Name Lauren-Jane Nevill (or L-J as most people call me)

Whereabouts do you live?

On a sheep and beef farm in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand

What’s your favourite equestrian discipline?

Show Hunter (as we call it here in NZ) – for me it’s the perfect combination of dressage & jumping as you have to have the precision to get the scores and perfect striding, as well as jumping clear.

Tell us about the horses in your life

Diva aka Anadiva is a 15.1hh dark brown Warmblood mare who is 14 years old. She 100% lives up to her name, is the ultimate alpha mare but has the kindest heart and tries so hard. She is a bit of a worrier which has been our biggest challenge. At shows as she gets very tense but at the moment she is recovering from a bit of a battle with leg injuries so we are just hacking around the farm. She was my Mum’s dressage horse until I took her and taught her to jump (sorry Mum!), since then she has decided she doesn’t like dressage and much prefers show hunter & jumping!

Rum is a 15.2hh grey mare, and we believe she is a Station bred horse which can be a mixture of Clydesdale, Thoroughbred and goodness knows what else! We have no idea how old she is – we think late teens – and she was actually given to my Dad for free! Her previous owner had a few falls off her (she has a wicked buck!) and Dad was in need of a new hunter so she came home in our truck one day after a hunt. She is quite possibly one of the sweetest horses we have ever had and is so polite on the ground. She is purely used for hunting and loves hacking around the farm too.

Epic aka Aranui Epic is my 28-year-old Cat. A Welsh Mountain Pony who we have had since I was 6 and he was 5. He has probably taught me the most as he was newly broken in when we got him and was my first pony off the lead rein. He has recently come home to retire and has the biggest character – if you are 14 seconds late with his dinner you know about it!! At 28 he is not without his health challenges, but we are managing all of those and he has definitely re-instated himself as Captain in charge once more.

What’s your greatest equestrian achievement so far?

My greatest equestrian achievement so far has been without a doubt the 6 months I spent in Canada working as a Wrangler, guiding trails. It’s not a typical achievement in the sense of winning a ribbon/class but for me, it was something that I had always wanted to do and to have that goal achieved was huge! It was an amazing experience as I got to live in The Rocky Mountains at Lake Louise, and ride horses for a job! The people I met are friends for life and it will always hold a place in my heart.

What’s your ultimate equestrian dream?

My ultimate equestrian dream would be to win a Show Hunter Title class at our Horse of the Year Show. I watch these classes every single year and it would be the most amazing dream to win, but even just to qualify and compete would be a huge success for me as well! It’s definitely my biggest goal/aim at the moment.

Care to share a funny equestrian story?

I was at a show with Diva and the grounds where this show is held has a lot of wide open space which normally she is fine with. Upon arriving at the show, she seemed calm enough for me to have a quick ride and we were by ourselves working in one of the arenas. However, in the distance she spotted two ponies cantering around and had an absolute meltdown which involved a lot of rearing and then spinning. Needless to say, I fell off and she then proceeded to gallop through the show grounds whinnying and refusing to be caught! The next day I had several people ride past me and say “ohh so you’re the rider for that horse” – I think the entire show ground had seen her performance and knew exactly who she was!! I was rather embarrassed by this at the time, but I can laugh about it now!

Best bit of riding advice you’ve been given

“Every time you ride, you are teaching the horse to listen to you or to ignore you” – Jen Hamilton

This piece of advice often came up when I was having lessons with Jen. I was extremely lucky to be coached by her whenever she came to New Zealand and a lot of what she has said over the years I still apply in my riding today. Although she doesn’t come to New Zealand anymore I am lucky enough to have her book “A Jump Ahead” at home, and I will often read it before I ride if I am wanting to work on something in particular for that day.

Favourite equestrian brands 

I am a huge fan of Back on Track. The way their products work with the magnetics and helping to promote blood circulation etc are amazing. They have worked time and time again with our horses and my core favourites would have to be their stable boots and rugs. I have even found their human products amazing, and their t-shirt has on more than one occasion helped with sore muscles on my back and shoulders.

