Australian Brumby Challenge

15/07/2026

WE NEED HELP!

We're not always great at asking for help but we really need some help currently!

We have held our Australian Brumby Challenge (ABC) at EQUITANA in Melbourne for many years but with EQUITANA permanently cancelled, we need to find a way to make our event just as much of an incredible showcase of our Heritage Australian Brumbies.

We are putting together a subcommittee to cover all aspects of planning and preparation for our next Australian Brumby Challenge. This will be an independently run, 2 day event at an amazing equestrian facility.

This is going to be a celebration of all things Brumby, with our Australian Brumby Challenge finals classes, a Brumby Art show, Heritage displays, a very special night show and so much more.

With the ongoing aerial cull in Kosciuszko and the total removal of our beloved Barmah Brumbies, our Brumbies need this chance to be showcased now more than ever!

We are situated in Glenlogie, Western Victoria but this event will be held in Central Victoria. There is so much planning involved - you can be involved from wherever you live!

If you have passion and can commit to being involved in our planning process - each person will have roles and parts to play, so you must be able to get in and help - please get in touch by messaging the page. If you could include your email address as well, that would be helpful, as we expect our meetings will be using Zoom or similar.

Our Australian Brumby Challenge helps Brumbies like VBA Pl***oy, pictured below (wild photo by the talented Donna Crebbin) to go from Wild to Wonderful with trainers like April Harvey (pictured in photo 3 and 4)- we need your help to make it work!

For the Brumbies - always!

05/07/2026

We're sure that our regular followers will have heard that EQUITANA will not be running again and we know that many have reached out to ask if that is the end for the Australian Brumby Challenge.

Given the current climate and what is going on with our wild Brumbies at the moment, we think that the ABC is more important than ever!

Rest assured that we're working diligently to make the Australian Brumby Challenge 2027 the most exciting, most Brumby centred ever!!

We can't wait to bring you more photos like these ones from our last CopRice Australian Brumby Challenge!

23/06/2025

AUSTRALIAN BRUMBY CHALLENGE 2026 PLANS…
We have had lots of enquiries recently about upcoming Australian Brumby Challenges – whether we will be running it again, how it works and how to apply.
We run the Australian Brumby Challenge every second year. There are a few reasons for this – one being that EQUITANA runs every second year and being able to have our ABC at such a huge event is just incredible in terms of showcasing our Brumbies. Its also a lot easier in many ways for our small volunteer committee as we have only to plan our event, not the parking, food and coffee vans, venue bookings etc etc!
The other reason is our main reason. We vet each Brumby as thoroughly as we possibly can, prior to allocating them in the ABC. Mares, when caught from the wild are 99% likely to be in foal. They need time to foal down at our Sanctuary and raise their foals prior to being prepared for training. Stallions arrive with us knowing only how to be a stallion – we need time for them to be gelded and learn to live happily in mixed s*x groups prior to them leaving us. We aim to have mares and geldings aged between 6 and 10 in our ABC. In order to have 15 adults Brumbies who are the right age, height, health and build, we would likely take in twice that number!
We also review every single ABC, taking feedback from Trainers, the public and our own committee to see what we can do better, how we can be more prepared and to make sure that we put Brumby welfare at the heart of every ABC. Basid on that feedback, we are working through tweaking our rules and application packages.
Do we plan to run the ABC in 2026? Yes! We are in the very early stages of planning and it seems that we have the right number of Brumbies in care and enough man power to run the Australian Brumby Challenge in 2026.
How can you apply? We’re not taking applications just yet! We have a lot of things to do before we’re ready for that. The best way to see where we are at is to follow this page. We will tick along getting ready, and will have some further information ready by the end of this year. The rough timeframe we are planning however is to have the application and information packages available to send out at the start of January 2026. Applications generally close late March with pickup of Brumbies from our Brumby Junction sanctuary in late June to allow Trainers 150 days of relationship building and training prior to EQUITANA 2026.
Please do feel free to ask any questions in the meantime and even head over to our Victorian Brumby Association page to follow us there, where we’re more active in ‘non ABC years’.
If you’re interested in helping us as a volunteer in the planning and ex*****on of the 2026 Australian Brumby Challenge, please get in touch – we can ALWAYS do with more humans helping us help the Brumbies!!
Please enjoy these photos that showcase the transformations from Wild to Wonderful that we get to see throughout the course of the Australian Brumby Challenge each year!
CopRice Equine
CopRice

CopRice Equine

10/01/2025

Terrific article about our CopRice Australian Brumby Challenge Champions; Maddison Buckner and VBA Major!
Victorian Brumby Association
CopRice Equine
EQUITANA Australia
LightRider Bitless Bridles
Scoot Boot

Within two weeks of being caught in the wild, mountainous region of Mount Kosciuszko, a willing Brumby named Major was taking his first steps under saddle. Within 150 days the mighty little bay horse proved himself to be an eager learner for his trainer Maddison Buckner, and the pair were crowned the 2024 Australian Brumby Challenge winner at Equitana in November. Maddison shares their journey from wild Brumby to the broken and trusting mount that Major has become.

