Maris Equestrian

20/10/2025

We hope everyone who attended Equifest over the weekend had an absolute blast! And to those who flew back, fingers crossed your flights weren't too bumpy in this crazy wind!

🌬️ We've received reports of windy weather conditions over the next few days, which can be a real challenge for our coaches and ponies. If we need to reschedule your lesson due to the weather, we'll be in touch with you pronto. If you haven't heard from us, your lesson is still a go!

06/10/2025

Any of our students looking to learn a little more about what goes on at an eventing day + get some great views of the cross country jumps! Get in touch to do some volunteering for one of our local shows! 🤩

30/09/2025

We love having Kerry out to see our team regularly. 🥰🥰

A gorgeous but fresh morning over at Maris Equestrian treating the team.
From the competition horses to the school horses they are all beautifully looked after and educated. Special thanks to Quinn for keeping the horses flowing through for me today 🩷

15/09/2025

The Maris Equestrian competition team had a successful outing over the weekend with strong performances across the board.

• Ciara and Lockie produced an excellent result to secure 1st place in the U21 65cm Combined Training.
• Julia and Magnum delivered a consistent performance to finish in the upper mid-field of a large and competitive CCN95cm class.
• Nicole and Eva made a winning return to eventing, taking 1st place in the CCN65cm - Nicole’s first event back since welcoming her baby.

Congratulations to all our riders and horses on a fantastic effort and well-deserved results. A special thank you to the event class sponsorsPrebbleton Veterinary Hospital and , and to our own team sponsor DSH Equine Therapy, our trusted equine massage therapist, for their ongoing support.

17/08/2025

What a week it has been at Maris Equestrian! ✨

We kicked things off with an online presentation hosted by dressage NZ and representatives from New Zealand, Australia and Germany, diving into the important topic of horse welfare in our sport. 🐴💙

Next up, we had headed out for the final night of the dressage canterbury educational evenings with an in-person presentation with Sophie Hargreaves Physio, where our team explored rider strength and health – such valuable insights for keeping both horses and riders performing at their best. 💪

From there it was a full-day Showjumping NZ course designers workshop with amazing mentors keeping Nicole on her toes and learning lots as her first step towards a course designer

And to round it all out, we finished with a big day of dressage competition on Sunday:
🏆 Julia rode beautifully to win both of her classes on Magnum
🌟 Quinn shone in her first ever dressage show, placing 5th on Roman
🥈 Nicole started her first show back after having her baby with nice results on Max and Eva – taking 2nd, 3rd, and 5th

Safe to say we’re all totally exhausted but proud – what a huge week! Looking forward to a quieter one ahead. 💕

As always. Thankyou to our sponsor DSH Equine Therapy who see our horses regularly so they can keep up with their riders’ very busy schedules!

16/08/2025

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝟐𝟒𝟑 𝐀𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬:
The Rule States "The whip should never be used more than three times in total, in the competition arena or in the practice arena."
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 the competition and practice arena are treated as separate areas.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟑 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚:
𝗣𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝟭 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 – 𝟯𝟭 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
Elimination if rider uses whip more than 3 times. Rider may complete the course.
𝗣𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
Elimination if whip used more than 3 times. Rider must leave the arena immediately.
𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
Elimination if whip used more than 3 times. Rider must leave the arena immediately.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟑 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚:
Ponies and Horses from 1 August 2025
If the whip is used more than 3 times, the rider will be issued with a verbal caution.
(Ref Jumping Rules Article 240 – Fines, Verbal & Official Warning Cards)

09/08/2025

Our coaches are heading to this!
Any students who do or are interested in owning their own horse in the future should join us for a super informative evening with the prebbleton vet team 🥰
RSVP to them and let us know if you’re attending so we can keep an eye out for ya!

INTRODUCING: From Hoof to Health – Equine Information Night! 🐴

🗓 Monday, September 1st
📍 Prebbleton School Hall, 2 Blakes Road
🕕 Doors open at 6:00pm | Talks start 6:30pm
🥪 Light supper provided

Hear from our experienced equine vets and explore trade stands offering great products and services for your horses.

