As a nation we have always punched above our weight, especially in sport.

Olivia McInnes, 15, in action at Oklahoma on her successful cutting run. Photos supplied.

Kiwis have competed and excelled at more than only rugby, and the Evers-Swindell twins and Sarah Ulmer come to mind as recent examples of heart-warming athletic success.

In July five people, 18 and under, went to Oklahoma to participate at the 2010 American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup championships.

There were 16 teams at the eleven day event, and while they finally finished fifth overall, this young relatively inexperienced team was at one stage sitting in 2nd place.

Every rider achieved high places in some of their events and four of the five took silver.

A brief look at the statistics says much about the competition – New Zealand has a population of 296 registered quarter horses – the USA 2.75 million.

Olivia McInnes has been riding almost since she could walk, and loves quarter horses for their quite nature. She gets her skills at cutting from her Dad, Graeme, president of the NZ Cutting Horse Association, together with hours of hard work and practice.

Cutting is the art of removing a cow from the herd. It developed in the unfenced cattle country of America, and the horse of choice, bred over generations with an innate ‘cow-sense’ is the quarter horse.

It takes great skill from both rider and horse, and judges score according to attentiveness, courage, and the success in preventing the cow returning to the herd. There are several classes in Western riding, but Olivia was the only one of her team to compete in the cutting event.

“I was the only one in my team doing the cutting, and I was really shaking before I went in.

“My coach was trying to calm me down, but when I started my horse suddenly sounded really excited to be going. All I could think at first was that I was doing my Dad’s favourite thing, and then I was able to remember everything he taught me from day one.

“I got to the point where I just decided I was going to have a really good crack at it. When I came away I was really doubtful about the score and how well I’d done.

“Then my Mum came over, and I found I was tied in first place!”

AQHA President Johannes Orgeldinger and Team New Zealand member Olivia McInnes.

For reasons lost in the mist of time, cutting events are scored out of 80, with 70 being the average – as Graeme pointed out there is about as much logic behind it as scoring in tennis.

Olivia had scored a 71 + 73 giving her a silver and bronze medal on the recount. “The trick in cutting is setting it up right to begin with,” explained Graeme.

“You need to be square on to the cow when you start – Olivia’s second run was near-perfect, whereas the first was not set up properly, hence the loss of that one point.”

Olivia and her team are all products of the Youth Squad of the American Quarter Horse Association of NZ, which has strict criteria regarding selection, but a programme that Graeme McInnes “cannot speak too highly of”.

Former youth members return each year to train the next generation, and Graeme considers the programme offers a really good grounding in horsemanship through its events and camps.

At an event of this kind the host country must inevitably be at a slight advantage. Despite the trouble gone to by the selectors, visiting teams had to familiarise themselves with ‘new’ horses and the results for the Kiwi team are testament to their own skill and training.

Going to America was a dream holiday for Olivia and her family, and they have every intention of attending the next youth world cup in Germany in 2012. All being well a full team will go with them.