A little way south of Tumbarumba on the Tooma road, where the western walls of the Snowy Mountains rise up in all their might and myth, there’s a place among the rolling foothills where horses come and go like clockwork. But unlike the mountain brumbies being ruthlessly culled by gunmen in choppers, these horses get the Ultimate care
There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around that the colt from old Regret had got away, and had joined the wild bush horses – he was worth a thousand pound ….
Whether you’re into horses or not, there’s no denying those opening lines from Banjo Paterson’s iconic ‘The Man From Snowy River’ have stirred the souls and struck the senses of generations of Australians since the verse was first published way back in 1890.
On the other hand, if you’re among the multitude hooked on horses in one way or another, Paterson’s poem possesses far more than just the fabled tale of a rollicking ride into folklore and legend. It can, and invariably does, evoke something almost reverential; a spirited tribute to the character and courage of rider and horse, stoking the desire and firing the passion of being in partnership with a bold and powerful creature.
It becomes part of you, and you of it, drawing from deep in human history where no animal – other than dogs, perhaps – has had more influence or connection in the mind of mankind than the horse, whether it’s in art or adventure, warfare or work, business, sport or simple pleasure.
In all their shapes and sizes, functions and forms, there’s nothing quite like a horse to stir the blood or spur the spirit.
I was 10 when Mum paid one hundred dollars for my first horse, a foal called ‘Felina’. I was hooked for good and the love of horses has never gone away.
Again though, that’s only if you’re really, truly into horses. And no doubt about it, Katrina O’Brien and partner Jack Holstein are well and truly into horses.
Together they run a business called Ultimate Horse Transport from a property called ‘Greenwood’, a 65-hectare (160-acre) holding in the folded foothills on the western side of the Snowy Mountains, 12 kilometres or so south of the historic timber town of Tumbarumba.
Sure, their devotion to horse welfare both on and off a truck is the absolute priority, yet it’s equally evident that while their roles are nowadays distinct and their outlooks mildly mixed, the goals they share are inseparably set.
In Jack’s case, with several decades as a master farrier burned into his hide, he has a pragmatic view of working with horseflesh but that said, the calm demeanour, the thoughtful hands and soft tone that lead each and every animal on and off a truck define a man of deep patience and long experience.
As for driving a truck with 10 or so horses on board, the way Jack sees it, it all boils down to one word: “Smooth!” he says simply. “Rough doesn’t work. Not in this business.” He pauses for a second or two. “And definitely not in our business.”
Starting gates
Meantime, away from the trucks and stables for a moment, it’s a totally candid and obviously ardent Katrina who cites Jack as her perfect partner in business, life and love. Soulmate? “Yes, that’s exactly what he is,” she says in a heartbeat. “In every way. We clicked from the start.”
Katrina O’Brien and partner Jack Holstein have turned a lifelong love of horses into a thrivng business, Ultimate Horse Transport. Images: Thomas Wielecki
This business, however, did not happen overnight and as Katrina explains, the foundations were first forged a long way from Tumbarumba and long before Jack was on the scene. Indeed, she does not mince words when recalling early days in the Illawarra district south of Sydney where necessity and unbridled passion for horses were the major motivators for the creation of a horse transport business.
“But it was tough, really tough,” she says calmly, harking back to a time in her early 30s when, after the irreparable breakdown of a long relationship, this stoic woman suddenly found herself the single mother of six kids – five girls and a boy – and owner of a string of horses on agistment.
“Yeah, it definitely wasn’t easy,” Katrina declares with what seems blunt indifference to the wounds of the past.
Even so, the memories are etched deep. A full-time office job wasn’t working out and struggling to make ends meet as her parents minded the kids, “I knew there had to be something better. I just had to find it.” And find it she did, eventually.
Like so many young girls, Katrina developed an intense horsey passion from a young age. “From infancy,” she smiles, “when Mum would tell me stories of a horse she had as a little girl.”
Ironically, according to the family story, the horse was born a brumby down Tumbarumba way. “Anyway, I was about 10 when Mum paid one hundred dollars for my first horse, a foal called ‘Felina’. I was hooked for good and the love of horses has never gone away. If anything, it’s probably stronger than ever and I don’t doubt for a second that the special care we take with other people’s horses has been a big reason, the biggest reason, why we’ve done well with the transport business.
I’d bought a pure Arabian horse in Queensland and while packing up to travel north to pick it up, it struck me that I could probably earn reasonable money transporting other people’s horses.
“Word gets around and believe me, most people with horses, and especially women and girls, can be very emotional about how their horses are handled. I know I am and I honestly believe being a woman has been an asset for this business, especially at the start.”
Again though, the start was a fateful mix of dream and desire. Years of riding and showing were soon enough followed by her own kids competing on horses, so when the domestic relationship hit the rocks, there was a lot more than just the kids to consider.
