Matt was born into an equestrian family in Queensland, Australia whose primary focus was on racehorses. His father owned the racehorses, his mother was a jockey, and his uncle trained the horses. “I grew up with horses and was riding when I was 2. When I was old enough, I did pony club and competed in gymkhanas,” Matt says. “In my early horsemanship days, I was doing show jumping, eventing and dressage.”
When he was a teenager, he discovered cutting and switched his focus to western performance horse disciplines. Around that same time, he and his father attended their first clinic with Clinton. The young clinician was just making a name for himself in Australia.
“This was back in the days before Clinton had any videos or training tools,” Matt says. “His teaching style was easy to understand and really helped us with our horses. He completely changed the course of my horsemanship and opened my eyes to what I could achieve with a horse.”
Matt continued to ride and train horses throughout his adult years, juggling his passion for horsemanship with a demanding, full-time job. “Any chance I had, I took lessons and clinics and was always looking for ways to better my skill set,” Matt says.
When he retired from his career as a journeyman electrician, Matt saw a perfect opportunity to turn his full focus back on training horses and refining his horsemanship. “At the end of the day, I knew if I wanted to get the best knowledge and one-on-one help available, coming to the Academy was the only option,” Matt says.
He excelled in the Academy and looks forward to helping people achieve their goals with their horses. “It doesn’t matter where you go or what horse you’re working with, if you follow the Method, you can have a great partnership with your horse,” Matt says. “If you’re not enjoying the time you spend with your horse, then why are you doing it? There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone learn how to communicate better with their horse and have more fun.”