James S

We are in the process of emigrating out to the South Auckland area and my wife and Daughter are mad keen on their horses (my wife has competed in showjumping and eventing and thats part of the attraction with NZ) are there any brits out there who can advise on the best areas to live, best websites for looking at horses/ponies etc and potentially anyone out in the South Auckland area who needs some new friends from the UK in a few months time!

Any help/direction would be much appreciated - we should be out there for late July (If our bloody house in the UK will ever sell!!!)

Cheers

James

Bellasmum

Hi James. There may be more but these are the South Auckland clubs that I know of. My 16 years old grandaughter is a mad keen rider

http://www.aucklandpolo.co.nz/

Beachlands-Maraetai Pony Club / Adult Riding Group
Ph: 09 5366055
Beachlands, Manukau City

Clevedon Pony Club
Ph: 09 292 8409
Monument Road, Clevedon, Manukau City
http://www.clevedonponyclub.org.nz/default.aspx

Manurewa Pony Club
Ph: 09 267 2938
Manurewa, Manukau City

Papatoetoe Pony Club
Ph: 09 274 6944
Flat Bush School Rod, East Tamaki, Manukau City 

Pointways Pony Club Inc
Ph: 09 266 6333
1424 Alfriston Road, Manurewa, Manukau City
http://www.localmoa.co.nz/misc/point...club-inc-85148

Whitford Pony Club
Ph: 09 530 8670
Whitford
http://www.afaphoto.co.nz/webfiles/A...6959/pony.html

P18PPS

You should get in touch with SarahB - she lives in South Auckland and well into her horsey stuff.

garryhg

Just what I was going to say,Sarah B is the girl to talk to.
They are in a lovely area for horses,Beachlands,Clevedon area....Jacky

James S

Thankyou very much I'll check these websites out.
Thanks again

James.

SarahB

Hi James. Hows it going?

When my OH asked me if I wanted to move to NZ my very first phone call was to my best mate to see if she would have my beloved Arabian horse if we went through with it.... she said yes of course and still has him now and she loves him very much. I couldnt bring him with me as he was photosensitive amongst other things and wouldve hated the climate here in Auckland.

As soon as we settled into Beachlands I secured grazing near Whitford and went onto Trademe to look at horses. I didnt have much money left so in the end got a very young failed trotter Standardbred.... he cost the equivalent to 280GBP at the time.... I found out later that hes very well bred... would be worth a lot in UK but here he was saved from being dogfood. Good ponies can be expensive here but horses can be cheap as chips. If you like your TBs then like the SBs they can go for next to nothing and if you look on Trademe you can see some are given away. You get the usual horse magazines here too so you can browse the adverts there too. Go and introduce yourself at the local pony clubs and word of mouth works very well, you might find grazing or a horse/pony that way. Ideally it would be great to buy a lifestyle plot and have enough grazing for your own horses but we personally couldnt afford to do that. I pay $120 a month for livery near Whitford, the horses are checked twice a day and fed hay in the winter.... they live out 24/7 as the weather is mild up here in Auckland.... yippee... no more mucking out!! People here dont know what "mucking-out" is!

Takanini is a horsey area but we thought is looked a bit run down. I think Karaka is another horsey area... a bit further out (like Hunua) so you will get more for your money. For what we paid for this house in Beachlands we couldve bought a house in Waiuku with 10 acres grazing... I suppose it depends how much time you want to spend in your car to get to work?!

I dont think I would recommend living in Beachlands if you want to keep horses as Beachlands is getting bigger and bigger with all the building work going on, the fields are rapidly turning into housing estates and finding grazing can be a bit tricky now. My horse is kept on Clifton Road, near Whitford...have a look on Google Earth and see how far it is from Auckland, that will give you some idea where we are.

Whitford Pony Club is just down the road and there is quite often something going on there... I have a contact there if you need any help. Kids can keep their ponies there and from what I was told its relatively inexpensive to keep a pony there.

I'm not riding at the moment as I have 2 youngish kiddies, so my horse has been turned away now for a year now.... hes only 5 though and hes maturing nicely (like a fine wine lol)... I still spend as much time with him when I can get away from the house and kids. I will work with him once rugrats go off to school and then most likely buy another Arabian, as I like my Arabs.

When you get here if you want to contact me, then PM me and will help if I can. Good luck with your move. Ask away if you want to know anything else... I pop on here every few days.

Sarah

James S

Hi Sarah
Thank you for your response to James's questions its nice to hear of someone else doing what we would like to do when we get over to nz and great to hear that unlike the uk horses dont cost as much as houses. Pony wise we just need 2 little school masters who are great on and off lead rein for the kids to have some fun with. The 2 we had over here were great, it would be nice to keep these at home but with livery not costing too much it might be nice to keep them together with the horse. How old are your kids? Weve got 2, Jessica is 5 and Thomas 2 they both love riding I cant wait until we can all go hacking together. Weve been looking on Trade me at the horses and I cant believe how cheap they are! I would like one to do some eventing on but thats ok to hack out too. We cant wait to come out and would be great to be able to ask questions so big thank you. It is a little daunting thinking we wont know anyone when we get there. James is ok with travel of about 30/40mins to work as over here he drives about 1hrs. Over here we get 15hrs free pre school when the kids turn 3yrs do they have this in nz? Speak soon Sara

chocolate cake

No experience of horses myself, but cycling out to the SE Auckland for the first time today, went through Whitford, Clevedon to Hunua. Certainly the Clevedon area is popular with horses and there seems to be many Stables around.
Don't know where you're working though, but commuting time won't be great to Auckland from these areas.

