Horsemanship, bush poetry and whip cracking – all in days’ work for this humble gentleman fondly referred to as “The Horse Whisperer”

Guy McLean Australian Horseman, entertainer and bush poet has entertained inspired and educated thousands of Australians.  He returns to the iconic Mossman Show on the 19th & 20th July, after his last performance here 6 years ago and it is an event not to be missed.  Since then Guy has been making an international name for himself and his horses  in American, but he still calls Australia home.

Born in an inner city suburb of Melbourne in 1975, the youngest of five boys (his sister Skye not yet born), Guy is forever thankful that at the age of 1 year old, his family packed up all their belongings to start a brand new life in the country.  They purchased a 1600 acre property and over the next 2 years they developed  Susan River Homestead located near Hervey Bay Queensland.  It was here on the banks of the lazy Susan River that Guy, at 16 months old, sat on his first horse and suddenly “The Man from Susan River” was born.

Guy is currently on the road heading to Mossman and Newsport Daily had an opportunity to chat with him while he was in Rockhampton today.  He will be travelling to Townsville tomorrow and then shortly after he will arrive back in Mossman.

For anyone who has had the pleasure and honour to see Guy either perform or work with his horses, one thing cannot be denied and that is his love for his horses. “They are only second to my wife, child, parents and brothers and sister “says Guy. “I have a Team in America and have since built an Australian Team of stock”.

Guys has said that it is the contrasts in our lives that make us search for something different and in Guys case it was the contrast of his life with or without  his horses, which draws him to horses like a moth to a flame. “They are not only a want in my life but a need” says Guy. If he goes more than 4 or 5 days without them he is lost and actually feels half complete.  They are on his mind “day and night”.  People have asked him what he does for a hobby and Guy states that his horses are not only his family, his work but also his hobby. 

In the eyes of his beloved horses Guy feels equal and values the importance of connecting with his horses, and says this connection absolutely extends to all animals.  With animal entertainment being in the headlines of late for the mistreatment and exploitation of animals, Guy says “$10 million dollars could not drag me away from my horses yet if you offered this to 70-80 percent of people in animal entertainment today they’d take the money and run and the 20 percent left would be doing what they do for the love and bond with their animals not for the money.  Animals can show the weaknesses in us and will reveal what goes on behind closed doors.”  

It has been said that everyone and everything can be our teacher and Guy has been under the watchful eye of many a young horse and one thing he says they have taught him is “who he is in that moment.  They do not care who I was yesterday or last year to them it is who he is in that moment” when they are together. 

He talks with such love about his bloodline mare Showgirl and recalls when they first met.  “She came from impeccable breeding and had gone through several hands and kept slipping through the cracks and bucking and I was told that I wasn’t allowed to ride her.  I rode her 3 times and then within one month I had her at the Ekka. She is the main horse I will be riding at the Mossman Show.”

When you think about tools of the trade in horsemanship, what might come to mind is lariat, training stick, saddle, rope halter or a whip. In Guys case it is not so much about a piece of equipment and more about an attitude tool.  He attributes his bond with his horses to these four tools of the trade; knowledge, compassion, patience and imagination and his simple philosophy around these tools has won the hearts of his horses.

“You are not born with knowledge, it is something you learn over time and I am still learning and when I am 80 I will know more than what I know today and for many years I will continue to learn.”

“I remember as a kid I couldn’t crack a whip and my brothers could and they said that I’d never get it right. If a horse I am working with is taking a while to learn, I promise them it will get easier.   So until the horse I’m working with gets it right, it is this compassion I show them until they get it.”

“Learn to wait, be patient even if it takes all day long.”

“Imagination as a kid is important.  I remember reading and in my mind wanting to experience something special with horses that no other horses can do.  Now I keep coming up with new ways and continue to stretch the boundaries and at 40 I have only scratched the surface.”

As a child Guy was a dreamer and has said that if you wish hard enough, stick to your guns, dreams will come true.  He recalls his father saying as long as you and your ponies are safe, you can do whatever you like, added with,  keep your hands down or give that pony a rest, thrown in every now and then. But he does admit that his parents use to worry “what will little Guy become”.  

“Even though my parents were supportive and they’d say I could be whatever I wanted to be, as a kid I did have to scratch and scrap for everything to get myself where I needed to be.  My parents had no idea I wanted it so bad.”

Sadly for some children dreams can be extinguished without support and for all the younger audience members and for anyone wanting to pursue a dream Guy said it was his belief in himself as a kid, even when he was being laughed at by other kids, that pushed him to do better and to prove to himself.  It is this belief in himself that has transpired into his horses.  “They believed in me before anyone new my name and it is the look in my Nuggets eyes, the way he looks at me that says he believes in me.”

There is a quality that emanates from Guy of warmth when you listen to him or read his bush poetry and there is little wonder that the connection he has with his horses radiates to anyone fortunate enough to talk to or meet him.  And with comments such as “I love my family, my horses and my life, to the moon and back three times returned” one knows they are in the presence of an amazing human being.

The iconic Mossman Show is only days away and our region is honoured that Guy is returning and we are looking forward to being amazed by his skills and the talent of his Australian team of horses performing at the show this weekend on the 19th and 20th July. Full guide here