Ngātiwai event celebrates Māori love of horses

Atereano Mateariki Manaia Armstrong | Ngātiwai event celebrates Māori love of horses

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One of the organisers of the Ngātiwai Horseman’s Challenge in Northland over the weekend says one of its key aims is to keep the Māori love for horses and riding alive.

Manaia Armstrong, a highly skilled rider from Whangaruru, has travelled across the country and the world in his quest to improve his horsemanship skills.

He even does his daily DOC ranger job mostly from the back of a horse.

He says the turnout of 48 riders and hundreds of spectators from across Aotearoa is a promising sign for the future.

“The whole envisionment of creation of the Ngātiwai Horseman’s Challenge was to resurrect or rejuvenate rangatahi within the region back on the back of a horse. So, if we look back on our tupuna – everyone rode horses, it was just an everyday type of thing,” says Armstrong.

Manaia Armstrong says a key piece of feedback he received is a Māori kaupapa event emphasising whakawhanaungatanga, keeping the competition fierce but friendly.

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