyn and I are hoping that coaches and chaperones will be included on this excursion! (I had to "Google" "horse trekking" and it appears to be trail riding. Horse trekking sounds so much cooler though!)

We then go on to tour Nga Tawa School Equestrian facilities. The Nga Tawa School is an all girls school near Palmerston North. We will be assigned our team horses for the first competition, a gymkhana hosted by the Horowhenua Pony Club, and will then have a training session on the horses. At the gymkhana the teams will compete in games, show jumping and some flat classes.

The second week will be spent in Karapiro. We will be sightseeing around Hamilton and Cambridge. We then go on an overnight excursion to the Waitomo Caves in Rotorua. These are the Glowworm caves! While we're in the area we will learn about Maori culture.

Late in the second week we will draw horses for the Nation's Cup Show Jumping competition. We also get to visit a stud, and participate in a polo game! The Nation's Cup is on the 13th, followed by a formal dinner.

The last day we head to Auckland where we will be flying out of. We get back into LAX bright and early May 15- we technically get into LAX before we left because of the time zones!

It looks like an incredible itinerary and we're all looking forward to it!

Janna

It's Almost Time!

OH boy! About 2 weeks before we leave for New Zealand, and there is so much to get done at home before I can even consider leaving. My name is Kiersti Wylie, I am now 19 and have attained my HA. I live on a training and breeding ranch that hosts the Sandia Creek Ranch Pony Club Riding Center. This is where our team will have a few days to train on a variety of horses to prepare to “bring back the Nation Cup” in Show Jumping.

At my family’s ranch we start all the horses ourselves, so I have a lot of experience on young green horses. All most all the horses I show, we have started from the ground up, unless it’s a horse I got as a catch ride.

To better prepare for the Inter Pacific Exchange I went to Palm Springs and Jury rode for the Pentathlon World Cup qualifier. This gave me a great opportunity to ride a lot of horses and pick up some more interesting techniques for schooling each of them.

Being selected for this exchange was only a dream and I still can’t believe it is reality . Pony Club offers so many amazing opportunities for all ages of horse crazy riders. For this I am grateful , and I hope to encourage more riders to try the opportunities offered by pony club. I spent all last weekend helping a whole batch of our new little Pony Clubbers learn the ropes at their first show; a hunter pace and junior field hunter championship that I helped our local hunt put on . They all were amazing and not only did they take grand care of their ponies and have stellar team work but they also brought home the 1^st place in every division. I rode four of the younger horses that I am working with; the 3 on XC were brilliant! And the one in jack pot jumpers cleaned up with over 100 points in front of 2^nd place, what a super star she is becoming

I can’t wait to meet everyone. This is going to be AMAZING!

Ok off to bed for me, early day tomorrow.

T Minus One Month and Counting!

We're about one month out from our big adventure! We received our official itinerary from New Zealand Pony Club today and it looks like we will have an action packed 2 weeks of sight-seeing and riding. (More on that in a later post!)

I am Janna Bankston Ritacco, the coach for the USPC Inter Pacific Exchange Team. I am excited to meet up with the team when we all convene at the Wylie's Sandia Creek Ranch near San Diego. We start our training session & team building at their USPC Riding Center on April 27. This will give me a chance as the coach to assess each rider's personal riding style and get a feel for what type of horse each of the team members will do best with when we are in New Zealand. (For instance, who can deal with a naughty pony, who can inspire a slow moving warmblood, who has a calming effect on a hot TB, and so on and so forth!) We will have two days or riding and fun social type activities to build team cohesiveness before we depart for New Zealand late on the night of April 29th.

I have already had the privilege of meeting some of the team. Robyn Whitten, our "chef d'equipe," is a good friend of mine. I have taught her daughter, Sarah, for several years, and their baby horse Wiley is boarded at my barn. At the USPC Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN in February I was able to meet Kiersti Wylie & Kaleigh Quinn. They were both National Youth Congress delegates. At a clinic in New Jersey a few weeks ago I was able to work with Kelsey Hamilton and Kaleigh Quinn and get a sense of their riding style. I cannot wait to meet Alexa Wolf & Susan Thomas, although I feel like I already know them thanks to this blog, Facebook, and the DVD's that they each had to submit as part of the application process for the team.

