Wild Beginnings Pack Saddling Clinic: Full Review & Guide
| Event | Wild Beginnings: Introduction to Pack Saddling Workshop |
|---|---|
| Next Dates | October 2026 (date to be confirmed) |
| Location | Ebor Showgrounds, Ebor, NSW |
| Hosted By | Kate Young, Wild Horsemanship |
| Event Type | Hands-on clinic, pack saddling, bush horsemanship |
| Includes | 1-day option: $220 (meals included). 2-day option: $400 (all meals plus bunkhouse or powered campsite accommodation) |
| Best For | Beginners to pack saddling, brumby and heritage horse owners, anyone dreaming of long-distance horse trekking |
| Experience Needed | None, beginner-friendly |
| Official Website | wildhorsemanship.com.au |
| Clinics & Camps Page | Full clinic schedule, including The Pack Saddling Pathway |
| Contact | kate@wildhorsemanship.com.au / 0422 198 232 |
Kate Young's Wild Beginnings clinic near Ebor, NSW, is a hands-on introduction to pack saddling for complete beginners, and having now attended one myself, I can say it's one of the most genuinely useful, well-run clinics I've come across in the bush horse world.
I've written about this clinic before, but this time it's personal. I attended the most recent Wild Beginnings weekend myself, and what follows is a first hand account of what it's actually like, alongside everything you need to know if you're thinking about booking in. If you want more first hand reports like this one, join The Bush Pony Post and I'll keep you posted on clinics and events worth knowing about.
Horse woman and horse trainer, Kate Young, Pack-saddling through the Australian Bush
Horse woman and horse trainer, Kate Young, Pack-saddling through the Australian Bush
What Is Pack Saddling
Pack saddling is the traditional skill of loading a horse to carry gear, food and camping equipment for long-distance travel through the bush. Before vehicles could reach much of remote Australia, horses were essential for moving supplies through mountains and rugged country, and today the skill lives on through bush trekking, remote camping and a growing number of Australians wanting to travel more slowly and self-sufficiently through the land.
Kate Young at her Beginner Pack Saddling Clinic in Ebor, NSW
About Kate Young and Wild Horsemanship
Kate Young runs Wild Horsemanship, and has spent the past 15 years working directly with the wild Guy Fawkes Heritage Horses, Australia's only wild horse population with proven military heritage. She's one of only two people, alongside Guy Fawkes Heritage Horse Association co-founder Graeme Baldwin, who handle and lightly train newly trapped Guy Fawkes horses before they're ready for rehoming, which gives her a genuinely rare depth of experience most trainers simply don't have.
Her own horse, Legacy, is a Guy Fawkes brumby she pack-saddle trained herself, and she's turned down an offer of $20,000 for him. That should tell you something about how she views these horses, not as commodities, but as genuine partners.
Participants a the pack saddling clinic in Ebor, NSW
My Experience at the Clinic
I'd offered Kate a hand with some social media content in exchange for a spot at the clinic, so I arrived a day early to meet her and see the setup before the other attendees got there.
Ebor is a genuinely beautiful part of the New England Tablelands, and the showground where the clinic was held did it justice. Kate showed me around that first evening, her gear already laid out ready for the weekend, including a set of saddle bags close to 100 years old. She told me the story of how she found her current saddle: only three of that particular model existed in the country, two were already taken, so she advertised for the third on Facebook, and a woman contacted her with exactly that saddle. It must have been meant for her.
I camped in my van at the showground that night, and Ebor lived up to its reputation as one of the colder pockets of NSW. I woke to ice on my windscreen and frost across the ground, and it was genuinely one of the most beautiful mornings I've had in the bush.
Kate arrived early the next day with her Guy Fawkes Heritage Horses, Legacy among them, and Graeme Baldwin arrived soon after with his own. As the other attendees trickled in, we all got to know each other over the morning.
The clinic opened with gear, comparing Australian, Canadian and American pack saddling equipment side by side, the differences between leather and canvas bags, and every strap and fitting needed to properly kit out a horse for the trail. Kate was clear that a horse needs to be genuinely trained to accept pack gear, not just have it placed on them and hoped for the best.
