"I worked in Australia for 3 months and trained some of these horses myself as well as competed at campdrafting events on them. I hope this works out for you as I think they are an incredible animal and very durable!"
—Kim Dampier, Western Horse Review

So, why did the McArthur family choose to import the Australian Stock Horse breed when Canada already possesses many well bred quality horses? It all began when we were first introduced to the ASH breed at the inaugural Polocrosse World Cup event in 2003. Since that time we have been researching the potential of the Australian Stock Horse import into Canada. Our experiences with the ASH breed throughout the World Cup event confirmed the breed's versatility and performance, but even more importantly for us was their mild temperament that captured us. In the years to follow and another visit to the World Cup event in 2007 the breed and its qualities solidified the McArthur's interest. And so began their journey to import and begin breeding the Australian Stock Horse to their home located near the picturesque Rocky Mountains, home of the Calgary Stampede and Spruce Meadows in Alberta, Canada.

After much research and lengthy consideration about the Australian Stock Horse breed and pedigrees they have imported horses that will not only represent the breed well but will also provide the marketplace with a quality ASH stud offering out cross potential for existing well bred horses available in Canada. Our foundation horses have an unmistakable combination of traits including; a quiet trainable temperament, versatile size (14. 3 - 15.2hh), refined eye appeal, natural agility, stamina, hardiness and a natural cow ability. It is our belief that these horses will offer value to other equine breeders who also value similar attributes; to be gained or sustained through out-crosses with our ASH stud.

Our facility and breeding program has been started through a partnership between Jacquie McArthur of Okotoks, Alberta and Maryanne Gough, resident trainer and breeder of ASH horses in Australia. Both are committed to short and long term plans to promote and encourage the growth of the breed in Canada and North America. Complimenting existing horse breeders programs within Canada and North America with the same or similar breeding goals.

For the immediate future, our focus will consist of showing (within the Working Cow Horse) and breeding future Heritage pedigree ASH stock, while offering breeding opportunities with our standing accomplished ASH Stud, CADABRA and our foundation mares.

Jacqueline McArthur

Long-time horse enthusiast and participant in many different horse disciplines, Jacquie and her family are the driving force and supporter behind the McArthur - Icewood partnership. Born and raised in the heart of Calgary, Jacquie was introduced to an old draft horse cross named 'Darkie' by her father at a young age of 5 years old. The passion for the horses grew quickly and easily and has always been a big part of her family life as a child. Lots of life lessons and lifelong friendships have been gained through her experiences with horses both on the trail and in the show ring. While she competed mostly in English events such as 3 day Eventing and Show jumping she also participated in Western horse events. Now with a young family of her own, the desire to own athletic and versatile horses remains important but added to the list of qualities is the need to have safe and reliable family horses.

Most recently Jacquie's competitive riding has involved riding as a player on the Canadian World Cup Polocrosse Team in both 2003 and 2007 in Warwick, Australia. During these events Jacquie and her husband also a competitor were presented with Australian Stock Horse to compete upon. The ability and tractability of these horses impressed them right away. Throughout the World Cup events the breed was also presented at various demos showcasing their temperament, trainability and in later events their Cow ability. Since that initial introduction to the breed in 2003 they have been very lucky to meet many wonderful families who are passionate breeders and trainers of the Australian Stock Horse.

"This breed of horse is very durable and hardy, bred by families for everyday family use and performance sport. The Australian Stock Horse has been bred for many generations; it is only their registry that is young. We are proud to be able to share this breed of horse with horse lovers in our area."

Maryanne Gough

Maryanne, of Icewood Australian Stock Horses, owns and runs her own horse training and breeding business at Lowood, Queensland (an hour west of Brisbane). All breeds of horse are catered to and horses are broken and trained with an emphasis on partnership, trust and mutual respect. Her team of Australian Stock Horses is a regular sight at Queensland Shows and Futurities as well as at many campdrafts and challenges.

Maryanne won her first campdraft and cutout in the Ladies at Jericho. Two years later she was sitting in the presentation line up at Australia 's most prestigious campdraft -- the Warwick Gold Cup. She came 6th out of over 650 competitors and also won the buckle for Highest Placed Associate (17-21yrs) and the Silver Cup for Highest Placed Lady.

In 2004, Maryanne decided to head to the USA, a lifelong dream, to ride and train among the best. She spent six months working with Weatherford based Texas Cutting Horse trainer, Chris Benedict and attended numerous shows including the Abilene Bonanza Cutting and the Forth Worth Super Stakes. From there she moved to Blanchard, Oklahoma to start work with Todd Crawford, a Reining and Reined Cowhorse trainer, whom she credits as a strong influence in her current style of riding and training.

In 2008, Maryanne won her third consecutive SQMC High Point 4 year old Maturity ASH award riding 'Jaytee Eternity' owned by Jamie & Tanya Shaw of Jaytee Stud, Tamworth, NSW.

sponsors

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!! We'd like to say thank you to the following companies for lending their expertise, resources and time to assist our efforts to present the Australian Stock Horse in Canada for the first time:

IS YOUR HORSE SICK OF WEARING ILL FITTING GEAR? THEN ITS TIME TO GET HIM INTO AN EASY-ON RUG. www.easy-onrugs.com.au Easy-on Rugs manufactures their rugs for each horse to correctly fit the horse. They make an extensive range of rugs all available in the long drop which is our standard. The drop is made according to the size of the rug. They adjust the drop of the rugs to suit the individual horse or owner. Samples available through McArthur-Icewood.

AUSTRALIAN EQUINE EXPORTING SERVICE AEES Specializes in exporting Equestrian related products and services from Australia to the World. www.aees.com.au Specializing in: Live Horse Export Sales & Logistics, Extensive catalogue of Australian horses for sale (including all breeds, pleasure, performance, racing & breeding stock), Personalised Sales Matching, Logistic Sales Support, Quarantine Facilities, and International Marketing and the Promotion of Australian Horses.

HAVE-DOG-WILL-TRAVEL PRODUCTIONS design / web / print www.have-dog.com 'have-dog-will-travel' is a new media/graphic design company specializing in distinctive, scalable websites. With experience in print (including logos/branding, posters/billboards, dvd box/cd cover art, t-shirt design, magazine ads, etc.) and multimedia we can fully build your presence, on and off the web.

COW TRAC The Ultimate Mechanical Cow www.cowtrac.com The ultimate system for training your horse to work a cow, stop straight, improve roll backs and maintain proper position.

glossary

ASH	Australian Stock Horse
ASHC	Australian Stock Horse Canada
ASHS	Australian Stock Horse Society
Campdrafting	Australian sport involving a horse and rider working cattle. Similar to North American events such as cutting, working cow horse, and team penning. Click here to watch a short clip* of the ASH campdrafting. [DURATION: 03:02 *clip requires quicktime]
FM	Foundation Mare: Registered ASH Mares with over 500 Registered Descendants within five generations.
FS	Foundation Sire: Registered ASH Stallions with over 1,000 Registered Descendants within five generations.
IS	Impact Sire: Progeny of Foundation Sires or Mares, which are Registered ASH Stallions with over 1,000 Registered Descendants within five generations.

Credits

Special thanks to photographers Narelle Wockner (nwpstudio.com.au), Tracey Bavinton (horsephotography.com.au) and Natalie Jackman (photography.have-dog.com) for graciously allowing us to use their photos.