Thunderstruck!

Firefighter and talented Nelson horsewoman Karen Peters shares life with her majestic Clydesdale horses. Images by Trudy Nicholson and Lisa Franicevic

Karen with Danny, Dark and Jack

There’s no denying Karen Peters is a woman on a mission. When she needs a break from the extreme action of firefighting, she changes gear, harnesses her Clydesdale horses and takes life a more leisurely pace. 

The antique, cast iron gate makes the perfect entrance to her Nelson property, and gives a hint of what hides beyond. Beneath the towering trees, each side of the driveway is decorated with salvaged antique farm equipment, mostly horse drawn, each with its own charm whether rustic or brightly painted. The balance is perfect, the old hay rakes and other rusty pieces blend beautifully with the green foliage and flowers. On the post and rail fence beside the mud-brick house hang giant-sized rusty horseshoes – much larger than most of us use on our own horses.  

The property has established trees and a creek running through it. There is an all-weather sand arena, complete with mirrors, and a stable block with an attached shed full of hay she has baled herself – the Clydesdales need plenty of feeding, and when the boys are in work she adds oats and oaten chaff. If it weren’t for their gentleness, their sheer size would be somewhat overwhelming. Jack is the tallest at 17.3 hands, and Karen says he is is a very well trained harness horse due to his years working on Erewhon Station. 

“He has a staunch work ethic and takes his job seriously, whereas Danny has a more casual approach.” 

Danny and Jack in harness

Danny measures in at 17 hands and is the youngest of the herd. “He is the most cruisey of the two [the working pair] and is very special to me, as he was my first. He’s a bit of a character and is the class clown.” 

Dark, also 17 hands, is the latest addition, though in his 20s he is semi-retired. Quiet by nature, he makes the perfect mount for Karen’s partner Mike, who is new to riding. 

As a child, Karen recalls while out for Sunday drives, admiring large paddocks of Clydesdale horses with their foals; perhaps this was when the seed was planted. 

Seeing the Clydesdales pulling a wagon takes you back in time to when we all depended on horses for transport

It was years later that Clydesdale breeder Fergus O’Connor taught her basic harnessing skills. Growing up in a non-horsey family made it impossible for Karen to have her own pony. At age 12, without her parents’ knowledge, she jumped at the opportunity when offered an aged mare off the dog tucker truck. Lara, still with plenty of go, became the love of her life, and Karen diligently picked boysenberries in the summer to earn enough money to keep her. 

She recalls galloping Lara bareback on the farmer’s property where she grazed. A few years later, she switched to thoroughbreds – Karen had moved to the North Island, where she was a track rider for a year at Copper Belt Lodge. 

The big OE called, and while in the UK, Karen scored the job of manager at a private residence, Castle Bourne, just out of the village of Belbroughton. In her spare time she worked at the nearby Belbroughton Horse Sanctuary where she had a taste of fox hunting on their seasoned hunters: Riley, a massive Irish draught, and Badger, a Shire cross, both rescue horses.
Karen describes Badger as a gentle giant, and that he was the decider to get a heavy horse when she returned to New Zealand some years later. 

One day, while helping out at the O’Connor farm, she was offered Danny, a handsome two-year-old, who had just been gelded. Karen grabbed the opportunity to purchase a locally-bred horse. 

A year later, while showing Danny in-hand, she met the Erewhon Station team and a friendship was formed, resulting in an invitation to head south and visit the high country Erewhon Station Clydesdale Stud, where horses are used for all aspects of farm work – taking the place of the tractor and other machinery. 

Covered wagons are used for driving holidays for Karen and her partner Mike (image: Erewhon Station)

It was during her time at Erewhon that she furthered her education on driving, not only one but also two in harness. Getting a handle on the art of harnessing, she progressed to harnessing up a team of six to eight working Clydesdales, ready for day’s work. 

With a newfound confidence, Karen was inspired to have a team of her own and came home with Jack, to pair with Danny. The horses were matched on their ability to work together rather than colour, as Jack is black and Danny is a roan. 

Karen explains: “As soon as you ask them to work, they lean into the collar and knuckle in and pull – it’s their instinct, it was bred into them.

“They bounce off each other – Jack has a good work ethic, although he’s not as quiet as Danny who can, at times, be a little lazy.” 

Danny always works on the right, and Karen says they quite often graze in that pattern, and stick closely together in the paddock. 

While mostly driven, all of the horses get ridden too. Karen has shown Danny under saddle, a popular class that demonstrates the versatility of the breed, and how well mannered and trained a Clydesdale can be. 

Danny is somewhat slower than the thoroughbreds Karen rode on the track in the past, but he has proven he’s got what it takes when galloping against other Clydesdales. Generally a quiet a hack in the nearby hills is more to both of their liking.  

The handsome Danny at full stretch

Karen says the horses, due to their sheer weight and the size of their hooves, can be tough on the paddocks. Finding a farrier who is willing to work on the large horses can also be problematic, as they tend to lean, and not many farriers are keen to work with them these days. 

“My boys, however, are very fortunate to have a qualified local farrier who does a brilliant job.” 

Mostly they are the same as other breeds to care for, but before a show they take considerably more preparation. The feathers especially need a lot of cleaning, as the judge inspects them closely, looking for the smallest speck of dirt!

Karen with Jack and Danny at their first ploughing competition

Driving has become a vacation lifestyle a chance to spend time away from work with her partner Mike and others who share her love of Clydesdales. The purpose-built wagon is a great alternative to the modern campervan, and with it they travel off the beaten track.  The covered wagon is often used for longer treks, such as the recent week-long, four wagon convoy from Erewhon Station through the picturesque backcountry to the Hermitage and beyond. 

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