You will spend about 5 – 6 hours in the saddle each day and there is always a job to be done. Day to day activities are dependent on the season and what needs to be done at that moment to care for the livestock.

In addition to getting your hands dirty, our guides will make sure that you get plenty of time in the saddle together with learnings about moving and working with cattle out on the range. If you bring your own horse the emphasis will be to give your horse some exposure to ranch riding and developing your horsemanship skills. Depending on the guide and the time of the year, there will also be an opportunity to develop your cattle working skills. As with all of Horses & Cattle Australia experiences, this is the real deal and to get the most out of the experience as a guest, you will be supported and guided by experienced horse professionals and stock(wo)men, specializing in campdrafting, horsemanship and ranch riding. If you are an experienced rider this will be an experience of a lifetime for you as a rider but it will also give you and your horse more exposure working out in the open range and learning to work together as a team and getting close to cattle.

Please get in touch with us before you book yourself in so we can provide you with more details about what’s planned for the time of the year you picked. Learning more about your expectations before you book, will ensure that this experience is right for you, your riding level and for your horse (if you bring your own).

Day 1 Arrival

Arrive mid-afternoon and get yourself settled at the homestead or the cottage. If you bring your own horse, set up your horse yard or get your horse settled in the cattle yards. It’s then time to join your group of fellow riders and guides for ‘happy hour’ and a briefing on the program that we have in store for you during the days ahead. We only work with six to eight riders at a time and we want you to have a truly enjoyable experience. This is another opportunity for us to learn more about your expectations for the week and the trainers or guides will do everything possible to meet them. Following dinner, we will call it an early night to be ready for the next day’s adventures.

 Day 2

Start the day with a country cooked breakfast before it’s time to saddle-up and unleash your inner cowgirl/cowboy. The first morning will focus on working with the trainer and some team activities in the yard and we will then head out for a ride. Lunch will be ready upon your return or you might enjoy a picnic lunch in the paddock.

We’ll saddle up again in the afternoon when we will head out to meet some cattle on the way and depending on what’s on the stations’ work agenda, you will get involved in moving some stock. Get back to the station and once the horses are settled there are some nibbles and drinks waiting for you, followed by dinner.

Day 3 – 4 

The program each day is driven by your expectations, the trainer’s specialty and most importantly by the work that needs to be done on the station on the day.

We do spend about 4 – 6 hours in the saddle each day giving you a chance to explore the most beautiful spots on Passchendaele on horseback. Usually, we head out twice per day and we sometimes pack our lunches into a saddle bag and head out for an all-day adventure.

Since this is an authentic working cattle station, it’s the animals and nature who dictate the schedule. However, a typical day would be an early rise and after a hearty country breakfast, you will saddle up and ride out to the area where a job like checking fences, mustering and moving cattle or checking water troughs and dams, needs to be done that day. During certain times of the year, you might also become involved in some yardwork like branding, earmarking, vaccinating, etc.

Back at the station, once the horses are fed and settled in their yards, there might be time to relax in the beautiful garden near the homestead or you just go and have a shower to wash off the sweat and dust after a day in the saddle before you enjoy some nibbles and a cold beer or a glass of sparkling on the veranda. And then there will be these evenings when we’ll just know that there will be these spectacular sunsets not to be missed. So, be quick, jump in the back on the ute and let’s drive up the hill to enjoy it!

This will then be followed by a home-cooked dinner – to be enjoyed with a couple of glasses of that great Australian Shiraz. In the evening, after dinner, we usually sit around the campfire and have a bit of a yarn and so many laughs for sure.

Day 5 

It’s time to say goodbye and take with you what’s for you alone to keep which are all of these great memories and learnings to be cherished forever!