Horse Sports – It’s Not Just a Sport, It’s My Life

By Ahikaa Wharepapa

Why I Love Horse Sports

One of my favourite things in the world is horse sports. I love riding horses and competing in events. It’s not just a sport to me—it’s my life.

My Horse Lunah

I have my own horse named Lunah. She is very special to me because I broke her in myself and trained her to do all the different events. Lunah is a sports horse which means she knows how to do many events like barrel racing, pole bending, jumping, flag races, and the potato race. I enjoy working/riding with her because she is fast and VERY smart and kind of listens well.

My Favourite Events

My favourite events in horse sports are barrel racing and pole bending. Barrel racing is all about speed and tight turns around barrels. Pole bending is like weaving through poles as fast as you can without knocking them over. Both of these events are super fun and give me a rush of excitement.

Training and Teamwork

Training for horse sports takes a lot of time and hard work. I practice to make sure Lunah is ready for horse sports and make sure we work well as a team. You need to control your horse and steer it by using your feet and your body to make it move. If you have spurs on then it will be easy for you. We have a strong bond, and that helps us do our best in competitions. We don’t win at all but it's not about winning, it's about having fun and spending time with your horse and your family. Horse sports has taught me to spend time with my horse, to do my best and not to care about winning.

Looking After Lunah

Looking after a horse is a big job and once that's done you have to do the horse sports which is even harder of a job. I want to keep getting better and maybe win some big competitions. Horse sports make me happy, and I’m proud of everything Lunah and I have done together. It’s a sport full of challenges, and I love every part of it.

Follow my journey, you can even take a plushy of mine home with you.