“I think we had about 13 horses at the time and they were all on agistment but like me, none of the kids were prepared to give up their horses. We were right into showing and horse sports and we were doing well at events,” she says.
Off and racing
Then just when she probably needed another equine mouth to feed like a nail in the foot, an idea started to germinate. “I’d bought a pure Arabian horse in Queensland and while packing up to travel north to pick it up, it struck me that I could probably earn reasonable money transporting other people’s horses locally and even interstate sometimes.
“Besides, I enjoyed driving and I was confident enough handling horses, so with a four-horse gooseneck trailer and a very second-hand Fuso six-tonner, I advertised on Facebook and over the next year it just grew busier.
“Busy enough,” Katrina continues, “to go to the bank for a $55,000 loan to buy a UD with an eight-horse body and a million kilometres on the clock. I needed a bigger truck, simple as that.”
The horse transport is a competitive business, but when it’s all boiled down, it’s all about caring for the animal. Images: Thomas Wielecki
Soon enough though came the realisation that distance and income weren’t quite on a par. “I worked on the principle of driving anywhere and everywhere to get work but in hindsight, it was the wrong attitude,” says a reflective Katrina.
“Really, it was unsustainable and I was struggling to keep up, physically and financially.
“It wasn’t until I met a wonderful man named Les Rudd that I started to get smarter about the business. Les ran a very successful horse transport business in Queensland and his advice was simple: Do the same run on the same day every week and that’ll build consistency, so no more milk runs chasing work here, there and everywhere.
“To make the business successful, Les reckoned the truck had to be full as much as possible and the schedules had to be consistent. And he was right.
“But I knew the service had to be right, too. It’s a competitive business, for sure, but when it’s boiled down, it’s all about the horse.”
Still, it would be a long road to success and it’s an adamant Katrina who concedes that the original decision to plan a future for her family based on a horse transport business took a lot of heart, unwavering commitment and massive support from parents and friends when she was away on longer trips.
I honestly believe being a woman has been an asset for this business, especially at the start.
“But I had a plan, more a goal really, and I was determined to make it work,” she says resolutely, citing May 2013 as the official starting date for the company she called Ultimate Horse Transport which even then was clocking around 4,000km a week.
As for the name, “Ultimate just sounded professional but more than that, I wanted it to mean ultimate service. Service to customers and care for horses were the keys to everything and as word got around, I even had a vision to one day have a fleet of trucks but I soon enough learnt that the more trucks you have, the harder it is to maintain the service.”
Katrina cracks a broad smile when asked about the business’s distinctive pink and black colour scheme. “I wanted the name to mean something special but I knew it also had to look special and the design was done by me and daughter Libby. Like I said, most people are very emotional about how their horses are handled and a lot of those people are women and girls, so pink doesn’t worry them.”
Quiet for a second, “It doesn’t appear to worry the blokes either. Not anymore,” she adds with a shrewd grin. “People know the trucks and they know the company and what it stands for.”
She does not deny, however, that the workload was intense and the pressure constant on family and finances. “I was missing out on time with the kids and there were a few days when it all seemed too hard but honestly, it was the feedback from customers that kept me going. That was the one thing that told me I was doing things right and there was a future in what I was doing.”
A fresh track
Yet arguably the greatest impact on the future came from the decision in June 2016 to leave her Illawarra base for an entirely new home far from the close support of family and friends. It was, Katrina instantly agrees, her most fateful and ultimately fortuitous leap of faith.
The greatest impact on the future of the business came from the decision to leave her Illawarra base for an entirely new home at Tumbarumba. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“By the middle of 2016 I’d made enough money to buy this place,” she says casually of ‘Greenwood’, with “a good strong farmhouse and plenty of room for the kids.”
So, why Tumbarumba? “I just liked the property and the town is big on horse events,” Katrina says simply, adding that an initial sense of isolation was soon enough replaced by involvement in the local community and the town’s annual show. Better still, “The kids loved it,” she says emphatically.
As for the business, Katrina contends Tumbarumba is well situated for runs north or south. “On the surface, nothing really changed. People still rang wanting their horses moved and the business kept growing but the work pressure didn’t back off.
“The thing is though, I was relying on other drivers a lot more, so maintaining the service standards was starting to worry me a fair bit.”
Riding double
Then late in 2017 kismet came calling, first in the form of a horse with a hoof problem and second, in the form a farrier who admits he wasn’t too keen on travelling from Wagga to Tumbarumba to look at one horse. But, being born and bred in Tumbarumba, Jack admits his mother suggested he come home and have a look at this lady’s horse. So look he did.
Long story short, love bloomed and two lives were quickly and irrevocably changed. From the start, Katrina O’Brien and Jack Holstein realised they had a lot in common. Horses were the obvious connection but there was more to it. Much more, including the bruising recoil of broken relationships and critically, an individually intense determination to move ahead.
Rough doesn’t work. Not in this business. And definitely not in our business.
