23
On the Property
With the basics under her belt, Alicia brought in Sandman, stepping up a level and never looking back. Today, it’ s still the adrenaline, the challenge, and the precision of cutting a smart, shortened course that fuels her love for the sport.
For Nancy, watching her daughter Alicia grow as a rider with Sandman by her side has been nothing short of inspiring. From a young age, Alicia showed a natural devotion to horsemanship— working with her first breaker at just 12 and committing herself fully to training and caring for multiple horses. But it’ s the partnership between her and Sandman that has truly captured Nancy’ s heart.“ They’ ve shared miles together,” she says— whether mustering cattle, navigating mountain country, or leaping logs and gullies with no room for error. Out there, there are no safety nets— just instinct, trust, and finely tuned communication. Every shift in balance, every cue, is deeply ingrained between them. It’ s this unspoken connection and their shared“ no turning back” mindset that translates so powerfully into the show jumping ring.“ They have each other’ s backs,” Nancy says with pride.“ They’ re a finely tuned team— and I love watching the magic.”
Asking Nancy and Alicia what makes Sandman such a standout, and their admiration is instant and heartfelt. For Alicia, it’ s his laidback, cool-headed nature— no matter where he goes, Sandman remains calm and composed, yet ready to give everything when it’ s time to perform.“ You can point him at a cow or a one-metre jump and say go, and he’ ll give you his all,” Alicia says. It’ s this reliability, paired with his agility and willingness, that makes him her perfect partner— especially for those tight, technical shortened courses Alicia loves to ride. Nancy sees in him the kind of horse you dream about: trainable, responsive, athletic, and genuinely kind.“ Sometimes I wonder if he’ s even awake,” she laughs.“ But the second Alicia says‘ let’ s go,’ it’ s game on. He puts his heart into every run, then walks out like,‘ Job done.’” A horse with exceptional talent and an even bigger heart, Sandman, they both agree, would have excelled at any discipline. He’ s more than a competition horse— he’ s a once-in-a-lifetime partner. Sandman is a treasure.
After an unforeseen break from Showjumping in 2023 Alicia was keen to get to 2024 Pony Club Queensland State Championships. Their consistency and finesse saw them take home the Champion title for Jumping Equitation. But the real test began on day three. In the first Show Jumping class, a single rail down cost them, but Alicia regrouped and came back strong in the Power and
Alicia and Sandman at home on the cattle property
Alicia and Sandman- 2022 State
Alicia and Sandman- Personal Best 2024 1.20m
2025 AQHA SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER ISSUE