Where We Come From

Being raised where we were we both enjoyed the advantage of outdoor lifestyles, playing sports (Carolyn Netball and David Hockey), chasing Trout, Eels, Deer and Pigs, enjoying horses and motorcycles, riding soap box carts down tree covered hills and much more and we survived!

While we were raised in relatively close proximity we didn’t meet until we attended Massey university around 200kms from our childhood home towns. Carolyn completed her Bachelor of Education and David his Bachelor of Science (Computer Science).

After University Carolyn pursed a career in Education completing a Master of Education with first class honours along the way and David progressed through careers in Information Technology, where he finished as IT Manager for a multinational, then followed his father’s footsteps into Construction where he successfully ran his own company for many years before finally settling into Real Estate running his own agency.

We are fortunate to come from backgrounds where we have been able to share our lives with fur kids and companion animals since early childhood.

As children both of our families enjoyed sharing their homes with dogs, cats and running lifestyle blocks with horses, beef, sheep and some chickens.

Our first fur kid as a couple was an extroverted Samoyed called Kyla who was given to us as an engagement present more than forty years ago. She enjoyed her first year of life as a student flat companion, showed us that dogs could body surf and generally lived life to the max. Unfortunately, Kyla was tragically taken from us in the prime of her life but by then we were smitten with Samoyeds.

Kyla was followed, not replaced, by Ebony and then we decided she needed company and we wanted another dog so we were privileged to become part of an American Akita named Quins pack. American Akita’s are a unique breed that are unlike any other dog breed we have encountered and, while a challenge, being part of an Akita’s pack is truly special. Since then another couple of Samoyeds called Annie and Shelby and another Akita named Baku have shared their lives with us.

Fur Kid Memories

We spent nearly twenty years successfully breeding and showing American Miniature horses including importing stallions from the USA. For many years the period from October through to March, with a brief respite over Christmas and New Year, saw us hauling horses the length and breadth of NZ to shows. We managed to take out the National Supreme title with one of our foals. At the height of our involvement we had thirty-two horses in the herd. Foaling was always a highlight. There is nothing quite as magical as helping a foal into the world on a starry night and then watching it take its first steps and shortly after that it’s first meal.

We have also shared our lives with cats including Mimi, Aston and Martin, a number of sheep, predominantly polled Wilshire’s, although lambing, while still special, was not as magical as foaling and of course we also had the mandatory chickens.

While neither of us are able to play an instrument or sing to the extent that anyone would want to listen we both enjoy immersing ourselves in music, thankfully our music tastes are very similar. We are in awe of musicians and take every opportunity to attend concerts and have seen many New Zealand and International Artists and regularly will sit in a local pub listening to local musicians while enjoying a quiet pint of, preferably local, beer.

Musical Memories

Likewise, on a Christmas jaunt to Hong Kong for Christmas and the New Year, some canvas paintings end up in our cases and a framed piece of art ends up getting shipped back to New Zealand. These treasures keep the memories, and the will to travel, alive.

Our Ancestry