From Pinjarra to Pakenham – Maddi is following her dream

A lifelong love of horses has empowered one young horse enthusiast to move across the country and pursue her passion. See her story.

Maddi Forbes has loved horses since she was a kid. So much so, she’s even moved across the country to follow her dream of competing in the big events.

Growing up in Pinjarra in Western Australia, about an hour south of Perth, the 20-year-old was introduced to horses by a neighbour.

“My next door neighbour in WA had horses and I just started riding horses with her, and my parents bought me my first horse when I was nine or 10,” she said.

Maddi Forbes. Picture: Nicole Cleary

From then, her career has been “non-stop” – aside from a small pause after a near-death experience as a teenager.

“I was almost killed when I was probably 15. I had a horse slip over and land on top of me … I was unconscious for a couple of hours,” she said.

“I stopped riding for a year, but I came back harder and stronger into the horses.”

Maddi moved from WA to Pakenham in Melbourne when she was 18, and now she is travelling hours every weekend to compete across the state, including to Barmah, Edenhope and Tyrendarra.

“The horse industry is a lot bigger over here compared to WA … there’s just a lot more opportunities for me,” she said.

“I work for one lady breaking in horses, I break in my own, and I do Stockman’s Challenges, campdrafting, a bit of show jumping and eventing … I just try and do as much competition as I can.”

Maddi hopes to compete in the biggest competitions across the country. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Maddi’s dream is to have her own property, and break in and sell her own horses, but also to keep testing herself in competition.

“I want to keep competing, win bigger challenges … probably (compete in) The Man from Snowy River Challenge, Cattlemen’s Cup or Battle on the Bidgee,” she said.

Needing to travel for up to seven hours every weekend to compete, Maddi is hoping to organise her own Stockman’s Challenge a bit closer to home.

“I’ll have to find somewhere to hold it, find sponsors to sponsor prizes and get insurance,” she said.

“Hopefully that can happen this year.”