I was happy to be able to view each of the girls' DVD's and feel like it has already helped me feel each one out as a rider. I was impressed by their level of riding... all I can say is "Watch Out" to Hong Kong, Canada, New Zealand & Australia... the US team is rock solid and is ready to bring home the Nation's Cup!

If you're still reading at this point I'll tell you a little bit about me... I am a graduate H-A Pony Clubber from the Carolina region. I am a National Examiner for USPC which means that I get to travel around the US and conduct Pony Club testings. I am an eventer (competed through preliminary level) and have recently started foxhunting. I have a young elephant sized drafty-cross gelding that is perfect for hunting and we've enjoyed learning the ropes together. (Hopefully he agrees!)

About two weeks before we leave for California I will be moving my boarding/teaching/training operation to a 66 acre equestrian center near Furman University. I hope I can get all the critters settled before leaving for the other side of the world! I have the creme de la creme of barn help and I'm confident that they'll keep things running smoothly while I galavant around New Zealand.

My husband, Daryl, is still upset about me leaving him for a month last summer when I coached last year's Inter Pacific Exchange team in Hong Kong & China. He was not thrilled to hear that I had applied to go to New Zealand. He will be stuck at home taking care of our "wonder-dog" Charlotte, a stereotypical black & white high octane Border Collie. Last year I had to pay my barn help to come pick her up and take her with them to do the barn so that she could "work" while I was gone. (She is very serious about her work which includes, but is certainly not limited to: supervising the gelding's pasture, supervising the mare's pasture, supervising each pasture again, herding the wayward chicken, "helping" longe horses, and herding anything that might need herding.)

Until next time...

Janna Bankston Ritacco

Crunch Time

After hearing that I had made the IPE New Zealand Team for 2011, I knew that I would have a lot on my plate this semester between class, taking finals early, work, competing, and foxhunting. The past 3 months have flown by and its getting close to crunch time with less that 7 weeks until we depart for New Zealand. Although completing my finals close to two weeks early may prove to be stressful and challenging, I am so excited to be a part of this team. I have been in Pony Club since I was 9 years old and I feel that it is responsible for my horsemanship skills, as I come from a family of non-horse people. I feel forever indebted to Pony Club for all of the opportunities that it has provided!

My name is Susan Thomas and I am a junior at the University of Georgia. After a freshman year full of the common mixed emotions that go along with choosing a major, I decided to study Equine Science Management and minor in Agricultural Business with an emphasis on Marketing. I couldn’t be more pleased with my decision, especially after taking my Advanced Equine Reproduction class through the UGA Vet school this semester. We have been busy palpating, ultrasounding, and will soon AI the mares at the UGA undergraduate research barn and then recheck throughout the first month of their gestation. Equine Reproduction is not my central interest; however, I have really enjoyed the chance to get some hands on experience with such a fascinating process!

Aside from school, I have a part time job at Inyazura Farms, a boarding facility outside of Athens that specializes in foxhunting and eventing. Through Inyazura, I have become active with the Shakerag Hounds Hunt Club and try to hunt as much as possible between October and March. I also plan to spend quite a bit of time at the kennels this Spring and Summer getting to know the hounds through unmounted hound exercises.

When I’m not in class, working, or foxhunting, I try my best to make it out to a few events each season. Currently, my horse(pictured top) is being leased to a young girl in Cleremont, Georgia while I finish school, but I am lucky enough to get the chance to compete two of the horses from Inyazura: Crimson and CC. While my beloved horse, Camel, is teaching his “new girl” the ropes of eventing, I have been exploring the perks and challenges of balancing two very different horses at a horse trials. Crimson (pictured below) is a 15.3h crossbred mare who has been very successful at Training level the past two seasons. We hope to move up this fall if everything goes as planned over the Summer. CC (pictured right) is a more hot and sprightly mare who has gone back and fourth between foxhunting and low level eventing. This is my first season with CC and we still need to work out a few small kinks in our dressage and showjumping at Novice before we make the move up to Training, which I also hope to accomplish this fall.

