A Helping Hand Where it Counts

A hand where it counts...Lucy Akers (Mystery Creek) has a few tips for Pippa Huddleston (Hawke's Bay) at the 2011 NZ Horse of the Year. Photo credit: Horse of the Year/Kerry Marshall

Hawke's Bay teenager Pippa Huddleston got the surprise of her life at the 2011 NZ Horse of the Year Show when she found herself sharing a horse with top Kiwi rider Lucy Akers.

Akers, who is riding in the New Zealand team against the Australians in a test on Friday night, spent some time with the 15-year-old giving her a few tips aboard Fat Albert.

Pippa, who was born with cerebral palsy which affects her balance, is a regular rider at the local RDA, was delighted to have such high-ranking input, and the lesson made all the better with her 69-year-old nana from Christchurch sideline to enjoy it.

Mum Lesley Huddleston says it was special for them all to watch her daughter have a lesson on the “big horse”..

“It was a real treat. She was so surprised when Lucy jumped on behind her.”

The Woodford House teenager lives on a small farm out of Hastings.

“We've always done riding for therapy,” says Lesley Huddleston. “The RDA do such a wonderful job for the kids with special needs – they are a tremendous organisation.”

Pippa had gone from a littlie who was petrified of horses to a youngster who can ride with confidence.

Her daughter was a little upset at having to return to school after her lesson but would be back at the show “with bells on” for all the action at the weekend.

The 2011 NZ Horse of the Year Show started on Tuesday and will run through to Sunday when the Showjumper of the Year is awarded the Bell Tea Olympic Cup.

More than 70,000 people are expected at the show over the six days, to watch around 2600 horses and riders compete across 18 disciplines in 28 different arenas.

The Hawke's Bay Showgrounds turns into a small town with over 800 trucks and around 4000 people staying at the grounds.