A Pathway Event for Youth

Are you an aspiring young trainer eager for a thrilling and fulfilling experience with a Kaimanawa colt? The 2025 Kaimanawa Legacy Junior & Juveniles Challenge at Equifest offers you the unique opportunity to demonstrate your training abilities by working with a colt directly from the Kaimanawa Horse Muster. Open to youth under 18, this competition gives you six months to build a trusting relationship and demonstrate your horsemanship skills. With the guidance of an experienced mentor, you'll work with a young Kaimanawa colt to prepare him for competition.

Kaimanawa Legacy Juniors & Juveniles

Kaimanawa Legacy Foundation developed the Juniors & Juveniles Challenge to help foster the next generation of passionate and talented horsemen and women.

With 230 horses targeted for removal in 2024, and musters now held annually, KLF recognised the need to appeal to a broader range of equestrians, to help KWHAG reach their rehoming targets. This new competition has been designed to offer a pathway for young trainers, to help them gain the skills and passion to tame mature Kaimanawa horses from future musters. It is our greatest hope that the youth chosen to compete will become part of an emerging legacy of trainers that will continue to advocate for the plight of Kaimanawa horses in the future.

The Junior & Juvenile Challenge is for trainers aged 12 to 17 years old, who have been randomly assigned a juvenile from the 2024 Kaimanawa Horse Muster. This years’ youth are all under the mentorship of a professional trainer, and had the option to have the trainer do the initial handling, or taming the horse themselves under the mentorship of an approved KLF trainer. The primary focus is about fostering youth to up skill their horsemanship, so they are able to offer their wild horse a positive transition to domestic life.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Youth aged 12 to 17 years, as of October 1st 2024, are eligible to compete.
Trainers will have had approximately six months to domesticate their juvenile, before going on to compete at Equifest, one of the largest equestrian events in New Zealand.
Each competitor will compete in a Horsemanship and Obstacle class, which will include a freestyle element.

HEALTHY HORSES INSIDE OUT HORSEMANSHIP CLASS
$800 in prize money

In this class the horses will complete an inhand horsemanship pattern, working through a variety of manoeuvres. This includes walking and trotting in-hand, rein-back, lunging in both directions and a side pass in either direction.

HEALTHY HORSES INSIDE OUT OBSTACLE CLASS
$800 in prize money

In this class, competitors are required to complete a course of 10 obstacles inhand. You will be informed of the course on the day and have a chance to walk through the course with a KLF steward immediately before the class begins. The obstacles are to be completed inhand only and you will have 4 minutes to complete up to 10 obstacles.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

*If you would like to support Kaimanawa Legacy Foundation by becoming a sponsor at one of our events contact our EVENTS TEAM