Trades Academy student rides to a podium finish in China
19 February 2025
A love of horses runs in the family for Primary ITO Trades Academy student Mia Matheson, who jumped at the opportunity to compete in an international horse-riding competition in China last September.
Mia riding ‘Moon’ in the 80cm showjumping category
Mia, 17, is in Year 13 at Spotswood College in Taranaki. Alongside her other subjects, she takes part in the Primary ITO Trades Academy equine programme one day a week. A Trades Academy tutor picks students up from local schools and takes them out to local farms, racing stables and other facilities, to share skills and knowledge of working in the equine sector. The students complete workbooks and assessments, while working towards the New Zealand Certificate in Primary Industry Skills (Level 2).
Mia has been riding since she was very young, with her Mum sharing her love of horses. The family lives on a farm with eight horses - two belong to Mia, along with a lease pony.
“I love the bond you build with them and each horse has a different personality,” Mia says. “We ride most days when the weather behaves and take turns feeding them. Between Mum and I, we’re out there a lot.”
Mia heard of the Trades Academy through a friend at school. She signed up in Year 11 and enjoyed it. She has since completed the programme in Year 12 and gained her NZ Certificate in Primary Industry Skills (Level 2). This year Mia will work towards the Level 3 programme.
Mia says Trades Academy tutor Kim Lowry is very supportive.
“Kim teaches us lots of different strategies for working with horses and different ways of doing things. If you’re stuck on something she’s happy to help.”
In the September school holidays, Mia and three other young kiwi riders flew to Shanghai to compete in the 2024 China Pony Club International Exchange Competition. Mia had spotted the competition advertised on the NZ Pony Club Facebook page and was very excited to have her application accepted.
Mia riding ‘Moon’ during a practice round in China
“In the lead up, I just kept going with the daily routine. With jumping it’s important to have confidence and trust yourself, have a good rhythm and make it easy for the horse.”
The kiwi team travelled two hours from Shanghai to Suzhou for the first competition. Here, they met the three other international teams from Australia, South Africa and China, and the horses they’d be sharing and competing on. They spent just under a week getting to know the horses and learning, before taking part in dressage tests and a competition.
A few days later the teams flew to Xi'an for the second competition.
New Zealand took out the final competition, taking home plenty of medals, sashes, rosettes and certificates.
Mia is looking forward to the Trades Academy programme this year. After leaving school she is keen to work with horses as a career and eventually go overseas.
Primary ITO runs Trades Academy programmes for students across the country in different industries. The equine programme is only offered in Taranaki, with local tutor Kim Lowry having extensive experience in all things horse related.
“Riding has been my lifelong passion,” Kim says. “I really enjoy being able to share knowledge and see students come onto the programme and learn and grow. It’s a very hands-on programme and we are lucky to have the support of the local equine community to show the students the wide range of career opportunities available.”
Kim says Mia is dedicated to the programme.
“She is really good at mentoring others and sharing what she knows.”
Many of the students go into the industry, whether into racing stables, breeding studs, equine retail, or onto university to study veterinary science and specialise in equine.
Mia riding at a show hunter practice day
Scotty Manson, Head of Vocational Pathways at Spotswood College, says Mia is one of their school equestrian stars, so it made sense for her to have her passion of all things equine as part of her individualised school programme.
Find out more about the Trades Academy programme, Gateway, and opportunities for students to experience the primary industries while at school on our website here.