The Horses. The Land. The People behind it.
John Wall
John is a fifth generation equestrian born and raised in New Zealand. His family originated from Kilkenny in Southern Ireland. They were horse breeders/ trainers, bookmakers and publicans.
School was about showing up and dreaming about the end of the day when he could go ride his pony and spend time at the local pony club.
He also got into hunting quite early and stayed loyal to it since then. At Waimate Hunt he used to be the huntsman for about 10 years.
Handling and schooling horses was always a part of his horse world, and he has been lucky enough to have some awesome horsemen mentors in his life, showing him a lot about young horse starting, harness work and even getting horses ready for movies.
His Dad, Charlie Wall always had a pony in the paddock. He passed on his passion for horses and their breeding.
Russell Olds, an old-fashioned horseman taught him so much about carriage horses.
Hamish Wall, Johns Son, headed to Canada to learn from incredible horsemen over a two-year period. On his return he brought back many “natural horsemanship” techniques.
Johns’ first step into trekking was the leading of hunt treks for fund-raisers. As he has always been keen on packing and fascinated by the mountains, one led to the other, and he started going on pack trips with family and friends in his twenties. It was not until 20 years later that he finally turned his hobby into his job and started Adventure Horse Trekking.
Being a passionate horseman with a feeling for a good breed and a lot of knowledge about the horses’ training, John is very open-minded to different training methods. Using a mix of horsemanship and old school horse training techniques himself, he loves watching the younger generation bringing their approaches onto his farm. He enjoys handling young horses and also breaking horses into harness. Obviously, his greatest passion is giving people from all around the world a chance to explore his wonderful home country on horseback.
His favourite horses: Hank, Finnegan, Ranger
His favourite trail: Musterers’ Mountain Packtrail
If he is not busy on trail, with his horses or the farm, you will find him in his veggie garden, in the swimming pool or on the dance floor celebrating Rock’n’Roll.
Following the footsteps of his ancestors...
There is one hut that we ride to, which has Johns great-grandfathers signature on the wall from the 1800s. He was a packer who rode in to cook for the musterers each year. It was one of the first huts we stayed at when we were pre-riding the trails. John had no idea that his great-grandfather had been there. It is an amazing thing to ride in with a packhorse by your side and find, “John Wall, packer” written on the wall.
John is supported by many people to keep this business rolling
Bri has overtaken the social-media-marketing and loves joining the one or other trail on her favourite horse Porridge to take the most incredible pictures.
To make sure your e-mail-requests are answered asap, John’s daughter Tania and her husband Dion as well as Jamee, who also does the financial part of the business, function as John’s secretaries if he’s not available.
Responsible for our horses’ hooves and long-lasting shoes is Phil the farrier – you might have seen him on social media before.
Giving you the best taxi ride to and from the trails are Trev and his team.
Since the 2025/26 season, Darcie is one of John’s current long-term wranglers. She can’t wait to be back in New Zealand for the next season!
Angie is the cofounder of the business and has been helping John to reach the goals of Adventure Horse Trekking for many years. Due to their relationship separation Angie is pursuing her own dreams now.
Special thanks to all the woofers, volunteers, employees, station owners and other business partners who have supported us over the years to get our business where it is today. We could not have done it without you!
