Erin Beattie and VBA Aztec
Mount Wallace, Vic.
Horses have been a passion of Erin's since before she could talk. She had to wait 21 years to be able to own her first horse and hasn’t been without one since. Erin has continued to grow her life long love of horses through developing her own horsemanship and riding abilities at her farm in Mount Wallace in Central Victoria. With her husband and daughter, Erin has competed in rodeos for over ten years travelling through out most of south east Australia. Erin believes spending so many miles travelling develops a special connection between you and your horse and it's that which makes a great team and aided her in winning numerous Victorian rodeo titles. Recently, Erin has incorporated energy work into her horsemanship which enables her to identify issues energetically, emotional and physically which normally would present as behavioural or training issues. Through using energetic work, Erin sees a more relaxed willing and expressive horse ready to connect. Erin aims to incorporate her passion for Brumbies and energetic healing into retreat/ equine assisted learning interactions in the future. The Brumbies are such survivors themselves and when allowed to show up as their authentic selves would guide others through the process of healing creating soulful horse and human connections.
Erin's brumby is VBA Aztec who is a 7yo Kosciuszko gelding.
Maddison Buckner and VBA Major
Haddon, Vic.
@victorian equine dental practice
From a young age, Maddison has always had a passion for horses which her parents found quite odd as they were both competitive swimmers and never had anything to do with horses. Maddison is an Equine Dentist by trade as well as being a competitive showjumping rider, so her life revolves around horses! Currently Maddison has a phenomenal team of horses, ranging from a Brumby stallion who she explores every trail she can find on through to her 15.1hh pocket rocket who competes very successfully at 1.10 – 1.20m height. Even though Showjumping is her main focus, Maddison believes it is crucial in every horses training to have exposure to life outside the arena. All Maddisons horses are ridden down the road, through the bush, rail trail, beach, mountains – honestly, anywhere.
Maddison feels that exposure to different elements prevents them from getting bored and aids them in becoming more relaxed, balanced and ready to learn.
Maddison's brumby is VBA Major who is a 4yo Kosciuszko gelding.
Tamara Janus and VBA Captain
Upper Caboolture, QLD
Tamara is a 34 year old horse trainer from Upper Caboolture, Qld.
She has dedicated the last decade of her life to equine training and care. Growing up with horses from a young age, Tamaras passion began in Pony Club and quickly progressed into Dressage as a youth. After years of dabbling in Natural Horsemanship, she pursued becoming a professional Horse Trainer after taking on many ‘dogger’ horses to retrain and rehome. Tamaras style blends traditional methods with modern understanding. Over the years, she has gained a reputation for her gentle yet effective approach to working with horses, emphasizing trust and communication. Tamara now runs her own successful training business, helping horse owners and enthusiasts build harmonious relationships with their equine companions. Tamara undertook with Australian Brumby Challenge in 2018 and did a wonderful job with VBA Nugget and is looking forward to bringing her skills back to challenge!
Tamara's brumby is VBA Captain who is a 4yo Kosciuszko gelding.
Tori Jeffress and VBA Nova
Gumble, NSW
Tori lives in Central West NSW on the family sheep and cropping property. Her love for horses started at an early age. In Toris teenage years, she enjoyed eventing before pursuing a more classical approach to training at the age of 18. Tori has a passion for learning horse biomechanics and enjoys working to rehabilitate horses with behavioural and physical issues. Tori believes our horses are here to teach us and help us heal.
Tori's brumby is VBA Nova who is a 8yo Kosciuszko mare.
Kirralee Jones and VBA Pippa
Cooranbong, NSW
Kirralee's business, Partnership Performance Horses was established after a life changing year learning from and working for Tristan Tucker in the Netherlands (TRT Method). Horses have always been a love and a passion of Kirralees and her whole way with horses is based off of seeing them for who they are, that I can have a positive impact on their life and that I help giving them an awareness and confidence in themselves that they can feel good from within. Kirralee specialises in problem solving, ‘working with difficult horses’ creating connection and clear communication, groundwork, dressage, working at liberty and biomechanics. Everyday Kirralee is learning more from each horse she works with. She feels that they are such an incredible reflection of ourselves and she loves the journey with each and every horse she works with.
Kirralee's brumby is VBA Pippa who is a 4yo Bago mare.
Sarah Kearvell and VBA Harley
Koo Wee Rup, VIC
At Equine Perceptions, Sarah has a compassionate, innovative approach to horse Training and rehabilitation. Her dedication to understanding each horses psychological and physical needs has lead to dramatic transformations. Part of Sarahs methodology is differentiating between a horses survival response and genuine acceptance, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and responding to subtle cues that signal a horses comfort or distress. This nuanced understanding proves particularly effective in rehabilitating traumatized horses or training wild or unhandled horses.
Sarah did our Australian Brumby Challenge in 2020 and still has her Challenge Brumby VBA Flynn, who she will continue training alongside her new Brumby!
Sarah's brumby is VBA Harley who is a 7yo Kosciuszko gelding.
