Hewsons hope show trip leads to win

Welsh pony breeder Bev Hewson will be embarking on the trip of a lifetime when she takes eight horses to Hastings this weekend.

Mrs Hewson is leading the Hewson family show team to New Zealand's Horse of the Year competition.

Although she has been breeding horses since 1974, this will be the first time she has attended – plans to go last year were thwarted by a bout of pneumonia.

Now was the ideal time to go because, after many successful outings to A&P and Royal shows in the past four years, Mrs Hewson was confident her team – ponies and leaders – could perform well.

"And the fact is, if you don't do it, when you get older, you always wish you had done it," she said.

The team, which includes her husband Jeff and daughter Racheal as well as cousins and friends, has been at work for months preparing for the event, which is costing about $7000 to attend.

Team members range in age from 10 to 53 and all had worked hard, she said.

The group will be away for eight days – two to reach Hastings, four days of competition and two days to return.

While it might be her first Horse of the Year show, Mrs Hewson said her team had as good a chance as any of taking out the supreme prize.

"It would be everybody's goal to win the Horse of the Year comp and it's not unrealistic for us."

- © Fairfax NZ News