As the Exchange approaches, I will be busy with finals and preparing to move to a new place to finish out my last year of school- one of my roommates is graduating and will be missed greatly! My Spring event season is coming to a close so hopefully I’ll be able to have a little bit of down time before flying out to California at the end of April. Until then, I’d like to wish my teammates good luck with all of their endeavors and I can’t wait to meet you all in about a month’s time!

Less Than 50 Days!

Less than 50 days until I leave New York for California to meet up with my team! When I heard I made the IPE Team to go to New Zealand I though May would never come....well I was wrong. Time is flying, and May is right around the corner and there is so much to do between catching up on school work and keeping my own horse in condition for this competition season.

I am 18 and a senior at the Port Jervis High School in New York. I'm taking all AP and colleges classes and I get to miss my AP Chemistry exam while I'm in New Zealand (oh darn), but I'm sure anyone would rather be riding in New Zealand than taking a four hour exam! I plan on going to Quinnipiac University this fall and majoring in Athletic Training/ Sports Medicine. I am so excited!

I have been riding since I was 11 years old and have been eventing since I was 13. I'm 18 now and have a 15.2 hand Irish Sport horse named Toy Story. I got him two years ago and

competed him preliminary last season very successfully. I also achieved my B rating this past August on him which was a huge accomplishment. This coming season, I hope to move up to intermediate by June, which means while I'm in New Zealand for this amazing opportunity, my wonderful mother will gallop my horse and keep him in shape.

I cannot wait until I fly out to meet my team in California. I was very excited to meet one of my team members, Kiersti Wylie while we were in Tennessee for the USPC annual meeting. I also met my coach Janna and will be training with her in New Jersey in a few weeks.

I am excited to meet the rest of my team and for our trip to New Zealand! It's coming so soon!

Kaleigh Quinn

A Chaperone's View

Janna asked me to post on the blog and since this is my first "blog" experience, bear with me. I am so excited to have the privilege to participate in the IPE exchange to New Zealand!

Horses have been a part of my life for years-as a young girl then again when my two girls started taking lessons at ages 9 and 6. Katie, now 22, went on to other interests after several years but Sarah, 19, has never looked back. Some of the best training she has had has been through Pony Club the last 5 years, and I have followed, hauled, brushed, bathed, worked rallies, and everything else moms of riders do and loved every minute!

I've lived in Greenville SC for 30+ years and have been married to John for 25 years. Katie graduated from Presbyterian College in May and will be getting married this July. Thank goodness we started early with the wedding plans so I will be in good shape for this trip. John and I are empty nesters this year since Sarah started school at the University of Kentucky. She is studying Equine Science and Management and loves it! I am writing this from Lexington, on a visit for one of her functions.

I spend my time working part-time, taking care of my dad who is in a local assisted living facility, babysitting Sarah's new baby horse- Wiley, and doing "wedding" stuff. Oh, and I make quilts sometimes. I am off to check out some barns for Sarah's horse in the fall. Looking forward to meeting all of the team very soon!

Robyn Whitten

Dreaming of New Zealand

I had been interested in some day applying for the IPE since I first joined USPC (a little late at age 14), but there was no stopping me from turning in an application when I heard that 2011 IPE was being held in New Zealand. I've been dreaming of visiting NZ since I first saw the country's amazing landscapes in the Lord of the Rings films. The more I learned about NZ, the more I wanted to visit: horses, backpacking, a great film industry, and awesome people (at least the New Zealanders I've met!).

Now, a dream has become reality...or almost. I can't wait to be on a plane to the IPE exchange (and then another 3 weeks in NZ before I have to be back in California to teach at Woodside Junior Riders summer camp), but there is a lot to do between then and now for me (as well as the rest of the team, I'm sure!). I am a Sophomore at Bard College, 2 hours north of NYC, on the beautiful Hudson River. I am studying Film Production with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies, or at least planning on it. The way Bard works, as a sophomore everyone goes through "Moderation", which involves (for film at least), three papers and 20 minutes of finished quality film work in digital and 16mm formats. These are presented in front of a 3-person board from the department, and if all goes well, you are accepted into the major. Unfortunately, film is one of the hardest, so fingers crossed for my board in April!