Zoe Mullens and BBPG Spartan
Taradale, VIC
In 2018, Zoe purchased 7-year-old Billy Ray as a project horse, to challenge and expand her knowledge of groundwork and natural horsemanship techniques. It was then, Zoe joined the Extreme Cowboy racing community, as the integration and partnership between horse and rider was something she was passionate to promote, whilst being pushed to achieve different obstacles. Billy was known throughout the community as a difficult horse, resistant to learn, engage in any obstacle, reluctant to move forward, bite, kick, rear, bolt with Zoe was often told to give up and sell Billy. Zoe however, remained committed, gaining confidence, experience, and respect within the sporting community. Over the next 6 years, Zoe and Billy progressed from Novice to Pro divisions achieving many accolades including 10 buckles, including: 2022 Australian High Point Champion and more recently 2024 Pro Division State Reserve Champion.
Zoe’s success increased her profile and her passion for helping other horses and riders, so Zoe established Wendy’s Horsemanship and Obstacles after her late mother in 2020. Zoe is focused on helping others find connection with their horses through groundwork and horsemanship skills. Her love for the bond between horse and rider has led to her doing a liberty show with Billy, to showcase and promote their journey and partnership. Zoe will continue to support other riders and their horses to achieve their goals.
Zoe's brumby is BBPG Spartan who is a 6yo Barmah gelding.
Rachel Nash & BBPG Banjo
Cremorne, NSW
Rachel is a 31 year old Intensive Care nurse by trade. She grew up in Hartley, NSW, where she continues to ride and train horses. Rachel competes in Stockmans Challenges, Campdraft and Cow Horse Competitions. Her biggest passion however is training, re-training and rehoming horses in need of a second chance and many of her own horses are rescue horses. In the last year, Rachel has trained 2 Brumbies for herself – one gelding from Kosciuszko National Park and another from Guy Fawkes National Park. Rachel has become very passionate about advocating for our Australian Brumbies. Rachel hopes to be able to train and rehome many more to promote how truly amazing our Brumbies are.
Rachel's brumby is BBPG Banjo who is a 5yo Barmah gelding.
Kiara Stanley and VBA Domino
Lara, Vic
Kiara is the Owner/Director of Fulfilment Park – Riding, Coaching & Training located in Lara, Vic. Since she was a little girl, Kiara has had this absolute pull towards these beautiful souls we call Horses, having this internal drive to teach them that you can have the most incredible bond and all it takes is a little patience and a loving touch. Still to this day Kiaras passion is in Training & Breaking, making sure she tries to the best of her ability not to break their spirits and come into breaking with a new philosophy of helping horses find comfort & peace in their new adapted way of life, along with their ridden journey
Kiara's brumby is VBA Domino who is a 7yo Kosciuszko gelding.
Blair Taber and VBA Callisto
Yinnar, VIC
Blairs' love for horses and riding started young and took her to Queensland after High School to work on a cattle station for 7 years. It was here that Blairs love for horses and the training side of them grew. Blair has been breaking and training for the public since 2019 and has enjoyed every minute. Her motto is ‘small steps lead to big outcomes.
Blair's brumby is VBA Callisto who is a 6yo Kosciuszko mare.
Vanessa Thurner and BBPG Banksia
Fiddletown, NSW
Vanessa is a Horse Trainer from Sydney NSW and dedicated her life to working with horses. She has been training horses professionally for almost 10 years but has been riding for as long as she can remember. Vanessa is extremely passionate about showing her team of Australian Stockhorses who she competes most weekends at ASH shows. She also has a small scale stud where she produces a few quality ASH a year by her stallion Braeview Titanium. As a Trainer, Vanessa loves the variety in horses, from producing a versatile performance horse for the competitive equestrian to a quiet plodder that can carry the discerning pleasure rider safely through the trails.
Vanessa's brumby is BBPG Banksia who is a 6yo Barmah gelding.
Lisa Willey and VBA Ruby
Alstonville, NSW
At 11 years of age, Lisa's incredible Mother introduced her to someone who would become her mentor, spiritual guide and best friend. In the form of her first pony, Roxy. Though Lisa received lessons as most of us did, through traditional methods of riding, Roxy pulled her away from that and showed her the magic of true partnership and connection and what is possible once you have it. This not only allowed Lisa to connect with Roxy but to also connect with the wide world and feel the unity between all beings. Lisa and Roxy would play and ride at liberty, igniting what is now Lisas passion. Learning to utilize positive reinforcement training in her early 20’s (as well as the lessons Roxy had taught her) led Lisa down the path of training horses full time, where she is now also able to rescue and rehabilitate horses in Roxy's honour.
Lisa's brumby is VBA Ruby who is a 7yo Alpine mare.
Maree Young and BBPG Benson
Stony Creek, VIC
Maree was born and raised in a South Gippsland dairy farming family. She was always obsessed with horses but having non horsey parents, had to make do with riding cows until they gave in and let her get a horse. Maree currently works part time on the family farm alongside her won business as a hoof care practitioner and bodyworker utilizing multiple modalities. Maree's life revolves around her horses and she is passionate about ongoing learning, knowledge, growth and seeing an improvement in communication and understanding between horses and humans.
Maree's brumby is BBPG Benson who is a 4yo Barmah gelding.