Louisa McClintock Photo: RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
Louisa McClintock swapped her Christchurch Girls' High School uniform for a Swanndri and moleskins when she decided to leave school at 17 to become a farmer.
Now she divides her time between her grandfather Graham McClintock’s 2500-hectare sheep and beef farm and her father Jeff McClintock’s smaller property that are both near Cheviot in North Canterbury.
"I've learnt everything the old school way from grandad and with dad I’ve leant everything the more modern way, so it’s definitely interesting but I think I like to do things like grandad does because you either walk or ride and with stock just treat them as if there’s always tomorrow, so there’s never a dull moment!" she says.
When Cosmo Kentish-Barnes popped in to see her she had just returned from a muster.
“We took off this morning with our dogs and we ended up mustering in some yearlings for a marking, drench and checking the condition on them and we took the horses out as well because that’s how we do all our mustering.”
As well as being an apprentice on the farm Louisa is a keen show jumper and her coach and mentor is her grandfather Graham, who is also competes at the odd event even though he is 81-year-old.
“He’s my Wikipedia when it comes to show jumping, we follow the circuits so from now until Christchurch show we are on the road every weekend right up until Horse of the Year.’
