Hawke's Bay Hunt Raceday



My gap year in New Zealand rapidly went closer to its end since Mom and Dad had left in mid of May. I had only 6 more weeks to go, and despite work being the worst it could get during this time I did everything to make the best out of my remaining time. On my last weekend they had a horse race just in town. I haven’t been to a horse race since they closed the racecourse in Frankfurt; so I really enjoyed every minute of it. Unlike the days before we had very nice weather, blue sky and a lot of sun. A little chilly at roughly 7° Celsius, but it felt warmer in the sun.

 Fortunately, a rugby game took place at the same time in the next city and the racecourse wasn't very crowded. The races started every half an hour, giving plenty of time in the breaks to walk around, talk, eat and even write some postcards. 

There is nothing better than the sound of thundering horse hooves... Okay, you got me. Petting and riding a horse is even better. But still, my heart always beats a little faster from the sound and the shaking ground when the horses run past you!


They combined some of the races to a hunt and race in one, hence the name 'Hunt Raceday'. Many horses run races, but only a few can do hunt races that have a couple jumps included.

As it is winter in New Zealand, the sun sets very early at about 5pm. During the week this can be very challenging when you spent your days at work in darkness and can't see any daylight, but for the races I got very soft lighting in the last few races.

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