A joint project of Horse Safety Australia, Wirraway Training and

Horse SA: 2005-2010

The process began in 2005 with a leather workshop at Leigh Creek. This was soon followed by a trip for some elders from the Leigh Creek, Copley & Nepabunna areas to Wirraway (Strathalbyn, SA) to show them quiet horses which were appropriate for teaching beginners to ride.

They were then involved in horse riding experiences which were controlled and fun.

During the week they :

Experienced ‘lessons’

Quiet trail rides (i.e. not galloping!)

Teaching others

Saw clean and tidy equipment

Learnt safety procedures

Rode horses suitable for beginner riders

We then ran a series of training clinics at Leigh Creek (6 hours North of Adelaide). These worked towards the Horse Safety Australia qualifications of ‘Outback Trail Guide’.

This qualification is linked to units from the Outdoor Recreation Training Package and is recognised nationally.

This officially endorsed resource for the Outdoor Recreation Training Package “Trail Guide” explains the units which form part of the qualification.It is designed for those with low literacy skills, and was produced using the students from the course as models. They were keen to be involved!

Of 15 participants, 11 attended the full course and received qualifications as full or Assistant

Outback Trail Guides

For a number of reasons, the trail riding idea has not yet taken off….but the same organisations had the opportunity to go back to Leigh Creek and help set up a program for the children in the district…with the support of the adults from the area (who now understood what we were doing).

The school teachers were also involved and enthusiastic.

The Leigh Creek Pony Club has competed in regional Pony Club events for two years now and WON!

The school is using the materials produced in Leigh Creek as part of its program with students.

The horse program is now a significant part of the outdoor activities for the children in the district.

Leigh Creek Area School currently has a horse program using up to 10 horses (mostly donated ) with over 30 children involved in horseriding through the school.

Invited by a local elder and funded by a Premier’s Community Grant, the same people were able to travel to Oodnadatta in late June 2010. The intention was to see what facilities and equipment/horses/resources were available for a horse program there. The yards were fantastic, but the available horses were unsuitable apart from one which was on loan from a local station.

Whip cracking on the school oval!

We then went on to pick up some ex- racehorses (40k each way!) from Macumba Station ( a Kidman enterprise)

As a ‘games horse’ this one would have been OK but it was not suitable for beginners…. It had been used by the school…possibly that is why the students were so nervous of riding….

The process of checking out the horses was fascinating to the children….

Suitable horses are a key to a program!

The second station horse was unsuitable, it kept wanting to rear!

Tack is also important… and we were able to give them some new equipment, and safely use some of the tack which was already there.

The school owns this horse, Shep, but had encountered difficulties using him. He was old and had a mind of his own… and was not particularly friendly.

At last , a horse we could safely use!

Thankfully, Boss, one of the ex racehorses from the station, proved quite useful and helped the children to gain trust. Some gained enough confidence to ride un assisted.

It was hard to keep the attention of the group when we really only had one suitable horse to use (i.e. one which did not need to be led to be safe). In the end we used Shepas well, to provide a second horse for the children to ride, but did not let them ride him on their own.

Copies of the Trail Guide resource were left with the school for use with the children. It contains sections on Horse First Aid, Horse Care, Safety Handling of horses, and a number of other useful topics, and is mostly made up of pictures.The school is interested to develop a horse program.Wirraway and Horse Safety Australia plan to return later this year using funding from a Community Benefit Grant. This time they hope to take and leave another suitable horse there, to help the program progress. It is hoped that a parent (Maxine) and some children from the Oodnadatta community will travel to Wirraway for a camp later this year. While on camp she will learn how to mange a group of riders safely.

Oodnadatta is an example of a truly remote Aboriginal town, where horseriding could be a popular and healthy pastime. With the support of the indigenous community, the school and the local stations, a successful horse program could be developed there.

Perhaps, in the future, we will see jockeys, station hands and others working in the horse industry across Australia coming from these small beginnings.