Read this article now: https://hubs.la/Q031m_mS0
Buy a print subscription: https://hubs.la/Q031mZx90

24/12/2024

OUR CopRiceAustralian Brumby Challenge 2024 CHAMPIONS
VBA MAJOR AND MADDISON BUCKNER
On pickup day, Maddison was paired with a scruffy brown gelding. VBA Major was our most recently caught Brumby in the CopRice Australian Brumby Challenge , having been caught caught from Kosciuszko National Park in NSW only a few months earlier on the 12th of April!
Maddisons positive attitude and boundless energy shone through throughout the ABC. Like every trainer, she had setbacks along the way but she always dealt positively with them. Major really got the chance to shine with Maddisons help and they went from trail riding to riding into the local pub for a b**r in the blink of an eyelid!
At our finals at EQUITANA Australia , Maddison and Major won the Obstacle class – one judge even tried to give her a 15 out of 10 for one movement! They went on to give an amazing display in the Freestyle with Major entering the arena being driven in harness and then transitioning to being ridden.
Major went home with Maddison for a well earned rest after the ABC and has just come back into work, We’re delighted that Major will be staying with Maddison and can’t wait to watch their future!
Maddison Buckner
CopRice Equine
Victorian Brumby Association
Scoot Boot
LightRider Bitless Bridles
Chloe Phillips-Harris: Adventurer
Kelly Wilson
Hannah Catalino Liberty Horsemanship

06/12/2024

We hope to see lots of you at our Open Day tomorrow!

Hope to see you all at our Open Day this Saturday! Meet the Brumbies, see the new foals and learn about what we do to keep our Brumby Rescue/ Sanctuary running.
We will also have a sausage sizzle and you will be able to purchase some of our amazing merchandise with every penny going to help us feed and care for our Brumbies!

29/11/2024

What a wonderful article from our 2024 CopRice Australian Brumby Challenge winners VBA Major and Maddison Buckner!
They were such deserving winners and we look forward to following their adventures in future.

Maddison Buckner
Park Avenue Equine

CopRice
CopRice Equine
LightRider Bitless Bridles
EQUITANA Australia
Scoot Boot
BEST Leather Care
Victorian Brumby Association

The challenge started 10 years ago has had grown significantly.

26/11/2024

Reserve Champion in our 2024 CopRice Australian Brumby Challenge was Zoe Mullens and BBPG Spartan. Zoe, originally from England, settled in Australia 13 years ago and trains horses at her Tarradale property in Victoria. Spartan was originally caught from the Barmah National Park in Victoria as a 2 year old.
Zoe is a judge in the sport of Extreme Cowboy Association (EXCA) and specializes in obstacle training. Throughout the ABC, Zoe has exposed Spartan to different environments and obstacles, building his confidence along the way.
Zoe and Spartans Lighthorse themed freestyle was a genuine tear jerker and showed Spartans ability to give anything a go whilst telling the story of the horses we left behind in wartimes.
Zoe and Spartan placed in Third place in our Obstacle class and 1st in the Freestyle class, bringing them Second overall.
Spartan is going forward as a therapy pony and we know he will thrive there! What a journey from Barmah National Park to Therapy pony!
Zoe Mullens
EQUITANA Australia
CopRice Equine
LightRider Bitless Bridles
Scoot Boot
Victorian Brumby Association
BEST Leather Care

26/11/2024

Third overall in our 2024 CopRice Australian Brumby Challenge went to Kirralee Jones and VBA Pippa. Kirralee travelled from Cooronbong in NSW to pick up Pippa at the commencement of the ABC, back in June of this year. Pippa had been caught as a Two year old from Bago State Forest in NSW and one thing that we tend to find with our Bago Brumbies is that they start out ‘pretty wild’! Our only Bago Brumby in this ABC, Pippa was absolutely no exception to this and made it clear to Kirralee early on that she would have to earn her way into Pippas trust.
Kirralee has a really quiet way about her and her positive training methods and ability to listen to what Pippa was saying has seen them forge an amazing relationship. There have been challenges along the way but seeing them at EQUITANA was just wonderful. Kirralee has worked to help Pippa to develop her body alongside her mind and the results showed this. Pippa looks strong, healthy and balanced and genuinely enjoys her training. It was the quiet moments though, after hours, where Kirralee and Pippa just hung together – generally until almost midnight – that showed the real love in this pairing. Watching Pippa choose to lay down on the grass with Kirralee and then let others approach her was so beautiful (and made Bridies DAY!).
Kirralee and Pippa placed in first place in our Conditioning and Core Skills class and in Third place overall, also achieving our Highest point Bitless Rider with thanks to LightRider Bitless Bridles.
Thankyou Kirralee, for walking the walk, showing that love will conquer all and giving Pippa the opportunity to shine! Pippa will be staying with Kirralee for life!
Kirralee Jones
EQUITANA Australia
CopRice Equine
LightRider Bitless Bridles
Scoot Boot
BEST Leather Care
Victorian Brumby Association