Snowy Wilderness Horseback Ride — Wednesday, May 23

The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Patterson 


There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around 
that the colt from old Regret had got away, 
and that he joined the wild bush horses 


 Trevor and I made our way Wednesday morning to Snowy Wilderness, a reserve about 30k out of Jindabyne for a full day ride in the Snowy Mountains. It was an absolutely perfect day to be out in the bush. Upon our arrival at the wool shed, we met AJ, who was finishing a bite of breakfast, and Sarah, who was preparing our lunches. We signed the necessary waiver statements, donned our riding boots and helmets. 

I am glad I wore my half chaps because they did help my legs grip the saddle better. Another couple joined us, Linda and Martin. They were actually staying on the property in a stone cottage that we visited on part of our ride. Sarah and AJ saddled our mounts: Trevor on Indy, me on Duke, Linda on Lady, a "former" brumby which will be important later, and Martin on ??? (I forgot). As we were mounting, Sarah let their herd out to enjoy the day in the paddock.

 Following AJ and Sarah, we wound through the reserve, stopping to give the horses a drink at a pond, then stopped at Linda's and Martin's cottage to collect some lunch supplies as they had, tentatively, decided that they might join us on the full day ride.

 We went up and down the mountains, along streams and creeks. About 2 hours into the ride, I caught up with AJ who had stopped. There were 3 brumbies up the hill. We all sat quietly just watching them until Lady started calling to them. The brumbies pricked up their ears, looked in our direction, and probably wondered what was going on. There mate was calling to them, but she was with people! For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush horses are, and the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight. Lady kept inching closer and calling. The brumbies grouped together. Linda was not sure what to do, but she kept Lady in check. Then the brumbies came toward us and stopped not too far away. Oh, they are beautiful!

 I could have stayed with them longer, but AJ and Sarah decided it was time to move along. I'm sure Lady came reluctantly. We discovered that AJ's father is the person who broke Lady, and AJ has also broken in a brumby. He said it takes about 5 weeks' work to get a brumby to trust you, but it takes about a year to get the brumby used to having other people ride him/her. A little while after our brumby encounter, Linda and Martin decided that they couldn't go on for another 4-5 hours, or actually Linda couldn't, so they headed back to the barn with Sarah while Trevor and I followed AJ. Trevor's horse Indy didn't want to continue on, so I rode up and circled around him, giving Indy a smack on the rear, which was not hard enough to get him going, so AJ had to come grab Indy. and we put Trevor between us for much of the rest of the day. Let me say now, that for never having ridden before, Trevor did a very good job and was able to urge Indy on as our ride progressed. We stopped for lunch at Grady's Creek. Simple sandwiches, juice, protein bar, an apple, and some water. I shared my apply with Duke. He smelled it coming and chomped it right down.

 We rode through and crossed the creek several times, once when the water came up to the horses' bellies. We would stop periodically to give the horses a rest and AJ would roll and smoke a cigarette. We did not really see much other wildlife early on. AJ said it might be because of the wind which sounded like waves crashing on a beach as it blew through the gum trees. Later, I did see a couple of kangaroo, some deer, and a fox. Trevor said he also saw a dingo. At lunch I asked AJ what he did during the winter, and he said, "This." I said, "It's a very peaceful way to live." And he said, "Yes, it's a very peaceful lifestyle." We discovered that he grew up in Jindabyne, and he used to ride his horse to the school bus stop. A lady who lived near the bus stop would stable his horse during the day.

And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand, 
No better horseman every held the reins. 

 As we began turning toward home, we stopped in the middle of what turned out to be a steep hill. We gave the horses a rest before ascending, and AJ said, "It's hard work for them." I could only nod. Just before we stopped for that particular rest, we had a little climb. and Duke, whom I decided did not like to being behind, gave me a gallop and a jump over a fallen tree. As we went up the steep hill, all of the horses galloped as we leaned over their necks, out of the saddles. How exhilarating! We walked through some mushy pasture and came to a fence (we had gone through several leaving and re-entering the reserve). AJ leaned over to open the gate, and he and Beau, his horse, where on the receiving end of an electric shock! Scared Beau so much that he came at me and Duke. Beau's lips were raised, teeth bared, eyes opened wide while AJ brought him to bear. I gathered up my reins and turned Duke, hopefully, out of the way just in time. AJ got off Beau, talked to him softly and assuringly until Beau calmed down enough so that AJ could open the gate. Beau did not want to go near the thing! Trevor and I walked through, and AJ led Beau through, closed the gate, then had a bit of a time trying to remount Beau. Beau kept backing up into Trevor and me, and I said to Trevor, "walk up a bit," to get us out of the way. After a few minutes, AJ was able to get back on Beau, and we had a quiet walk through the paddock back to the barn. Some of the horses were still out, and one had called to us about the time that AJ and Beau were shocked, and, at first, I thought that that was what had spooked Beau.

 He hails from Snowy RIver, up by Kosciusko's side, 
where hills twice as steep and twice as rough, 
where a horse's hoofs strike fire light from the flint stones every stride. 


 What a day! I would do it again in a minute, but I think I need a lot more practice before trying an all day ride again. Yes, Mom and Dana and Tracy, we are sore as all get out! After showering, we went to our local pizza joint for dinner. We had been there the previous evening. The pizza was good, and there really wasn't that much else to choose from for dinner. I crashed not too long afterward, and we had a long drive ahead of us on Thursday, about 8 hours from Jindabyne to Cowes on Phillip Island. Just a side note: I heard on the weather news today (Friday, May 25) that the Snowy Mountains were having blizzard conditions, so while I think that might have been fun, I guess it wouldn't really, and we were lucky to get out when we did.