Life in a horse truck, but this rider’s on track for glory
Nicole Roberts looked around her horse truck and offered a halfsmile.
‘‘There’s plenty I want, but nothing I need.’’ Roberts has been living in her horse truck for two years after she struggled to find somewhere to rent when a string of her homes were put up for sale in quick succession.
She became fed up with the process, so purchased the shell of a horse truck and made herself a home in a paddock she leases in Port Waikato.
Her flatmates are Ashley, an old dog she rescued as a puppy, and an attention-seeeking cat named Suzy.
Her neighbours are her prized horses – the star of the herd being her mare Vanillees Bling Bling, for whom she has high hopes.
She bred, broke and trained Bling on her own, and now, against all odds, the pair have qualified for the most prestigious equine competition in the country, Horse of the Year, on March 7-12. It is an aspiration she never thought would come to fruition.
‘‘It’s been a lifelong dream, but I’ve never had finances good enough until now … coming from where I am, I never thought I’d get there,’’ she said.
Roberts trains horses for a living, and all of her clients are through word of mouth.
She has just one client at the moment, since she is focusing on Horse of the Year. Without her two sponsors, she would have no chance of showcasing her and Bling’s talent in saddle hunter classes.
One is a silent sponsor, and the other is owner of Franklin Browbands, Vanessa Hamlin.
Roberts mostly works Bling on the shore of the Waikato River, where the ground is softer. She cannot afford lessons, but came up with an innovative way to find out how she and her mount look while going through the motions.
‘‘I’ll park my car in the middle of the paddock and then check my position in the windows. I’ll also ask anyone while I’m out and about – I’ll ask a beginner, or a big time horse rider about why they do things the way they do, because there could be some sort of information they could give me that I’m missing.’’
She will also scrutinise every video Hamlin records at shows, in a bid to improve her form.
‘‘It has to be as perfect as I can make it.’’
Judges from previous competitions have had high praise for the eye-catching horse.
Roberts cleaned up at the Franklin A&P Show held earlier this month with the three horses that she took, including Bling, who took out champion novice saddle hunter, champion novice paced and mannered and was reserve champion in the overall paced and mannered class.
Bling’s brother Vanillees Double Act, aka Bro, was reserve champion sport horse four years and over, and Vanillees Saving Grace won reserve champion novice riding horse.