They’re bold, bolshie and beautiful, but that’s about as far as the similarities go between the Kardashian and Wilson sisters. And when Woman’s Day meets the Keeping up with the Kaimanawas girls, Vicki, Kelly and Amanda, it’s clear the horse-mad siblings haven’t let their newfound fame go to their heads.
Incessant teasing and hysterical laughter ensue as each sister changes from her usual farm gear into designer threads for our shoot, and again after the full hair and make-up treatment. “Just don’t blame us if the clothes end up covered in horse slobber and mud!” warns youngest sister Amanda, 22.
Kelly, Vicki and Amanda
Their top-rating series, which screened on TV One earlier this year, documented the siblings’ mission to save and train Kaimanawa wild horses, and it’s earned them an impressive fan base around the country.
“It’s funny because when the show came out, people assumed we would be angry with the title, but it was actually our idea!” reveals eldest sister Vicki, 28. “Someone said to us once that we were like the Kardashians of the show-jumping circuit and it made us laugh. We’ve never actually watched an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Maybe we should have!”
The Wilson sisters attracted around half a million viewers each night and nowadays can’t step outside the gates of their family-run farm and stables in Hukerenui, Northland, without being recognised. “It was really well received so we are super-happy about that,” tells graphic designer and photographer Kelly, 26, who has just released her second book, Stallion Challenges, after the success of her first one, the 2014 bestseller For the Love of Horses.
“Next year, we’re planning on working with the wild horses back in America and we won’t be changing that for anyone, so the show will have to follow us over there.”
The sisters have recently returned from the US and can’t wait to go back. Kelly beams, “We feel like we’ve made huge progress with the Kaimanawas in New Zealand. In the last three musters, the slaughter rate has dropped by over 60%. Last year, no stallions that were suitable to be rehomed were sent to slaughter. But in the States, there are 50,000 horses wasting away in prison-like environments. Wild horses are such blank canvases – they have so much to offer – and it’s not fair that they aren’t given the chance to show what they are capable of.”
They aren’t short of admirers, but the trio are currently all single. “We have very high standards.”
Fan male
When it comes to talk of their love lives, Kelly is the only one of the sisters to have had a boyfriend, but they’re all single right now – and not short of admirers. “We get so many messages from guys,” reveals Kelly. “Some are really flattering, but some are pretty creepy!”
“Some of it’s like, ‘Woah, I don’t know you – settle down!’” laughs documentary filmmaker Amanda. “We have very, very high standards,” adds horse trainer and stable manager Vicki. “Our lives are so amazing – we’re not going to bring a guy into the fold unless he can add something to it, so he’d have to be pretty special.”
With their own individual careers, a farm and stables to manage, horse camps to run and their show-jumping competitions – as well as an upcoming equestrian-themed jewellery line – the sisters are always busy. “But we feel like we’ve never worked a day in our lives,” insists Vicki.
“We work hard, but we play hard too,” adds Kelly. “We can change our minds about what we’re doing on any given day. In summer, we quite often just pack all the horses up and take off to the beach for the day.”
Vicki continues, “We value experiences over money. We’d rather die with nothing in the bank but memories of a phenomenal life.”
And their escapades aren’t limited to horses. Among other adventures, the sisters have sky-dived, snowboarded, bungee jumped, abseiled down glaciers, been dog sledding in Alaska, walked along the wings of flying aeroplanes, swum with dolphins and gone whale watching. “We have massive goals professionally, but we also want to live,” Amanda says.
At present, every dollar the girls earn goes straight back into their projects and the care of their horses, but they aren’t casting off the idea of becoming millionaires one day.“We’ve got some good ideas,” smiles Vicki.
“Watch this space!”