📢We want to hear from you!
What topics are you most interested in?
👉 Comment below and let us know what you'd love us to cover on the night!

RSVP by Wednesday, August 27th
[email protected] | 349 9946

06/08/2025

Congratulations to Maris rider Ivy and her pony Katie for placing first in her class at Roydvale ODE 😍😍

Roydvale ODE 2025 - Congrats to the Saddlery Warehouse Christchurch First Start Class 23 Winner 📣 628 Ivy Rosewarne & SOUTHWIND KATELYN ROSE.. and a HUGE well done to all competitors in the First Start Classes we loved having you at our event!

Events like ours can't go ahead without incredible support from Sponsors, Grant Providers, Officials, Judges, Entry Helpers and our Members.

❤ Please reach out to our supporters to say a BIG THANK YOU! ❤ Here's how:
✅ Socials- Sponsors love and see your Likes & Comments!
✅ Socials - Share this post to a story/feed or in horse groups you are in OR create your own post and tag the sponsors. This is a great idea for any up and coming riders or if you're involved in other groups that might also need their support in the future.
✅ Email, Messages, Mail - Sponsors love a great pic of you out at our event (or at home after the big day) and to hear a 1:1 message about how you and your trusty pony enjoyed the day they supported.
✅ Let your feet / money do the talking - go in store, or choose their business when buying. Let them know "...you saw them supporting the Roydvale ODE, thank you for supporting our community" it's as quick and simple as that!
✅ Officials & Judges - they like to be off the socials, but they do absolutely love a rider approaching them at their next event with a really big THANK YOU. Although some get a small payment, this is not their job and they volunteer the bulk of their time.

Huge Shout out to our supporters and sponsors across all classes:
https://www.riverstoneconcrete.co.nz/
Canterbury Equestrian
Pub Charity Limited - funding our medics
Saddlery Warehouse Christchurch
Chris Jones Team - Bayleys Canterbury
Traiteur European Butchery
https://hanhamphilp.co.nz/ - delivering our new fences
Young & Co Wines NZ
https://www.fullervet.co.nz/ - Our 105cm On Site Vet
Dunstan Horsefeeds
Fourflax Pet Supplements
https://www.warrens.co.nz/
FTE Equestrian
Our wonderful photographers: Bella Maitland Photography & Olivia Skidmore Photography - don't forget to buy you pics!
The team at Flourish Landscape Design and Southern Woods Tree Nursery for the loan of the beautiful plants for our courses.

Emails to [email protected] are also welcome for event feedback.

01/08/2025

This post is a little belated as we’ve been out dancing in the rain with our ponies all day celebrating their birthday!
To celebrate, we’ve gone back into the photo archives and picked out some of our favourite pics of the horses over the past few years.

28/07/2025

A day in the life of a professional horse groom!

28/07/2025

Well this one deserves its own post 😍
What an awesome capture Olivia Skidmore Photography

27/07/2025

A super Sunday out at Roydvale Pony Club’s One Day Event! 🌟🏇

Our awesome coaches Cole and Julia took Ralph and Max out for a bit of low-key fun in the 65cm class, proudly sponsorRiverstone Concretencrete. Huge congrats to Cole and Ralph for placing equal 4th - not bad for a coach who rarely gets to sneak out and compete herself!

Meanwhile, students Quinn and Ciara tackled the First Start Eventing class, sponsorSaddlery Warehouseehouse. Quinn and Roman impressed with a 2nd in the dressage, and Ciara and Locky stormed home to finish 2nd overall! 🎉👏

A massive thank you to the team at Roydvale Pony Club and all the incredible volunteers who made the day happen. It’s no small feat running an event like this - we see you and we appreciate you!

Special thanks also to our sponsor DSH Equine Therapy, who keeps ourDSH Equine Therapyeir best with regular massage and bodywork. The boys were moving beautifully all day and are now home, groomed, rugged, and ready for a well-earned rest tomorrow. 💛🐴 💆‍♀️