.jpg)
Jeremy Vize grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. On weekends and school holidays Jeremy and his family travelled up to a holiday farm in the Blue Mountains. At the age of 6 he started riding lessons on a Shetland pony and progressed to riding any horse on any of the trail rides.
Over the next 12 years at the farm Jeremy volunteered for every task possible, cleaning stables, oiling saddles and holding the rope for the farrier. The love of horses was set in stone for him.
How It All Started
Back at home Jeremy found opportunities to ride horses locally before and after school and joined the pony club. Looking after horses gave Jeremy a purpose in life and kept him out of trouble. Jeremy continually asked his family for a horse of his own but they didn’t have the funds, so Jeremy decided his goal was to buy his own horse as soon as he was able to afford it.
When Jeremy finished school in 2000, he travelled around Australia in a VW Kombi van. When arriving in Tasmania he bought his first horse. Skipper was a Standardbred pacer, costing $600 and came with all his own tack and a canvas cover. On cold mornings Jeremy would bring him inside the old farm house to have hard feed in front of the fire. Jeremy and Skipper competed and won ribbons at the local horse sports, even getting him into a canter. Skipper was very difficult to load onto a horse float. A neighbour was able to share her skills to train both Jeremy and Skipper with loading. This set Jeremy up on the path to do more work with training horses.
Jeremy’s travels led him to working as a horse trekking guide in the Snowy Mountains of Australia. This was the dream job where he was tasked with guiding week-long treks for the clients. Sightings of wild brumbies were common and Jeremy became very good at tracking them and knowing the different herds. Jeremy continued travelling around Oz for 5 years in the Kombi and managed to find horses to ride in every region. He also met a lot of great Kiwis and they all kept telling him that he would love New Zealand - “They have really good horses and working dogs over there”. The seed was sown and at the end of 2005 Jeremy set off for Auckland with a one-way ticket, his backpack and $200.
The hitch-hiking adventure had begun and it didn’t take long for Jeremy to make it to Tolaga Bay where he was dropped off at Nick Deighton’s farm. Nick put the kettle on and “rolled up” and started talking about breeding good horses and Beardie dogs. Jeremy had found his new best friend and home. There was magic in the air on the coast… not a lot of money but an abundance of wealth in the form of free time, and horses and dogs with very good genetics. Jeremy fitted into the coast life well. A normal day was to run the young horses into the yards, sit around and get drunk and stoned and ride them. When they were going well enough, take them down main street, tie them up outside the pub and have a few more beers, then ride home. Life was good.
In 2007 Jeremy and his Aussie mate Jono set off on a horse trek from Tolaga with a pack horse in tow. They rode around the cape, back down to Opotiki, then along the Old Coach Road back to Tolaga over the Birches. The loop took 6 weeks and in this time they met “real people…hard people…Coasties”.
Over the next decade Nick and Jeremy bred and broke in a lot of horses and dogs together. A friend of Nick's and great horseman, Ken Dromgool, came to stay with them many times. Ken passed on the valuable skills and knowledge he had learnt over the years from working with the legendary Ray Hunt. Nick also trained Jeremy up into becoming a stockman and helped him to get casual work on large iconic East Coast stations. Everywhere Jeremy went, he loved listening to the old fellas talk about the “good old days, life on the coast before the pine trees”.
In 2011 Jeremy bought Ngahiwi TelePanikau from Bruce Holden’s auction. She cost $6000 which was all the money Jeremy had at the time. Panikau was a combination of the best East Coast genetics, not an overly big mare, but an extremely sure footed and powerful one. Jeremy rode Panikau over very steep country with his Beardies following. He was amazed at this horse’s ability and staying power. During the next 3 years he bought 10 Telesun yearlings and broke them in.
Nick and Jeremy had a lot of horses that needed riding and would get help from overseas visitors travelling as Woofers. When Jess arrived from Germany it was love at first sight, well at least for Jeremy. One night after many drinks Jeremy gifted his best mare Panikau to Jess and she accepted and held him to it when they woke up in the morning. Jeremy has remained sober to this day…
They spent time in both Germany and Australia getting to know each other’s extended families and friends, and seeing places where they had grown up.
When they arrived back to NZ with the visa worked out, Jeremy and Jess packed up from Tolaga. They moved their 6 Telesun horses and 4 Beardie dogs up to North West Auckland for Jess to pursue further studies. With good timing and luck Jeremy was able to get a job running Muriwai Beach Horse Treks. Over the next couple of years Jeremy encountered many people who were “over-horsed”, consistently struggling with the behaviour of the horses they had acquired. It was neither enjoyable nor safe for them or their horses. This was a very important piece of the puzzle. Jeremy realised that breeding for temperament is everything.
