Brand Ambassadors
Meet our team of Brand Ambassadors
Tahnee Sullivan
Background/bio: I have been riding horses my whole life and started off showing ponies and galloways as a child, with my mum and sister, before moving in to the stock horse world, which is where I’ve really found my passion for riding and competing.
What discipline do you ride/compete in? I compete Australian Stock Horses in showing, challenges and campdrafting, which I really love. I have a few nice stock horses at the moment that have taken me to royal and national level.
What horse horses are you currently competing on and can you tell us about them? My most accomplished horse is Wundurra Impact. He is a 15.1hh, 10 year old true black gelding by Impressive Destiny. Impact is my most experienced horse, who has taken me from never having competed in a stock horse class to Sydney Royal and ASH National winner. Impact is such a reliable horse who always gives 100% at home and at every show. Impact is a beautifully educated horse, so he makes my job quite easy, I just have to keep him fit, healthy and happy and he will perform for me.
I also have a 3 year old filly, who is still growing and going to be a big girl! We picked her out at the ASH Nationals sale in 2021, where she absolutely stood out to me, my mum and trainer Wyatt Young. I am extremely happy with her, she is growing into an impressive young horse, with super movement and presences.
What’s been your biggest equestrian achievements/highlights to date Winning Reserve Champion Hack on Impact at Sydney Royal 2019 was a big moment for me. It was such an amazing moment standing beside Fiona Gordon, who was awarded Champion, as we were lucky enough to buy Impact from Fiona, who had owned and trained him.
Attending Youth Nationals and winning Supreme Hack and Reserve Champion Pleasure Hack was a huge achievement. As was winning Pony Club NSW State Showring Champion 15-18 years. Prior to Impact I had always ridden and shown show horses, so this was a big surprise taking an ASH into the hack ring and coming away with the win. Impact was an absolute star and not once let me down, after the first day we had gained so many points that there was no chance of anyone catching up!
ASH Nationals 2021 Winning Supreme Hack and ASHLA at ASH Nationals 2021 was beyond all my expectations. It was such a huge achievement and an honour to be surrounded by such quality horses and riders. I won Supreme Hack the day before my 18th Birthday, so there was a lot to celebrate!
Sydney Royal 2022 winning champion ASH hack of the show and 3rd in the RM WIlliams most versatile stock horse was amazing. I had trained and worked so hard for years with Impact, so to finally crack the Champion ASH hack at Sydney made all the hard work seem worth it!
What are your goals for the rest of 2022? My main focus for the rest of this year will be to get my young mare up and going and ready for the upcoming spring show season. She’s showing so much promise, so I am hoping to get her out as much as possible.
Jaimie Reardon
Background/bio: I‘ve ridden horses all of my life. Growing up I worked at a riding school and a Quarter Horse stud, before getting my first horse at 14. She was a Welsh Mountain Pony. I went on to ride a Standardbred that I took to Pony Club. This is where my love for eventing started. As I got older, started to work and have children, riding took a bit of a back seat, however I owned a beautiful Quarter Horse, who was always dependable every time I wanted to go for a ride. She especially assisted me as I lost my nerve horse riding after I had the children and considered selling them all and stopping riding.
I was then given an older warmblood who gave me back my confidence competing. As he got older, I purchased a 6 month old Stock Horse cross, Asham Swagman, who I trained and now compete at pre novice level eventing (dressage, cross country and eventing).
I do my training at Blue Metal Equestrian, where a number of talented coaches do training days and hold clinics. I also enjoy training Off the track thoroughbreds and currently have two in work.
What discipline do you ride/compete in? Eventing at pre novice level and dressage.
Tell us about your horse? Asham Swagman aka Saxon and I are currently competing in eventing at 80cm. He is a first cross Stock Horse. My thoroughbreds are still in training, and I am hoping to get them out later in the year.
What’s been your biggest equestrian achievement to date? Competing at Sydney international three-day event.
What are you riding goals for 2022/2023? To get my Thoroughbreds out and about in some OTT competitions, to improve my dressage and training towards competing at novice level eventing in 2023.
What does it mean to you to be a Mustang & Co Brand Ambassador for 2022/2023? I am very proud to be selected as an Ambassador for Mustang & Co. The store carries a range of equipment that I require in my discipline.
I hope that I can be a role model to women returning to riding after having children, as I understand that it can be totally overwhelming and that your nerves are not as good as they were when you were 16!
