Three Locals in Australian Cutting Team

THREE members of the Hunter Valley Cutting Horse Club have qualified to represent Australia in an eight person team against the USA in California next month, including two from Scone.

Geoff Saxby, Lynda MacCallum and Matt Caban will represent Australia in the non-pro cutting horse challenge against the USA next month.

Geoff Saxby from Maitland Vale was on the Australian team last year when the American team competed in in Tamworth and was the only rider to requalify this year to represent Australia, but this year when he travels to El Rancho Murieta, California he will have two new team mates from Scone Lynda MacCallum and Matt Caban.

Geoff is also the president of the Hunter Valley Cutting Horse Club and is delighted his club has such a high representation in the Australian team.

“There’s eight in the team to compete against the Americans, so to have three from the Hunter Valley Cutting Horse Club is pretty good,” said Mr Saxby.

“We’ve all done the hard yards to get into that team, you had to get out there and show and do really well, you had to get the points to be in the top eight, you went to whatever you could go to to get the points to be up in the top eight,” he said.

“Linda and Matt have done an amazing job and full credit to our club for helping them, to have three in the team is a marvelous effort,” he said.

“It’ll be great to go over there and ride against the best in America,” Geoff Saxby said.

Lynda MacCallum said she was excited and humbled to represent Australia.

“It also goes to show the calibre of horses that are here in the Hunter,” said Ms MacCallum.

“In the first six months of qualifying it is really touch and go if you will make the team because there are a lot of non professionals in Australia that are very, very strong, so I didn’t have any expectation I just wanted to go well and if I qualified it was a bonus,” Lynda MacCallum said.

While Matt Caban has ridden horses all his life he only began cutting horse in 2014 and jokes a girl got him interested in the sport.

“I’d done calf roping and team roping and things, but a girl led me into cutting horse,” he laughed.

“Cutting horse in Australia is definitely growing, it’s a great challenge and there are times you don’t have control of your horse and you need to rely on the instinct and training of the horse to work with the cattle,” he said.

“It’s a great honour and privilege to represent the National Cutting Horse Association and exciting to compete in America, hopefully we beat them,” he said.

Matt Caban, who is a farrier, agreed with his team mates that the Hunter produces talented riders and horses.

“It’s a good place to live and they breed them well here, both the horses and the people,” he laughed.

“I’m a farrier and where ever you go up here there is a horse and someone riding,” Matt Caban said.

The Americans provide the horses to be ridden in the event and the horses are swapped between the American and Australian team each day.

The Australian team will have two days before the event to  become familiar with the horses.

The trip is not funded and the team has to pay for their own airfares but hopefully some of the accommodation costs will be covered by an auction that is held at the event.

When the trio return they will compete at White Park, Scone on October 1 and 2.