Separately and collectively, these two strong individuals have no doubt the stars aligned when they met. Indeed, and perhaps surprisingly given his pragmatic and somewhat reserved demeanour, it’s an animated Jack Holstein who openly concedes his admiration for Katrina was forged from the outset.
“We were on the same wavelength from the start,” he says thoughtfully as we talk in the kitchen, Katrina just a few feet away. “Her hard work and dedication to the kids were really something special. She impressed me, for sure.”
But forging a relationship with a lady and six kids? They look at each other and smile but typically, Jack’s response is candid and concise. “I’ve never been frightened to jump in the deep end and in this case, I was more than happy to do just that.”
In August 2020, they added their own child to the family, daughter Maddison.
Still, Jack’s decision in 2018 to swap the farrier’s hammer and anvil for the steering wheel of a horse truck was no instant knee-jerk to newfound love. Not at all. “I’d always had a passion for shoeing horses and I suppose I was doing alright because the demand was huge but it’s a job that’s hard on the body and I was starting to feel sore most of the time.
“Looking back, I was probably right for a change mentally and physically. Besides, I like driving and I’ve always had an interest in trucks of one sort or another.”
Jack has turned a long-held interest in trucks to become Ultimate Horse Transport’s primary steerer. Images: Thomas Wielecki
Again though, the change was gradual, shoeing horses one week while Katrina drove, then driving the following week so Katrina could do the bookings and administration. “That was alright for a while,” he reflects, “but long-term it was unsustainable so I jumped in and took on the driving full-time so Katrina could look after the business from home.
“It works really well and there are no regrets. None,” Jack says emphatically. “I love the job.”
And the job, says Katrina, loves Jack, and his care for horses that range from thoroughbred broodmares heading to and from stud, to high-end polo ponies and showjumpers, pony club hacks moving to a new owner, or simply an adored horse following its owner to a new home.
“And so much of our work comes from repeat customers and from word-of-mouth between horse owners,” she says with a satisfied grin. “Good feedback certainly makes you feel good.”
Nonetheless, it’s an adamant Jack Holstein who insists horse transport is an endlessly evolving exercise. “You never stop learning and horses prove that almost every day. As soon as you think you’ve seen it all and know it all, a horse will test you.
“But I like that. You have to work it out, with the horse.”
I even had a vision to one day have a fleet of trucks but I soon enough learnt that the more trucks you have, the harder it is to maintain the service.
Best of all though, the couple contend the hard work, the risks and the blatant leaps of faith have paid off. They quietly admit the business is going well and there’s no question in either mind that it has the potential to grow bigger. Neither, however, appears keen to see the business expand beyond its current three trucks.
“We were up to six trucks at one stage,” Katrina explains, “but the workload was too much and again, I worried about maintaining the standards we’d set. For us, three trucks are enough and one of those is a spare.”
Following the advice she was given years earlier, Katrina insists the schedules consistently enhance the company’s ability to carry the maximum number of horses while ensuring regular breaks to maintain horse welfare between destinations stretching from Victoria to Queensland.
Typically, the Tumbarumba property is the central staging point for horses heading north or south. From Victoria, Seymour-based driver Gavin Kennedy delivers and picks up horses in a 10-horse UD Croner and each Thursday, brings northbound horses to ‘Greenwood’ where they’re stabled, fed and watered overnight before being loaded next morning in the pre-dawn dark onto Jack’s new Volvo FM six-wheeler for the run north. Obviously enough, much the same process applies to horses heading from north to south.
“Most times we’re away for five days,” Jack remarks, “with horses on long trips offloaded overnight to be fed and watered at various holding yards or stables. “It’s a good system we’ve developed for the horses.”
“There’s rarely a problem,” Katrina chimes in, “and Jack often sends owners a photo or video of their horse during the trip and that gets us a lot of really positive feedback.
Key to the business’s success has been consistent scheduling of the same routes every week and maximising payload on each trip. Images: Thomas Wielecki
“But the same goes if there’s an issue with a horse, like lameness or something along those lines. He lets them know about it and asks what they want to do. More often than not, they follow his advice.”
Meantime, Jack concedes the new Volvo FM was something of a self-indulgence. “Yeah, it’s what I wanted, for sure,” he smirks, explaining that while the two UDs – the late model Croner and its durable PK Condor sibling – are reliable workhorses, he doesn’t deny a strong aspiration for the Volvo, buoyed by what he views as the high service standards of the Wagga Trucks dealership.
“A few years ago we bought a 6×2 Mercedes-Benz Actros with a good 10-horse body,” he says candidly. “The Benz was sold but the body was too good to lose and the thing that really sold us on the Volvo was that the factory in Brisbane could build the truck for the body to fit straight on.
“In the end, that’s the thing that really did
the deal.”
Quiet for a few moments, a smiling Jack Holstein concludes, “Like I said, I love the job but when you’re away five days out of seven, it’s even easier to love with a truck like this.”