Mackenzie Bending
Background/bio:I have loved horses since I was a young girl, a passion for the sport has been there since day one. I grew up on the Northern Beaches in Sydney, where I was unable to keep a horse, until I started having lessons in Oxford Falls.
From there, my parents were given a horse for free. Portia is her name. This horse taught me everything you should and shouldn’t do around horses. I would climb on her, jump off her, ride her bareback and bitless with no shoes on. I think at one stage I rode her with my arm still in a cast. Portia wouldn’t truck or float anywhere, so we were and still are to this day stuck with her. She was the kind of horse that made you brave because you had no choice but to be, 12 year old me didn’t have time for a push button pony and it made me the adrenaline junky I am today.
I then moved up to Nabiac in 2017 where I owned two different OTTB that I have now moved on from and sold. During covid, Blue was bought for me. We had a rocky start, no sense of direction or what I wanted to do with him. We tried a few different disciplines from sporting, cow sorting, to showjumping - nothing clicked. Until eventing did. I had my first event on Blue at Quirindi ODE in May 2022 and from that point on, I’ve had a passion and drive for eventing. I have just moved down to the Hunter Valley to work at Werakata Farm as a full-time working pupil for Andrew Barnett and Tarsha Hammond.
What discipline do you ride/ compete in? I am an eventer, I compete in three day events and one day events. I am currently competing at EVA 60/65cm
What horse are you currently competing on? I currently own and compete one horse. Painted Blue is his registered name, Blue is his stable name and what I affectionately call him.
Tell us about your Blue: Blue is a rising 10-year-old, 15.1hh tobiano paint x arab. He’s got two blue eyes, hence the name. Blue loves bananas and the food I pack myself for lunch. He’s a calm and collected fellow on the ground and is good with foals and yearlings. He stays calm in sticky situations too and always has my back. Blue is a speed machine out on cross country and gives thoroughbreds a run for their money. Blue loves the beach and galloping through trails bareback. He’s my best friend.
What’s been your biggest equestrian achievements/highlights to date? - Competing at the Ariat Sydney International 3DE in June 2022
- Moving to Werakata Farm to pursue my passion
- Being able to compete at all, especially after owning a horse that would never go anywhere, ever. My biggest goal 5 years ago was to compete at Nabiac Show, now I’m travelling far and wide competing!
What are you riding goals for 2022?
- To compete in my first EVA 80cm
- To successfully complete a cross country course with a finish on optimum time.
- Place in my next EVA 65cm class
- Lastly to have my horse working at his best
What does it mean to you to be a Mustang & Co Brand Ambassador for 2022? To be a brand ambassador for Mustang & Co is nothing but a privilege. The team at Mustang & Co are always so lovely and kind, they go above and beyond for your agricultural and equestrian needs. I use Mustang & Co for all my feeding and equipment needs, from hay to fly masks, they’ve got exactly what you’re looking for. It means that I get to represent a company that I 100% trust in and stand by.
1. Terry Parr photographer
Lara Maslen
Background/bio: I am a 14 year old girl that enjoys horse riding. I have been riding for about 10 years. I live on a beef cattle farm and enjoy mustering the cattle. I also like playing netball. My family rides together at team penning.
What discipline do you ride/compete in? Campdrafting, ranch sorting, Australian Stock Horse days/ challenges, team penning and pony club.
What horse are you currently competing on? Cisco is my main horse I compete on currently. He is a 7 year old stock horse gelding. I take him to all types of events such as ASH days, campdrafting, team penning and ranch sorting. I have owned Cisco for just over 1 year now. My goal is to teach him new skills in all disciplines.
Tell us about your horses? I have 5 horses. I currently ride 3 registered Australian Stock Horses. Cisco (Moore’s Bixbie), Dude (Bourke’s Majestic) and Woody(Soda Rosewood).
What’s been your biggest equestrian achievements to date?
- 1st in Paterson River Pony Club campdraft
- 1st in State Pony Club team penning.
- Overall 10th in State Sporting 2 years in a row.
- Multiple wins and places in Wingham Team Penning.
- Placings in ASH challenges.
What are you riding goals for 2022? My goal for 2022/ 2023 is to get out more, to compete and to meet more people and also to train my horse and teach him new skills.
What does it mean to you to be a Mustang & Co Brand Ambassador for 2022/2023? I feel proud and privileged to be a Mustang & Co Brand Ambassador and to represent Mustang & Co, which supports and encourages riders in our local area.
