Trust Me

“I don’t know you, but I trust you.”

This is the Kiwi motto, though they never say it out loud. It’s basically the prefix to every sentence when you meet a native in New Zealand.

For example:

“I don’t know you, but I trust you to stay in my home alone, care for my eight horses, dogs, kittens, drive my car around, and ride any one of my three riding horses.”

“Oh, and I know I picked you up about 7 minutes ago, but you’re also welcome to stay at my home for the next two weeks after we get back.”

Mind you, she didn’t say that first part about only knowing us for 7 minutes.

This was the most recent occurrence, and for the past week Sara and I have been staying at the Fraser’s farm in Waipukurau, NZ. It was set up by the woman whose house we were staying in previously, who had these friends that needed help during the biggest horse show in New Zealand, and one of the biggest sporting events in the southern hemisphere – the Horse of the Year.

Sara and I felt like we had landed in heaven and we had no idea how we had gotten here or why we deserved it. It’s a beautiful farm that in addition to fourteen horses is a full-time dairy farm. The two girls are show jumpers and their horses are gorgeous.

With our car we were free to drive to Horse of the Year at any time during the week, which we were given free week passes to by the Fraser’s. 

Yeah, it’s been a rough week.

Horse of the Year was incredible and by and large the biggest horse event I’ve ever been to. My favorite was the Mounted Games. The teams were New Zealand, Australia, USA, France, England, Wales, and Switzerland. NZ came out with the championship, and it made me determined to learn how to run alongside Vera and mount mid-stride in an insane leap.

She might be a little bigger than the games ponies, but a girl can dream.

The show ended yesterday, bringing the family and show horses home. We cleaned out the trailer (or float as they say here) and spent the last couple hours wiping and conditioning the tack.

We’ll be here for the next two weeks working for our room and board. It’s been incredibly nice to settle down and chill with a Kiwi family.

The show also gave us a great opportunity to network. Being a foreigner, I’ve noticed how hard you have to advocate for yourself to get anywhere. I thought I was missing out on the resume and cover letter nightmare that my friends endured post-grad, but I just moved it onto a different playing field.

I’m forced to approach strangers and convince them that I’m worth hiring. While I was looking for one of the biggest names in dressage in NZ, I met a Canadian who has been here for ten years. I couldn’t find a way to reach this dressage rider, and the Canadian empowered me.

“Go find the Grand Prix Stables. Stand outside her stall until she shows up. You’re a stranger in a foreign country, you have to be pushy!”

So yes, stalking is now on the list of “willing to do to get a job.”

And I did find her. And she was a great resource. Hopefully I’ll hook up with her in a month or so, and we left each other promising to stay in touch.

Just like every other Kiwi, she looked at me with a welcoming smile.

The number of homes I have been invited to stay in since I arrived here is more than I’ve been offered in my lifetime. I can’t wait to take them all up on their offers.

Kiwis, I don’t know you either, but I trust you, too.