Taupo Nui-A-Tia College

Taupo-nui-a-Tia College has an active equestrian team who compete in the following equine disciplines: Showjumping, Dressage, Eventing and games. Any competent rider who attends the college, with their own horse and a desire to compete is welcomed into the team. Most competitions cater for a variety of abilities, however, Pony Club experience is a distinct advantage. In order to compete at Inter-school events, the team travel throughout the Bay of Plenty area. These events include:

Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools Showjumping. Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools One Day Event. Central Plateau Interschool Gymkhana. North Island Dressage Tournament and the North Island Showjumping Tournament. All competitions entered into are team events but students ride as individuals and any points they may gain throughout a competition contribute to the final team result/ placing.

Competitions tend to fall in term one of the school year, and riders are expected to provide their own transport to and from competitions. Taupo nui-a-Tia College always provides a competitive equestrian team who have in the past gained considerable success in all of the above competitions.

Our team: Libby Owen, Jonti Owen, Anna Koster-Birdsall, Tash deKroon, Kasey Lawson.

MVP: Anna Koster-Birdsall great day on her pony competing against much bigger horses in the top class. Out of the 3 events she gained 1x 1st and 2x 2nd's.

The college equestrian team competed at the Central Plateau Gymkhana on the 4th of May. Taupo-nui-a-Tia came second equal with Tauhara College. This was an outstanding result as the college had 16 students competing! Tongariro College won the event

The 2009 competition season started off galloping. Mid February heralded our first event, the Bay Of Plenty Show jumping held in Edgecumbe. The team had a very pleasant day and ended up placed 3rd overall. A week later we were back in the Whakatane district again where we had ten riders competing at one of our favourite competitions, the BOP One Day Event. Our two teams rode well and finished the day 2nd and 3rd overall. A few weeks later our elite dressage riders took to the field in Cambridge to compete in the North Island Dressage Champs. This is a huge event with teams coming from as far away as Kerikeri, our team did us proud and after a very long day, when all the scores were added up we finished 3rd in the North Island. Is anyone starting to notice a recurring theme of 3rd going on here?

On a cold windy day in May we made our way down to Turangi for the Central Plateau Gymkhana. This is a fun event always enjoyed by our younger riders and once again we were just kept out of the top placings finishing the day in 4th place.

Our last two events for the year saw our elite riders again in Cambridge. First it was our action hero stunt riders competing in the North Island Games where once again (you guessed it) we came 3rd. Finally our fearless high jumpers hoofed it with the best in the North Island to come home after a very, very long day to give us a final placing of 8th in show jumping.

We were fortunate this year to have been given new uniforms and they will be modelled by our team in 2010. Thanks to the school for allowing us time out of the class room to compete at all the above events. Also thanks go to parents for carting the team around the countryside, particularly Maddie Florence’s mum for taking the whole team to the NI Show jumping, and farewell to our year 13 riders Emma Cowie and Claire Dunstan who will be leaving us for greener pastures.

As usual the year started off with a hiss and a roar. No sooner had our wide eyed new Year 9 students been welcomed into high school life and we were off. It was a rush to get permission slips signed, the entry form posted and race off to our first event representing Taupo-nui-A-Tia College. Number one on the calendar was the Bay of Plenty One Day Event, so over to Te Teko we drove – horses in tow of course. Te Teko put on a typically hot summers day, and our two teams put on stunning displays with one of our teams winning the event and the other not too far behind. Less than a month later we were back in the Whakatane district competing in the Bay of Plenty Show jumping competition. Again we were faced with a beautiful day and all the team rode well to finish the day in second place overall. Next event on the calendar was the North Island Dressage Championships where our top four dressage riders competed.

Not long after that we headed down to Turangi for the Central Plateau Gymkhana competiton. This is always a fun event - however with it snowing in Turangi the night before the competition we were met with the exact opposite of the conditions we had been used to in Whakatane. Kathryn Watson had a stellar day and was placed in every class she rode in. At the end of the competition we were placed third overall. The last two events on our busy calendar were the North Island Show jumping Competition and the North Island Equestrian Games Competition, both held in the lovely grounds of St Peters School in Cambridge. At each of these events our elite riders hoofed it with the best in the North Island to finish tenth overall in the Show jumping, and the (future) stunt riders coming sixth overall in the Games competition.

Now it’s time to relax and enjoy the summer break before we start it all over again in 2009!

Savanah Larsen-Church, Emma Bevin, Emma Dryden, Katee Stokman, Kathryn Watson.

2007 Teams Dressage Championships – Emma Dryden member of the winning Junior Bay of Plenty Dressage Team.

Savanah Larsen-Church – chosen to represent New Zealand in an international equestrian event in Australia.

Report for 2007

Term I was full on with most of our competitions happening in the first couple of months of 2007.

Our first competition was the BOP One Day Event. A typically very hot Te Teko day greeted our team as we arrived, luckily the thought of splashing through the water jump on the cross country course made the heat bearable. Our number one team was in first place at the end of the dressage phase and finished the day in second place overall.

A couple of weeks later we were off to the Whakatane district again for the BOP Show jumping. Our team of young riders were highly competitive and the team ended up eighth overall.

No sooner had we arrived back at school when Emma Dryden and Kathryn Watson packed up their horses again to go and represent the school at the North Island Dressage Championships in Cambridge. Both rode extremely well to be placed against some of New Zealand’s top young dressage riders.

It was our turn to host the Central Plateau Gymkhana this year. Oruanui Pony Club graciously stepped in and ran the event for us and it was a nice change not to drive for 2 hours to get to an event. All our riders had a fun day and our team was placed third overall at the end of the day.

We still have one more event to finish the year and that is the inaugural North Island Equestrian Games Tournament. This is the event where our rodeo riders get to show their skills.

Thanks need to go out to all the parents for supporting their children and transporting both them and their ponies to all the events we compete in. Special mention is made of a few of people; Libby Owen’s mum for sitting up at her sewing machine all night making us some extra saddle blankets, Kathryn Watson’s mum for enthusiastically taking control and organising the gymkhana and to Katee Stokman’s mum for taking the excellent photos.

Finally a farewell to our senior riders; Savanah Larsen-Church, Lily Marshall and Greg McPherson, we will miss you all, and don’t worry Greg, Scott Groombridge is taking over your position of lone male in the equestrian team.

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