Hayden Sutton
Background/ bio: Having grown up in Sydney until 2021, I really only got to ride when I visited my Nan and Pop’s house in north western NSW. Once we moved to the Mid-North Coast we moved our horses over and haven’t stopped riding ever since!
What discipline do you ride/compete in? I’ve been competing in team penning and ranch sorting. I also love to ride all around Pampoolah and Kiwarrak State Forest.
What horse are you currently competing on? My horse’s name is Danny. Danny is a Quarter Horse cross pony. He was bred from a line of horses that my Dad and uncle’s grew up learning to ride on. He’s a 13.3hh buckskin that is
happiest when I’m on his back and we’re riding around or chasing cattle.
What’s been your biggest equestrian achievements/highlights to date? I ride for fun and to continue learning, but my biggest achievement has been improving to the point where I’ve become quite competitive in the kids division of team penning. I only started team penning this year and so far have managed to take out first place on 3 occasions.
What are you riding goals for 2022? My goal is to continue learning more about being a horseman and how to get the best out of my horse.
What does it mean to you to be a Mustang & Co Brand Ambassador for 2022? Being a Brand Ambassador for Mustang & Co is a real honour, as I never thought I’d be lucky enough to be in this position. Mustang & Co were great to me when we first moved to the area and I’d like to repay that by being a good representative for them.
Eva Sutton
Background/bio: Having grown up in Sydney until 2021, I really only got in to riding when I visited my Nan and Pop’s house in North Western NSW. Once we moved to the Mid-North Coast we moved our horses over and haven’t stopped riding ever since!
What discipline do you ride/compete in? I’ve been competing in team penning and ranch sorting. I also love to ride all around Pampoolah and Kiwarrak State Forest.
What horse/horses are you currently competing on? My horses’ names are Matilda and Lenny. Matilda is a bay, 12hh Welsh Mountain Pony mare. She’s a real pocket rocket that’s “been there, done that”. She’s previously won champion hack at shows but is now very comfortable in the team penning arena. My family bought Matilda as a yearling and broke her in themselves. She’s also had one foal, which we still own and use to take my friends riding when they come over.
Lenny is a 14hh strawberry roan Quarter Horse gelding. His sire is a clone from Smart Little Lena. We’ve only had Lenny for a few months now and he’s settled in really well. We’ve been working on educating him with roll backs and turns. He’s really quick on his feet and has a great on/off switch.
What’s been your biggest equestrian achievements/highlights to date? My biggest achievement has been my persistence and perseverance in adapting to riding different horses. Both Lenny and Matilda are very different horses, but I’ve been able to achieve success on both.
What are you riding goals for 2022? My goal is to learn as much as I can from knowledgeable people, which will give me the best opportunity to one day be employed in the equine industry.
What does it mean to you to be a Mustang & Co Brand Ambassador for 2022? I feel very proud and honoured to be in this position. Mustang & Co is supporting me in my long-term equine and riding goals. Simone and her team have always been exceptionally pleasant and helpful and I’m very excited to represent them.
Arlie Atchison
Background/bio: I have been around horses my whole life and started riding on and off since I was 8. I’ve been riding a lot more seriously for a bit over a year ago, when our neighbours moved in and I began riding with them.
What discipline do you ride/ compete in: I mainly compete in team penning with my team mates Hayden and Eva. I also help mum with ponies that come in for work/ training, so have to do a lot of flat work on them, and I am a member of Camden Haven Pony Club. We will hopefully do some ribbon days soon; a lot of comps have been cancelled recently due to the weather conditions.
What horse are you currently competing on: My horse’s name is Hugo. He is a 12 year old Riding Pony gelding, who stands at about 13hh. We bought him last year when I started riding a lot more. We got him from my parents’ friends down in Canberra. He wasn’t always the quietest horse and could be quite spooky. But the longer we have him, the better he gets. We trust each other a lot now. We get along really well!
What’s been your biggest equestrian achievements: My biggest achievement to date is winning the junior team penning at Wingham with Eva and Hayden, I had to ride with another team the next day and won that day as well.
What are your riding goals for 2022: to get 3 clean runs at team penning and just to get as much saddle time as possible.
What does it mean to be a Mustang & Co Ambassador: Mustang & Co is my favourite saddlery, so it means a lot to become a Brand Ambassador. It means a lot to us kids to be acknowledged by the people you look up to when you’re competing.