SOUTH East horse handler Holley Pickin has returned home from Melbourne with her brumby Bago, as the winner of the yearling category in the 2018 Australian Brumby Challenge.
The 16-year-old aspiring horse trainer took part in the 150-day challenge against six other juniors from around the country, which finished with a competition at the Melbourne Showgrounds.
Each of the young trainers received a wild brumby yearling to tame and build a bond with over the period of the challenge and then compete in an event held in Melbourne from last Thursday to Sunday.
Usually the brumbies are then auctioned and re-homed as part of the program, with the trainers compensated for their hard work in giving the horse a second chance at life.
However, Pickin built such a strong bond with Bago, she decided to keep him and continue to train the young brumby herself.
To be selected for the event was an achievement in itself, but after a small hiccup in the first of the four events, Pickin and Bago excelled to take out first prize overall.
“I won, which is pretty cool,” she said.
“I was not expecting it because in the first class I came dead last.
“But after that I got two firsts and then a second, so I had enough points to put me as the overall winner.”
Pickin said the event ran smoothly and she was impressed by how well Bago dealt with the new environment and noise of the crowd.
“My horse was really calm the whole time which was fantastic, some of them got really worked up,” she said.
“He was really settled and connected and focused.
“He was not too happy about being cooped up in a stable the whole time though.”
Bago was accustomed to the isolation of Pickin’s home property in Wepar, which was a concern to the young trainer.
“Mostly I was worried he was going to get stressed out by the environment,” she said.
“There are a lot of noises and other horses and I thought he might be a bit stressed by that.
“I had him down at the Mount Gambier Show and he was a bit worried there.
“But he was really calm (in Melbourne), which was a big relief.”
The challenge was held over four days, with an event each day.
“The first one was the round pen session, which should have been really easy,” Pickin said.
“We just let them out in the yard and go in and catch them, pick up their feet, give them a brush and load them in the horse float.
“But for a horse to go in a float they have never seen before – it was brand new and smelt of rubber – he just did not want to go in.
“That was where most of our points were lost.
“The float was probably the biggest challenge for him (all weekend).”
But the dynamic duo did not let that first result rattle them and came out strong in the remaining events.
The second event was a pattern class, which saw Pickin and Bago reverse their previous result for a first place finish.
“There were x-amount of moves you had to do – go along, stop here, start there, go faster here,” Pickin said.
“He did that really well, he was the only horse who went through without freaking out at some point.
“Then the third session was the obstacle class, where there are all sorts of things they have to go over and through.
“That was another one he got first in.”
The final event was the freestyle class, which saw trainers rehearse a four-minute routine to show off any other talents their horses possess, combined with costumes and music.
Pickin said the freestyle was a main focus in the final weeks of the 150-day challenge and she spent around 20 training sessions working on the routine.
“We had practised it lots and I had seen it at its best and I was pretty happy with it,” she said.
“We got a second place for that.
“We were probably one of the more prepared teams and I was pretty happy with how it went.”
Overall Pickin said the experience was “very rewarding” and she learned a lot through the journey.
“The biggest learning curve was those first few weeks of taming him and getting his trust,” she said.
Now Bago will have some time to cool down and grow up, before Pickin continues his training.
“He’ll just be sitting out in the paddock for the next sort of six months, so he can grow up a bit,” she said.
“He has had a lot happen to him in the last 150 days, so he can have some time to relax while I finish off my other young horse who is nearly three now.
“I will finish her and then bring him back in and continue working with him.”
Pickin said she would like to return to the Australian Brumby Challenge when it is run again in two years, where she will compete as a ridden trainer and further her skills as a horse handler.
