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self-taught and l el w y tt re p m a “I t over the years.” ou it ed k or w st ju ain a horse. I’ve or wrong way to tr Saddled up on his favourite black stallion Chevin Ivory, he won by four points, beating a strong field of 747 contenders. The formidable pair also teamed up to snatch the World Championship at the Sydney Royal in 2007 and again in 2015. Many people in the sport rate Ivory as the best campdrafting horse ever bred, winning more than $260,000 in prize money and siring over 700 foals. Of course, breeding champion horses doesn’t happen overnight. Nigel says his horses are trained for years before he even thinks about campdrafting. Horses in this sport, at least, generally peak at about 10 years of age, but fast and athletic Ivory is still going strong at 18 and there are no plans to retire him just yet. “You can breed cow sense in horses, just like working dogs,” Nigel says. “Working with cattle all the time does help. The work is instinctive with these horses and there is a lot less training involved to get them to do the right thing.” After achieving everything there is in the sport, the only things keeping Nigel in the saddle are his three talented sons Jack, 17, Tom, 13, and Daniel, 10, who have inherited their parents’ love of campdrafting and all things equine. 20 CWL LITHGOW
Like their father, the boys were riding before they could barely walk and started competing from the age of eight. “I started flag and bending events at the local gymkhanas when I was knee high to a grasshopper,” Nigel says. “At a few of the shows there’d be a campdraft and I’d have a run in that as well.” He won his first open draft at 14 years and has been putting his fellow competitors (who are mostly good mates) on notice ever since. “I am pretty well self-taught and never had anyone actually show me the right way or wrong way to train a horse. I’ve just worked it out over the years – what works and what doesn’t work for me. I don’t have a plan and just take each horse as it comes.” Today the sport is one of the fastest growing in the nation because of its strong family orientation. Nigel admits Lady Luck plays a good part on competition day but what really sets a champion apart is the ability to pick the right cattle coupled with the skill and determination to get a beast around the course.
The Kable family attend about 12-15 events each year during the campdrafting season (between September and March) when they all pile into their Mack truck, with its massive 45-foot gooseneck, and drive to places like Rockhampton, Walgett, Sydney Royal and Warwick. In keeping with the tradition, Carol is no slouch in the saddle, having won two national finals in Tamworth and the Ladies Campdraft at the Sydney Royal. “When you’re married to one of the best in the business, you obviously feel proud but it’s even better to get that bit of inside knowledge,” she says with a twinkle in her eye. “It’s a great family lifestyle and it’s wonderful to see the kids grow up among like-minded country people.” With the entire family hooked on campdrafting, Nigel says he won’t hear of retirement, at least not while his boys are on the scene. Expect to hear a lot more from this horse-mad clan, particularly when the Kable lads hit their straps. CWL
Above: Nigel Kable riding Chevin Ivory. Image: Wild Fillies Photography