The horse listener: a life spent teaching kids to ride

The Advertiser

13 hours ago

Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat.
From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon.
"If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP.
"Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out."
It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope.
His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening.
"An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said.
"I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'."
After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom.
Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports.
He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders.
Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said.
"If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it.
"If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him.
"Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people."
It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour.
"I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago.
Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts.
Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community.
Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers.
Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family.
Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat.
From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon.
"If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP.
"Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out."
It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope.
His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening.
"An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said.
"I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'."
After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom.
Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports.
He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders.
Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said.
"If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it.
"If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him.
"Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people."
It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour.
"I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago.
Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts.
Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community.
Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers.
Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family.
Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat.
From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon.
"If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP.
"Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out."
It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope.
His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening.
"An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said.
"I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'."
After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom.
Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports.
He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders.
Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said.
"If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it.
"If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him.
"Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people."
It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour.
"I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago.
Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts.
Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community.
Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers.
Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family.
Veteran horseman John Kinghorn learnt everything he knows by sitting on the tailgates of trucks listening to old blokes chat.
From his grandfather, who once rode a horse 1000km from central-western NSW to Brisbane, he knew to never ride through a river in the afternoon.
"If your gear gets wet, you don't get it dry (before) nightfall," Mr Kinghorn told AAP.
"Wait until the morning, then you've got all day to dry it out."
It was also old blokes who taught him to approach an unfamiliar horse with his hands in his pockets to avoid spooking it, and how to braid the perfect stock rope.
His father, a drover from Cudal, a village west of Orange, taught him that a stubborn animal can be handled through observing and listening.
"An animal can't talk to you, but it can tell you things," Mr Kinghorn said.
"I often say to young riders: 'What's this horse telling you? Nothing? Then you're not listening'."
After six decades volunteering in country NSW pony clubs, the 86-year-old reluctantly admits he might just be one of those old blokes passing on pearls of wisdom.
Mr Kinghorn was on Sunday announced as the recipient of a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the King's Birthday Honours List, for services to youth through equestrian sports.
He competed in showjumping and polocrosse as a young man before working at pony clubs in Orange, Carcoar, Cudal and Sydney, teaching three generations of riders.
Children learn responsibility and empathy from caring for horses, Mr Kinghorn said.
"If you've got a pushbike and you've finished with it, you put it in the garage and forget about it.
"If you've got a horse you can't do that, you've got to look after him.
"Most of the young riders I've taught have gone on to be pretty decent people."
It is warmth that helps young people learn rather than strict instruction, though some have been initially intimidated by his dry humour.
"I always say to them: 'I do have a heart - I know a bloke who has seen it'," Mr Kinghorn said, a joke he came up with after a life-saving surgery about a decade ago.
Many regional Australians were recognised in the King's Birthday Honours List for their contributions across science, emergency services, culture, sport, education and the arts.
Victorian broadcaster Jim Remedio, a Torres Strait Islander man from Bendigo, was posthumously appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to First Nations media and to the Indigenous community.
Former headmaster Christopher Tudor, from Alice Springs, was appointed an AO for distinguished service to education and to people with a disability and their carers.
Angela Fredericks, from Biloela in Queensland, was awarded an OAM for her work in refugee advocacy, having co-founded the #HometoBilo campaign to stop the deportation of the local Nadesalingam family.