SarahB

Hi again. I have a lad Thomas who is 4, he goes to morning kindy Monday to Friday now.... he has no interest in horses at all.... occasionally he will come with me to give Zack a carrot. Thomas is only dinky so Zack must seem enormous to him.... he tells me he would like to ride a "pony-horse" but its an adult-only yard where I am so no kids and ponies allowed. Hayley, is my feisty 15 month old and already loves her rocking horse.... she thinks every animal is a "Cat".... I'm trying to teach her to say Pony or Horse but its still a Cat! I'm hoping she will like to ride in the future.

As for pre-schoolers... I think I am right in saying that 3 and 4 year olds get 20 free hours as of last year.... but not every pre-school has to take part. My lad goes to a state kindy and its great there and he loves it.

Hayley is with me all the time at the moment but when shes 2 and a half hopefully she will go to a private pre-school for a few hours each week... I'm not ready to give my baby up just yet! So, at the moment I only get evenings to myself, so not much time for being with the horse I'm afraid.... and now we have changed the clocks even less time.

I can ride down into the sea and round the mangroves, which is not far away from where Zack is at livery.... heres some pictures of the mangroves and estuary for you.... oh and one of my young Standardbred. The photos do not do the area justice.... its an estuary and when the tide is out you have miles of sand to ride on.... when it comes in you can have so much fun cantering through the shallow water.

James S

Hi Sarah

Thanx for the info, I would like to get schools sorted out for Thomas and Jess as soon as pos so its nice to know we may not have to pay. Your horse looks lovely and thanx for the other pics too it all looks so great I just cant wait to see it for myself! We should exchange contracts on our house around the 2nd May so after that we'll know dates when we can come over to nz. Trying not to get too excited until this happens.

thanx again
Sara

SarahB

Hiya... you will still have to pay something and some pre-schools have long waiting lists. I get an invoice from my Kindy every month and its a "voluntary contribution".... not everyone pays we know but I personally wouldnt dream of not paying... its not much money, and the teachers are great. Good luck with your house sale and move and keep in touch, SarahB

vjohnv

Hi guys

I only just saw your thread. Don't know if you've left the UK or even arrived here yet, but just in case you've not... My kids are older 15/17 but my daughter is a keen competitive rider (a pony and two hacks). We've had experience in riding/grazing near Kumeu (West Auckland), it's a bit cheaper out there, less expensive in most places south like Whitford/Clevedon and experiencing significant growth (so if you do buy land it might be a more profitable investment long term?). Plus there's the added advantage when kids get older of being close to Woodhill Sands, the main show venue for ponies and horses (visit www.woodhillsands.co.nz).

We have also grazed briefly in Whitford and now are based in Karaka, both are great. The soil's a bit less fertile I think in Whitford and so the grass is better for ponies and horses, altho Karaka-based people swear it's the best area for horses!! The other advantage of Whitford is there's a ferry that you can commute to the city on, which is a big plus because motorways to/from the city can be very tiresome in rush hours (altho not as bad as in the UK).

Lifestyle blocks in all areas are relatively "cheap" at the mo, so perhaps a good time to buy. I'd also look at options in Dairy Flat, Huapai, Waimauku, Ararimu, Clevedon and Waiuku. All reasonably accessible to the city along the motorways if you can avoid rush traffic.

South Auckland is not the safest part of NZ by any means, and while I live in the city I've heard stories of there being more break ins and the like in lifestyle properties in the south than those in the north or west. You need to be careful therefore about where you decide to live. There's a good book out called "Where to Live in Auckland", I'd certainly recommend that as a must read for first time visitors. I think it also comments on schools etc (you can also look at school performance reviews published by the Government's school auditing service ERO at www.ero.govt.nz).

Personally, I've always been wary about buying cheap ponies/horses, but particularly ponies, as I've been very keen to keep rider safety first and foremost. As we all know, it's a dangerous enough sport already! I've always felt more confident buying something on recommendation—once you've got to know a few horsey people here you feel you can trust (which shouldn't take long!) that might be a good option for you as well.

Have a look at www.equinetrader.co.nz and www.nzhorses.co.nz for grazing options, locations and prices (and horses for sale etc).

Let me know if you need any specific help when you get here. Happy to help if I can, best wishes. Altho if you're here already you probably know all there is to know!

John V

bolton1

Hi all
my daughter & I love horses and she rides - ( I wouldn't describe what i do as riding ). I am interested in finding out what standards I should look for when we arrive in NZ . She had a serious fall a few years ago and needed her arm pinned so her confidence was severely knocked. She has been riding again for about 6 months and slowly building her confidence. She is 11. I want to be sure wherever we go riding in NZ that it is as safe as can be and the instructors are competent. She would love her own pony but I think we are a long way off that yet.
Any guidance on what I should look for would be welcomed. I also think it will be a great way for her to make friends. Thanks

vjohnv

Hi bolton1! I'd opt for a trainer rather than a pony club instructor, altho it is a more expensive route. The Pony Club option probably does make it easier for your daughter to make horsey friends though. Which trainer/Pony Club you go with will depend on where you're going to be based... see Bellasmum's post below for some PCs in south Auckland, but there are PCs all over the country. Have a look at the NZ Pony Clubs Assoc website (http://www.nzpca.org/new/home.php), it's not very pretty to look at but it does contain addresses etc for all member PCs in NZ.

southerner

Sarah,

I really had to laugh at that - our 15 month daughter seems to get the cats OK, but now calls all other animals she sees "Teddy". It is a fabulous time of their young lives.