Equissage has been another huge help, and has been instrumental in helping get Diva back into work following her injuries. It’s always interesting to see how each horse reacts differently during and post a session with an Equissage, and to see them much happier/relaxed afterwards is always such a treat.

I absolutely love my Kep helmet! I have unfortunately had a few concussions over the years and with my Kep helmet I really feel like my head is protected well. It sits a bit lower on the back of the head which means more of your head is covered/protected, and the air vents through it are magical on a hot day! They even close up so when it’s raining you don’t get the rain coming into your hat! I often walk around wearing it because I forget that I have it on as I find it that comfortable!

I am the biggest fan of my saddles, my jump saddle was made here in NZ by a local saddler and was actually custom made for my last pony, but strangely seems to fit Diva like a glove! And my dressage saddle is an Albion, and it honestly feels like I am sitting in an armchair it’s that comfortable! It’s actually made me enjoy dressage schooling because I know that both Diva and I are comfortable when we have our Albion on!

Through the course, I had discovered HiHo Silver and their products are the things dreams are made of! I love how timeless and classic their pieces are, and how you can wear them anywhere without worrying about them. Thankfully both my bridesmaids are from the country/rural as they will most definitely be wearing some pieces when our wedding happens next year!

One thing we might not know about you?

Ohhh this is hard one…if people have only recently found me on social media then they might not know that I did Ballet for 14 years and was 2 grades off getting to teaching level. As a result of doing it for so many years, I absolutely love going to watch the Ballet and will always try and see it when they tour the country. My favourite Ballet to watch would have to be Swan Lake!

Do you have anything you deem as ‘lucky’ when you ride/compete?

I don’t have anything in particular that I deem to be lucky but if I have a win or a successful show I will try and wear that combination of clothing again at the next show.

Do you have any superstitions or rituals when you compete? How did this start?

I try to never wear anything new for the first time at competitions. Every time I have done this I have had terrible jumping rounds or not been placed if it’s been in flat classes. Mum and I always joke about it so I think it has stemmed from her as she also rides and competes!

I also have to have an odd number of plaits in my horse’s mane when we are competing too. And the forelock has to be “odd” numbered one (so she can have say 8 plaits down her mane and the forelock has to be number 9). I have no idea where this has come from but for as long as I can remember I have to have an odd number of plaits – which seems ridiculous as I write this!

If you could have dinner with any rider/equestrian, who would that be?

I would love to have dinner with Tori Colvin as she is an incredible hunter jumper rider and I would love talk to her about how she does everything!

If you could ride any horse in the world – past or present – who would it be?

 Ohhh there are so many amazing horses out there! From the hunter jumper scene in the USA, I would love to ride Tori Colvin’s Private Practice or Ovation – they both look like absolutely amazing horses! I also think Valegro would be incredible as well – he makes dressage look like such fun.

Why did you join Social Supercharge: Riders?

 I joined the Social Supercharge: Riders course to up my social media skills as I had just started blogging and felt a bit lost with trying to take things to the next level. I was also hoping it would be a great way of connecting with like-minded people who were on the same journey!

What’s the best thing about the course?

The best thing about the course is the fact that it has taught me to be more confident with social media and to think outside the square a little more. The concept of documenting and not creating has been huge for me too – because when I first started blogging I was worried I wasn’t going to have enough content “created”.

Being able to go in and out of the course as you please is great too, as you can do it your own time and then refresh your memory when you need to as well! And the other amazing part is of course Rhea herself – her knowledge and platforms are great to listen to! Could not have done it without her!!

Tell us all the places where we can find you

You can find me on Instagram at @thewanderinghogget

I also have a Farming and Country lifestyle blog called The Wandering Hogget and my website is www.thewanderinghogget.co.nz