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Jul 8, 2026
From a fabulous flat white to a horse under harness
It's never too late to learn - just ask Tress!
Have you ever been in a social setting with people who shared a passion that was foreign to you? The world of an epicurean devoted to cheese or wine or coffee, or even more so, the culture that encompasses “all things horsey”, can be a bit intimidating to the newcomer. Nevertheless, when I was over 40, practically fossilised in my hobbies or so I thought back then, I was thrust upon quite a few “steep learning curves” and since that upheaval out of my comfort zone, being stretched and learning new things has become more of a way of life. I’m pretty sure I speak for all of us here on the farm on that count!
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Just over a decade ago, if you put me in a room of coffee roasters or of horse breeders, I would have had a hard time asking a single intelligent question. Back in 2015, we left our life on the South Island, and purchased a historic cafe in a small village on the North Island. It must have seemed quite surprising to those looking on, because it even caught the attention of the lovely people from Life & Leisure magazine, who wrote a short and sweet article about us, which was quite a thrill at the time! In this coffee-mad culture of ours, the success of a cafe is only as good as its consistently perfect flat white. Our chosen coffee supplier invited us for a weekend of training where we learned about all things coffee, from the sourcing of the beans to taste testing the various roasts in the official testing room. The walls were muralled with java jargon, aimed at assisting our tastebuds to differentiate all the subtleties. (Confession, I’m so unsophisticated that I struggled to sample the black coffee without my beloved cream, but I had enough sense not to ask.) We worked our way around the testing table. “Ssluurrrpp! Swizzle! Spat! Ah! How complex! The heavy, caramelised richness balances the bright qualities of the blackberry notes!”
Rather than trying to woo us as customers, it felt more like we were trying to convince ourselves and our suppliers that we knew what we were doing, renovating a cafe in the middle of nowhere. We failed to fully win them over, by the way. They did condescend to allow us greenhorns to buy their coffee and even provided regular training to our baristas. Over the course of our 3 year relationship, however, they never honoured us with one of their “Proudly Serving…” coffee sandwich boards for the footpath. Forgive me if I sound bitter, (with chocolatey undertones).
I may not look back at those demanding cafe days with nostalgia but I do look around me today and see the benefits of overcoming the challenges involved, well beyond successfully producing that consistent flat white! We wouldn’t be here at Mohaka River Farm without the lessons learned both in the world of hospitality but also, relationally with one another. The cafe years were a springboard to the greater, more meaningful challenges of life on the farm.
That brings me to the second world we’ve entered previously unknown to most of us…horses. Only a couple of my neighbours on the farm had significant experience with horses, while a number of our inexperienced young people were very keen to learn. We adopted a successful trekking company with a tried and tested trekking herd. Without the generous advice and expertise of the previous horse manager, it would have seemed impossible. Over these past 6 years, we have loved the many diverse opportunities the horses and ponies have provided to interact with visitors and share our beautiful farm. We’ve discovered that the possibilities and opportunities of working with horses are much more expansive than just a trekking business because one can do a lot more with horses than ride them. Even those who are unable to mount a horse’s back can still interact with a horse in a meaningful way.
Photo: My daughter Annaliese, and husband, Jared with one of our beautiful Morgan companions.
In future blog posts, I’d like to tell you more details about our unfolding Morgan story, as well as the diverse hopes and dreams we have for horses on this property. We haven’t yet gotten a horse under harness, but we are on a journey and invite you to join us. The more we travel down these unfolding pathways, the more we realise how much we have yet to learn. Please reach out and let us know if you have a particular interest in horses yourself. Perhaps you have some skills you are willing to share with us. Maybe you’d love to organise a trek on our property, have a “horse themed” retreat for a small group or one day ride horse and carriage with us. We’d love to hear from you!
