from The Northern Advocate (dated19mar11)

Northland sisters Amanda and Vicki Wilson are no strangers to success in the nation's showjumping arenas and they both got off to a flyer at the 2011 New Zealand Horse of the Year Show in Hastings.

Amanda completed a win in the highly rated Seven Year Old Horse of the Year title and had the family's decision to re-measure Showtym Viking to thank for it. The 7-year-old was "upgraded" to compete in the horse classes after they decided he was too valuable to sell.

"We just couldn't replace him and I just didn't feel Amanda would be able to get something as honest and clever as him without paying a whole lot of money," Vicki said. She has already been proved right after Amanda won yesterday.

"It was a very tough competition and a very technical track and she's done a fantastic job with him to win such a prestigious title," she said. Vicki picked up the Debutante Saddlehunter award on Showtym Commodore, and the pair had won five lesser titles and had received six other placings.

"We couldn't have hoped for a better start, the horses are all happy, it's fantastic," Vicki said.

The Wilsons, who are based at Hukeranui, have also targeted the Young Rider of the Year title for Amanda today and they will again be in the thick of it tomorrow, with several events to be decided.

The sisters had only the prestigious Lady Hunter title to complete yesterday and they had already got one of their mounts through to the jump-offs and had high hopes for their other entry.

The Wilson sisters have a full team at the show, which runs until Sunday with more than 2600 combinations entered.

Their other sister, Kelly, is coming back into riding but will not be competing this year.

The girls have around 20 horses in work at home and continue to run their fun camps over the holidays.

In the off-season Vicki did a lot of breaking in and travelled the country working at various studs.

Along the way she bought a new stallion, so expect to see some home-bred horses coming through the Wilson stables in years to come.

"It's an exciting new step for us all," she said.