We then moved onto hobbling, and why it matters so much more than people assume. In brumby country especially, a lot of people believe a simple hot-wire yard overnight is enough to keep their horse in place, only to wake up and find their horse has gone off with a passing brumby herd. Losing your horse is one of the worst things that can happen on a pack trip, and Kate was direct about how often it happens to people who assumed it wouldn't happen to them.
One of the other attendees brought a donkey to demonstrate donkey pack saddling, which was a lovely, unexpected addition, and genuinely adorable. But honestly, what stood out just as much as the content was the food. It was excellent, properly excellent, to the point that Graeme made a good-natured comment about the size of my plate at lunch. The lemon slice alone is worth the trip. Kate mentioned that evening how much she loves bringing people together like this, that beyond the horsemanship itself, building community is her favourite part of running these clinics.
Day two moved into hands-on practice, fitting gear onto the horses and watching how they moved and responded to it. Kate and Graeme shared story after story from their own pack saddling trips, the kind of practical, hard-won advice you genuinely can't get from a book. The clinic closed with a walk through the Ebor bush alongside the horses, which was quietly one of the best parts of the whole weekend.
Have you been to a Wild Horsemanship clinic, or thinking about it? I'd love to hear your experience in the comments.
Walking through the bush with pack saddling horses
What You'll Actually Learn
Every attendee leaves with a genuinely realistic understanding of how much work goes into proper pack saddling, gear selection and fit, why training a horse to accept the gear matters as much as the gear itself, hobbling and overnight horse security, and safe loading and weight distribution. Several people at my clinic left understanding just how much they still had to learn, which is exactly the point. From here, Kate runs The Pack Saddling Pathway, a structured three-clinic series where participants bring their own horses to work with directly, spaced 4-6 weeks apart so you can practise and develop your horse at home between sessions, with weekly Zoom support and workbooks along the way. It's built to create independence, not dependence, genuinely preparing you and your horse for real backcountry travel rather than promising it in a single weekend.
What struck a lot of the attendees was just how well-behaved all the horses were throughout the weekend, calm, responsive, completely unfazed by strangers and new gear. It's a genuine testament to Kate's training and to the temperament of the Guy Fawkes Heritage Horses themselves.
How This Compares to Other Pack Saddling Clinics
Pack saddling clinics exist in a few pockets of Australia, including pack saddling wilderness horse riding in Victoria's High Country, which is a genuinely different experience, different region, different instructor, and centred on Victoria's alpine terrain rather than the Guy Fawkes bush country around Ebor. If you're deciding between the two, it's less about which is "better" and more about which region and horse culture you want to learn in. Kate's clinic carries the added weight of her direct, ongoing work with the Guy Fawkes Heritage Horses specifically, which is hard to find anywhere else.
Is the Wild Beginnings Clinic Worth It?
Genuinely, yes. This isn't a polished, commercial operation, it's a small, well-run weekend built on real experience, honest teaching and a strong sense of community, exactly the kind of thing this site exists to highlight. If you're even mildly curious about pack saddling or bush trekking, this is one of the most beginner-friendly ways into it in the country.
Guy Fawkes Heritage Horses and Participants at The Beginners Pack Saddling Clinic with Kate Young
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. All horses and equipment are provided for the introductory Wild Beginnings clinic. The Pack Saddling Pathway, Kate's structured three-clinic follow-up series, is where participants bring their own horses to work with directly.
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The 1-day option (Saturday, $220) covers the core introduction with meals included. The 2-day option (Saturday and Sunday, $400) includes all meals and covers more hands-on practice with the horses. Accommodation is informal, most people just camp on-site wherever they can find space, so come prepared with your own camping gear. In practice, most attendees come for the full two days, only a handful opt for the single day.
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At the Ebor Showgrounds in Ebor, NSW, in the New England Tablelands.
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Yes, it's specifically designed for people with no prior pack saddling experience.
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Contact Kate directly by email at kate@wildhorsemanship.com.au or phone 0422 198 232. She recommends leaving a message if she doesn't answer, since she's often out with the horses.
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No, they're run by different instructors in different regions. Kate's clinic near Ebor, NSW is closely tied to her ongoing work with the Guy Fawkes Heritage Horses.
