NZ young-adult-fiction story about a girl, her horse, and the sport of curling

I happened upon this book in about 1995-1998 when my then teenage daughter had borrowed it from the library, and I picked it up one day and read it and remember enjoying it. Like all good books, it'd be worth another read after this long interval! But I haven't a clue about the author or title, and neither can my daughter remember. I've trawled the entire works of numerous well-known NZ authors of this type of genre, but without success.

It's a young-adult (teen/tween) story about a girl and her horse but also about her family life. Set in New Zealand's South Island in a very remote and isolated inland area around Naseby / Ida Valley / St.Bathans, where it gets very cold in winter, lakes freeze over, and the communities there can do a lot of curling and ice-skating. Curling sports-activities in fact are a central theme of the story, and there's also something about a local doctor I think, maybe a romantic twist of some sort. The cover of the book I think had a drawing of a girl and horse on it, and one thing that has stuck in my mind is that she often used to take the horse for a walk up the 'translator track' at night. (Obviously a reference to a nearby hill with a TV transmitter or translator on it).

It's a long shot, but I thought I'd try on here and see if anyone has any clues .....

Dark Horses is from the right period, can't find enough info about it to be able to say whether it contains curling. Ditto Summer of Shadows.

maybe one of the Shadrach trilogy? I can't find much info either though.

>2 rarm: Thank you for these suggestions. Will check at the Library (assuming they still have these books on the shelves - ours tends to have a cull of all apparently 'dated' young-adult books every so often). The central theme of the book I'm looking for was definitely curling and the rural/community/social side of it.

>3 keachachu: Thanks for this - will check at the Library although I've already studied Joy Cowley's extensive portfolio of books and nothing leapt out at me.

Still searching for this: Leaving the Snow Country looks promising. No indication in descriptions about curling or horses though someone here on LT has it tagged "animal fiction."