I Calved My Own Path

Farming is in this wellington nanny’s blood!

- Julie Jacobson

Tahlia McGregor’s never quite sure how best to describe her occupation. During the week she’s a nanny, but come the weekend, she’s charging up hills with her cattle dog to stay in shape for the next time they find themselves steering a herd of cows into the milking shed.

A nanny/farmer is an unusual job combo and perhaps even more unique given the odds Tahlia has had to overcome.

Born on Auckland’s Waiheke Island, but raised in rural Manawatu, the now 26-year-old had childhood scoliosis, which causes an abnormal curve of the spine. It went undiagnosed until her first year of high school.

Forced to wear a brace to correct the S-shaped bend in her back, Tahlia was often in considerable pain and spent months off school. The only dog lover in a family who preferred cats, she spent much of her time at home wishing she had a canine companion.

Instead, friends’ parents’ farms became regular weekend haunts and her family made annual pilgrimages to the famous Shemozzle in Hunterville, in which shepherds and dogs are pushed to the limit across a Fear Factor-type course. Tahlia dreamed of one day taking part in the competition herself.