My name is Rebekah and I’m 18 years old. I live in Rotorua and have grown up with and around horses my whole life, and still currently own my childhood pony.
From a young age I have been very active in a variety of sports. In between training I managed to fit in my love of horses and from that, a hobby turned into a passion. I would often hang out at my neighbor’s when she rode, watching and learning from her. She began teaching me natural horsemanship and everything she taught me, I’d go back across the fence and teach my pony.
When I was 14 I started volunteering at a local horse ranch down the road, helping at horse camps, trekking and starting young horses. From this experience my knowledge about horses grew and I was soon schooling and selling on behalf, as well as working with their more difficult ponies which I absolutely loved.
Throughout my journey with horses, I have always been fascinated by the wild horses and dreamed of one day having enough skills to be able to tame my own.
Gunna was mustered in from zone 20, and at this stage it was unknown if he was named in the database. He was mustered in with his small band of two mares, sorted then loaded onto a truck to be transported to the Wilson Sisters property where his training would begin.
When I first met Gunna it was flight at first sight. He would react at the littlest movement of my body and would fly across the yard during our first two sessions. With Kelly’s guidance and support he quickly adapted to his training and over 3 weeks learnt not only how to find relaxation with my presence, but also how to draw in, how to acknowledge the whip, perform hindquarter yields at liberty, would follow me through yards, eat grass out of my hand and have our first touches as well.
About 3 weeks into his training we found out Gunna was in the database as ‘Catch 22’. This name will be his registered name as I think it’s a unique name for this little stallion.
The past few weeks Gunna has been haltered and is learning how to lead. He has also been learning how to navigate obstacles and handle working in a busy environment.