Jeremy received a call from an old boss offering him a full-time position on a large station in Te Karaka, Gisborne. The farm house was on its own remote block and Jeremy knew it would be perfect for continuing the breeding of his horses and dogs, so together they moved back to Gisborne, back home. Shires are regarded worldwide for having the best temperament, and they have evolved as riding horses, which makes them cross well to produce sports horses. It didn’t take Jeremy long to track down and buy a purebred Shire stallion called Lionheart. He stood over 18 hands tall and was a gentle giant. Over the next few years Jeremy put Lionheart over their mares. They kept 4 fillies as future breeders and a gelding. One day they noticed Lionheart wasn’t running with his herd and Jess went to investigate. The big fella was found dead in the paddock, no sign of injury or struggle, just curled up as if he was asleep. This was a major setback as Lionheart had just found his form and was part of their family.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Time went by but it wasn’t long before tragedy struck again for Jeremy and Jess and this time it was about as bad as it gets. Jeremy came home after work and was driving up the long driveway and noticed black smoke. As he got closer, he could see that their home was completely burnt to the ground. There was nothing he could do as it was just a pile of smouldering ash and tin. Their 3 beloved cats were unfortunately inside the home that day. They stood there having only the clothes they wore.
Jeremy and Jess were at rock bottom and a lot of soul searching was done. Jeremy remembered the words of his late father “Find out what it is in life you truly love doing and do it. Keep doing it. Then one day it will pay off and this will bring you happiness”. A faulty switchboard had taken everything except their horses and dogs and he knew this was the only way up.
A few years earlier Jeremy and Jess went on a hunt trek with 150 horses. There was one horse that stood out to Jeremy, a big grey with perfect conformation ridden by a lady called Wendy Hindrup. As Jeremy does, he went up to her and asked how her horse was bred. She said he’s by an Irish Draught stallion called Ballineen Blue Mountain. Jeremy really liked what he saw and the memory stayed. When Jeremy received his contents insurance money it wasn’t more stuff he wanted. He contacted Tracy Crossan at Trevalda Irish stud and asked if she had any colts for sale. She agreed to sell him Duke at weaning and he was transported up to Gisborne.
After the fire life was never the same again for Jeremy and Jess. They were living in a tiny home next to the old house site. A year and a half later cyclone Gabrielle came through and damaged the region. Jeremy and Jess decided to move to the South Island for a fresh start. Jess was from the southern part of Germany loved the mountains and lakes. Jeremy was offered a job on a Suftex sheep stud in Geraldine, so with their 14 horses and 8 dogs they made the move.
The Irish Draught horse society’s dinner and AGM was held in Christchurch. Jeremy and Jess attended and finally met Tracy in person. Jeremy asked if he could come to visit the stud farm and see the horses. Of course she said yes.
On Jeremy’s next day off he drove down to Ranfurly and was given an offer of a lifetime… The first horse they met was Brian and Jeremy thanked him for his son Duke and gave him a pat. In the neighbouring paddock there was this young energetic stallion prancing around. Jeremy’s eyes lit up and he called out “Hi ho”. Silver was even more magnificent in the flesh. Tracy turned to Jeremy and said “I would like to sell you Silver”. Jeremy was rather surprised and his immediate response was that he wouldn’t be able to afford him. After a brief moment of silence Tracy offered to work something out if Jeremy was keen. And Jeremy definitely was! For the next few months Jeremy was dreaming about Silver, night and day. It was the only thing he could think about. Jess even put a ban on him talking about it.
Jeremy is also passionate about dog breeding. His friend Nick gifted Jeremy his first female Beardie pup Koha in 2006. Only recently Jeremy bred a litter of beautiful Beardie pups, of which he has owned 7 of the previous dogs on the pedigree paper. This shows his ongoing dedication to continuing and improving Nick’s breed of Beardies. Breeding horses and dogs started out as a hobby, but is now set to become a full time career.
In 2023 a magical 15ha lease block came up in Woodbury and Jeremy and Jess were fortunate enough to secure it for their horses. There are stands of mature native trees filled with birds, that sing. A snowy river, with fresh drinking water running through it. Grass, that stays green in the summer time and soil, that’s free draining in the winter. There is a labyrinth of man-made stone walls that run throughout the property. The horses run in small herds in their natural paradise.
Jeremy and Jess now spend their days with their horses and dogs at Tir Na Nog Irish Draught Horse Stud, Woodbury.