Other than worrying about Moderation (and getting those papers written in the next two weeks), my days consist of studying Arabic, a genetics biology class (my first science in years!), a film history class about films as propaganda, and my film production class: Script to Screen. For Script to Screen we are each shooting a 10 min section of the 1931 Frankenstein! It's tons of fun, but eats up time...principal photography begins next week! I'm also co-writing and directing a film to be shot in NJ over spring break.

On top of all of that, I'm trying to keep my riding up. I ride twice a week at a great barn called Cedar Crest where Bard's IHSA team just moved, and twice a week I am a working student for Cari Swanson and Rex Peterson, two great trainers (and the one's responsible for all of the amazing horse tricks and training behind films like Hidalgo and Secretariat!). Unfortunately, I had to sell my one (and only) horse, Kalypso's Page, over x-mas break, but I guess all these borrowed horses are the best practice for NZ!

Well I guess that's more than long enough. I can't wait to meet everyone in person, and I can't wait to miss finals to be riding horses in NZ instead!

Alexa

Ten Weeks Until Departure!

We have ten weeks until we depart for New Zealand! It almost sounds like a long time, until you look at the “to-do” list.

Personally, I have ten weeks to finish my semester, take an LSAT class, take the LSAT, fundraise for the trip, and tune up on my show jumping skills (good thing Pony Club taught me how to manage my time!). I am currently a junior at Georgetown College, in Georgetown KY, studying Environmental Policy. I am originally from Lewes, DE, the Delmarva region. I came out here for Georgetown’s Equine Scholars program (you should check it out, http://equinescholars.georgetowncollege.edu/ ), and I was lucky enough to bring my horse, Dylan out to school with me. We were avid Eventers but it’s time for Dylan to take a step back from the rigors of upper level competition and remember that he is not as young as he once was. That made this spring a perfect time to travel! After being named first alternate for the IPE, I decided that no one in their right mind would drop from the team, and to look for other options. LUCKILY!!!!! USPC decided to send a 5 man (or woman haha) team, (thank you to whom ever made that call, by the way) so I’m in! I can’t wait to meet the other girls, they are as busy as I am, but I’m sure they’ll be chiming into the blog as well! Naturally, all I can think about these days is being in New Zealand. In reality that’s almost the last thing I need to be thinking about. So before I can write my “please send me money” fundraising letters, I need to study for my Sociology test, write my Communication speech, and finish that English paper. I guess I should stop procrastinating and get back to my school work.


Kelsey Hamilton

Introduction

We have decided to create a blog so that we can share our upcoming adventures in New Zealand with family, friends and supporters!

USPC's 2011 Inter Pacific Exchange team:
Alexa Wolf, H-A from Middle California region
Kaleigh Quinn, B from New Jersey region
Kelsey Hamilton, H-A from Delmarva region
Susan Thomas, B from Old Dominion region
Kiersti Wylie, H-A from Southern California region
Coach: Janna Bankston Ritacco, Carolina region
Team manager: Robyn Whitten, Carolina region

Trip Itinerary:

May 1- May 15, 2011.

We will have a training and team building session for a few days in late April at the Wylie family's USPC Riding Center in San Diego before departing for New Zealand.

We will meet up with the other teams from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Hong Kong on New Zealand's South Island in Christchurch on May 1st and the Canterbury Area PC will host the teams for the first week of the exchange. Events the first week include a scramble team event in the form of a One Day Event at McLean's Island, Christchurch. Waikato Area PC located on the North Island of New Zealand will host the teams for the second week and will host the Nation's Cup Show Jumping Competition at the Kihikihi Domain. The teams will be accomodated at the Lake Karapiro rowing facility which is being used for this year's Rowing World Cup. We will depart from the Auckland airport on May 15th.

History of the IPE: The Inter Pacific Exchange first began in Australia in 1964. Great Britain, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand were originally part of the exchange, followed by Hong Kong and Japan. The exchange was conceived for the older members of Pony Club to have an educational, cultural, bilingual, and competitive experience. Each team consists of four members, a coach and a team manager/chaperone. Team selection criteria:

• Be a B level rating or higher



• Older than 17 years of age



• Riders are expected to have had experience riding and competing borrowed horses



• Have competed at least at the training level in eventing



• Jumped 3'6" in Show Jumping



• Have top horse management skills



• Have extraordinary recommendations