One of the nation’s best horsemen is selling the family’s Sunshine Coast property of 25 years – but he isn’t retiring any time soon.
He may not be a household name, but if ever there was a horse whisperer, Warren Backhouse is it.
He and his wife Carol are indeed humble people of few words, but the name “Backhouse” is on the lips of the horsing industry around Australia.
The couple moved to their Kandanga property in the lush Mary Valley in 1996 with their five children.
At that stage, Warren was a young farrier and amateur rodeo rider.
But the 12 ha (30 acre) property had potential and stoked his ambitions for training horses.
The Backhouses started with about 90 thoroughbreds from all around Australia coming to 101 Knobby Glen Road each year to prepare for their racing careers.
Warren certainly had a way with horses and furthered his experience and knowledge every chance he could with experts such as respected Australia Master Horseman Ian Francis – considered by many to be the best in the world.
The Backhouse program to break, soften and re-educate their equine charges earned praise from racehorse trainers and trackwork riders alike.
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During this time, Warren and Carol transitioned into more western riding disciplines after starting to work with paint and quarter horses.
Warren began competing in the complex sport of reining – a western riding competition akin to dressage that is judged on how responsive and in tune the horse is to its rider as it performs a set pattern of eight to 12 movements covering circles, spins and stops.
Reining had its origins among riders working cattle, as they needed to train their horses to be quick and nimble, change direction easily, stop abruptly and chase after cows that had strayed from their herd.
The horse needed to be controlled mostly by the rider’s legs and weight, ridden with only one hand and a light touch on the reins, so the rider could concentrate on other more pressing tasks.
In their spare time, cowhands would challenge each other to see whose horse could stop the hardest, slide the farthest and turn the quickest.
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The deft skills evolved into a sport more recently made famous on TV series Yellowstone. Among the crowd-pleasing movements are:
- spins/turnarounds: beginning from a standstill, the horse spins up to four and a quarter full turns in place around its stationary inside hind leg
- sliding stop: the horse accelerates to a gallop and then suddenly comes to a complete halt, planting its hind feet in the footing and allowing its hind feet to slide, while continuing to let its front feet “walk” forward
- backup: the horse must back up quickly for at least 3m in a perfectly straight line, stop when asked and hesitate a moment before the next movement.
With the competition open to all breeds, each horse is scored on how willingly it is guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance to the subtle commands of its rider.
It’s a finely tuned combination of smoothness, finesse, willing attitude, responsiveness, accuracy and controlled speed.
Reining was a demonstration horse sport at the 2000 Olympics, putting the athleticism and precision of the discipline in the world spotlight.
Meanwhile, Warren had always been competitive: from showing his first horse, an Anglo Arabian, as a 15-year-old, to campdrafting, then bull riding, saddle bronc and steer wrestling.
In 2001, Warren took his first reining horse, a colt named ‘Holly’s Hillbilly’, to competition – his first Futurity Show, which was the Queensland State Show at Caboolture.
They won, and Warren was hooked.
The successful pair also took out the QRHA Open Futurity and the NRHA Australia National Intermediate Open Futurity and Reserve Champion in the NRHA National Open Futurity.
Warren went on to become the leading reining money earner in Australia, having scored impressive achievements including multiple victories and placings in National Futurities and Open Derbies.
Over his illustrious career, he considers one of the highlights to be the 2010 World Equestrian Games when he put his skills to the test in the US – the undisputed home of reining.
Riding a borrowed horse, Warren warmed up with and competed against the best in the world and placed 13th overall, adding to his many successes on home soil.
He told horsezone.com.au in 2011 that he grew up on a dairy farm and could only ride horses when he went mustering on an uncle’s cattle property in Far North Queensland.
He has always been interested in what made horses tick, and has come to realise that the most important attribute to look for in a good reining horse is a great mental attitude.
The Backhouses have nurtured a family of champion riders and business operations to the point where the Kandanga property is one of Australia’s leading breeding and training facilities.
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They also have conducted regular reining and horsemanship clinics around Australia to promote the sport and share Warren’s knowledge of showmanship through their business The Five Star Reining Clinic.
The Backhouse family has become so successful that more room is needed and another property has been purchased.
But the horse hasn’t bolted yet on their Kandanga spread, and The Property League’s Darren and Jenny Rix are asking interested buyers to present all offers.
Mr Rix describes the Mary Valley holdings as prime acreage with classic rolling hills with a modest open-plan, solar-powered house, stables and arena at the highest point, commanding 360-degree views of the surrounding lush pastureland of Kandanga, Coles Creek and Amamoor.
The property currently supports 30 head of cattle in addition to 50 horses with an abundance of water from two dams, a 75,000L tank, plus a bore, and 26 day paddocks that are all irrigated and with electric fencing.
The four barns house 21 stables, including a double-sized one for foaling, and an undercover round/cutting yard.
Next to Barns 1 and 2 are a dressage/sand arena and spacious wash bay.
“It’s a very professional, quality set-up for horses,” Mr Rix said.
“It’s a modest house that, while small, is practical and tidy. It could easily be added to, or a new residence be built, as is allowed on rural acreage.
“You could not ask for a nicer location. You’re only 10 minutes to the Bruce Highway – not that far from Noosa and the beaches.
“The leopard tree-lined driveway is inviting, as from the road there is no clue to what awaits.
“So, you’ve got total privacy and yet you’re sitting on top of the world with just a wonderful outlook.”
Most inquiries to date have come from “serious horse people” including trainers in the racing industry.
But Mr Rix said the size and scope of the sheds made this a versatile property that would appeal to someone in earthmoving or the trucking business.
