A Touch of Country
The Granddad of the team. Bj has been my main buddy for well over a decade, what a wonderful time we have had together. Turning down so many offers from his admirers over the years, when the time comes Bj will be retired to paddock duties of looking after the young stock.
BJ began life in Ruatoria as part of Paul Johnson’s huge breeding program. Purchased at Paul’s first auction as a gangly yearling, he was a risk that has paid off many times over. I can remember the big drive from Auckland to Napier, to Gisborne to Ruatoria, and then back up the East Coast to Whakatane before arriving in Auckland. What a road trip.
The auction was so exciting. I actually went there to get a 3 or 4-year-old to start and bring on as my next show jumper, but once I saw BJ in a pen with a dozen or so others I was hooked. This occurred way before it was trendy to have a coloured horse. In fact, it was practically impossible to get large coloured horses as no one was really purpose breeding them back then. I sat on the cattle yard fence waiting and waiting for him to come up. Finally, he was next and I am sure he looked me in the eye before he trotted or floated across the muddy pen. I was in love. Eventually after a fierce bidding battle, I was the proud owner of 1 coloured yearling colt – just what I needed! Then they opened the yard gate and let all 12 horses out and they all disappeared over the hilltop not to be seen again !!!!! eek.
I had to wait over a week before he was delivered and was left wondering what I had purchased as he was unhandled (literally wild). I was lucky he was delivered to a friends place who had cattle yards and she handled him enough so that we could catch him and lead him. So it was nearly 2 weeks before I really got to see him, where I could actually put a hand on him and check him out.
On good grazing at my parents place in Napier he gained weight and started to fill out into a lovely young colt. When I was thinking about gelding him I thought why not let him have one foal first. I put him over my TB mare and got a beautiful coloured filly that was going to be the start of my stud farm breeding program. I wanted to produce purpose-bred coloured warmblood horses. However, I needed my own land before that could become a reality.
BJ was gelded and started his competition career. He was a head turner from day 1. In his first three seasons I actually got sick of people approaching me to buy him!!! He was a head turner as not only was he coloured and 17hh, but he had presence, movement and a jump that was quite special.
A Touch of Country has won numerous show hunter awards before switching focus to Show Jumping where he is consistently in the winner’s circle. He’s definitely one of the best amateur horses on the show circuit but his career has been severely restricted by a rider who has been very busy building her career in the corporate world and raising 3 small children, the oldest of which just turning 9.
But what a ball we have together when we do make it to a show.
Melanie Dudding Equestrian 