Bison Easy
Campdrafting competitions might be scarce due to the drought, but training continues. The Neilson family's bison are in strong demand for clinics to assist both horses and riders.
Even in times of drought, horse sports remain popular in country areas. We recently caught up with Kendal Neilson who is providing a relatively boutique service in the bush.
Around 10 years ago Kendal noticed an upcoming trend amongst cutting horse trainers. It wasn’t the latest sparkly piece of equipment- it was using bison to train the horse’s cattle skills.
With some assistance of his friend Scott Johnston who was in the USA at the time, Kendal bought some untrained Bison and began training his own through trial, error and some advice from Scott.
At the time, Kendal was running campdraft clinics using cattle, however the cattle’s inconsistency and unpredictability was challenging. The problem was solved by Kendal’s successful training of the bison to run circles for campdraft horses.
Kendal and his wife Georgia now frequently hold bison clinics for the sport’s enthusiasts, whether they're just starting out or campdrafting devotees fine tuning their skills. Kendal and Georgia’s bison clinics continue to surge in popularity given the rising interest in cowhorse competitions.
Even though their bison herd are used as a training “tool” for clinics, when Georgia describes their “little mob” it’s obvious how attached she and Kendal are to their unique friends.
Kendal and Georgia’s mob range in age from 12 months to 11 years old. They have a small breeding program at Dungog but they source weaners annually from a contact in Victoria. Georgia says that their training and clinic herd includes the animals that they will hang onto long-term.
When Georgia was asked if they have favourites amongst the mob, she had to concede that there are definite stand outs.
“Of course we have favourites! Anyone who comes to our place or to a clinic knows our regulars. We have Scotty, Horny, and Brucey and of course Bernadette who’s always been a star on our truck”.
When it comes to training horses on bison, Georgia describes their best attribute as never going stale or sour with work.
“They are fit and agile and quite playful in their own way,” says Georgia. “They are fairly easy to maintain and care for, and you don’t need many to train a lot of horses on so that’s a pro in their favour. If you care for them well and keep them fit they can go all day. They are just so easy and convenient when you want to jump on a horse and do a bit of riding - just rattle the bucket and they are there ready at the gate to come into the arena. They are never a stress or hassle”.
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