Jackie Lehmann runs tourism business on Australia’s iconic cattle stations

Jackie Lehmann is giving Australians the opportunity to work with horses and cattle on some of Australia’s iconic cattle stations.

Jackie Lehmann with her horses L-R Banshee, Sunny Bailey and Danny.

Jackie Lehmann is giving Australians the opportunity to live a real-life Yellowstone experience on some of Australia’s iconic cattle stations.

Jackie runs Horses and Cattle Australia, a tourism business inspired by her time spent in the United States.

A horse lover from a very young age, Jackie was born in Switzerland and moved to the US in her 20s to study before falling in with the cattle ranch crowd, spending time riding mostly in Wyoming, Montana and Canada.

“I come from a family of non-horse riders … (but) from an early age I couldn’t imagine anything else better than riding a horse,” she said.

When Jackie moved to Australia in 2009 initially for a corporate job, she saw Australia had “so many great cattle stations”, and founded her business in 2019.

“I was so surprised to find in Australia that there were so many equine disciplines that people were getting involved in, but that they didn’t have any guest ranching businesses, like those in Montana,” she said.

Jackie runs Horses and Cattle Australia, offering guests experiences working with horses on Australia’s iconic cattle stations.

Horses and Cattle Australia takes intermediate riders on multi-day tours of six to eight people, partnering with iconic cattle stations to explore the ins and outs of life on the land.

It currently runs out of three locations: northern New South Wales; NSW’s Southern Tablelands; and Western Australia’s Kimberley region in winter.

“The (participants) get involved in moving and working with cattle, learning about life on the land and life on a cattle station,” she said.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Jackie at the beginning, with the onset of Covid-19 forcing a change in plans.

“I first thought this would be a great business to take to the European market. There are so many riders from the Nordic countries, Switzerland, Germany, etc. They all go over to America to ride on these ranches,” she said.

“So in 2019 we went to Equitana in Europe, and launched the business into the European market, but then we got hit with Covid-19.

“We never really got to harvest the fruit of what we had invested into the European market, but (when Covid-19 hit) I thought why not try to market to Australian people.”

The business currently runs out of three locations: northern New South Wales; NSW’s Southern Tablelands; and Western Australia’s Kimberley region in winter.

Jackie said Australian riders had really embraced the business, and while the business is still “focused a bit” on the European market, 90 per cent of clients are now Australian.

“What we’re trying to do is deliver to our guests a most authentic cattle station riding experience.”