Bay horse pulls fast one on Mr Ed

A horse that can bow, lie down, sit like a dog and even roll over will rival Mister Ed in the entertainment stakes.

Under the gentle command of trainer Tumanako "Tui" Teka, 22, grandson of famous showband performer Prince Tui Teka, Kingston has come a long way. The 8-year-old "coast special" born and bred on Tuakau Station was broken in at 6 and started by a friend before coming to Mr Teka almost two years ago.

"He was a normal horse but always had this curious potential," he said.

"I've put a lot of time into him and now, well, he does all these tricks."

While it may be due in part to Mr Teka, who is described as a horse whisperer, Kingston's ability to pick things up quickly and human-like character set him apart.

"I've taught other horses to do this, but he's special. It took just two or three weeks to teach him all this and we also do a bit of reining and he can jump anything - full wire fences, gates and jumps.

"He's quite a funny little horse, quite a character."

Mr Teka breaks in horses by day and is based at New Zealand Performance Horses in Ocean Beach - but he will always be a coasty at heart.

Growing up in Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast, he picked up the basics early on and found he had quite a knack for it.

"Life is different up there, we learned the hard way, I grew up doing horses but picked it up real quick."

By the age of 13, he was breaking in horses on his own.

"We'd ride East Coast Ngatis and then I had to do my own project, that's just how you grew up - no one teaches you."

Kingston's progress was achieved using voice commands but a lot of training was in the mind, a bit like rearing children he said.

"You've got to connect with the horse - it's about making the right things easy and the wrong things hard."

His achievements hadn't gone unnoticed. Mr Teka has featured "on the telly" as Maori TV presenter for The City Slickers Rodeo. As well, he picked up bareback bronc riding three years ago, and has reached the finals every year.

-Mr Teka and Kingston will put on a performance as part of the Hawke's Bay Today Friday Night Extravaganza at Horse of the Year from 8.45pm.-Insight, p12-13

-Editorial, p14