Shane lives with his wife Theresa and three of their four children on Bribie Island, not far from Brisbane in sunny Queensland, Australia.

A little about me :

I have been showing and riding western horses since 1977, where at age 14 I showed in youth classes for 4 and a half years. I had started breaking and training for other people at age 16 and won my first western pleasure futurity at 18 at Nambour in Qld.

Over the next 11 years I continued to train part time while working in the mechanical trade, showing mainly in Qld at Quarter horse shows. I have shown and won in all events from showmanship to cowhorse including hunter under saddle.
In the early nineties I started to show appaloosa's for Mark and Margaret O'Brien of Ashfield Stud (Megadream) and quickly notched a number of national futurity winners in WP, HUS and Trail for them.

In the following years I showed many National champion Appaloosas for other clients.

In the late eighties I became a judge with the HSAA and then the AQHA, and have judged some of the larger shows all around Australia and New Zealand. I also held an Oceana qualified National Reining Horse Association judges card issued and tested by the AmNRHA. and have judged the NSW, Qld and National NRHA Futurities.

I moved to Perth, Western Australia in Sept 93 and quickly became the force to beat, showing 13 of the total 39 horses at the 94 WA appaloosa championships, and being unbeaten in Jnr Western pleasure
around WA QH shows for 18 months.

I moved back to sydney in 95 after being too far away from the big shows, but not before bringing a team from WA to NSW to win at the Appaloosa Nationals, National Halter Horse Show, the 3yr old WP Futurity at the 95 AQHA National show and some major shows in NSW.

I trained in Sydney full time 2years, then I moved to train at Cedar Brush Farm on the NSW Central Coast, winning more National appaloosa titles with their horses in WP and HUS, culminating in Reserve Champion 2yr old WP at the 97 National Pleasure Horse Assn show.

This same horse was also 2 yr old National Western Pleasure Champion & 2yr old Futurity Champion with the Australian Appaloosa Association.

I moved to a clients facility with a new indoor arena, in 99 and trained from there until 2001, when I went to work for Greg McNamara at Lord Ben Farm for 2years before deciding the horse business in Australia would not be profitable enough for me any more, so I went back to a regular job, continuing to Judge at AQHA Shows and conduct clinics around the country.

Fast Forward to 3 years ago, I became interested more in the internet and how it all works and after learning alot about how to use it effectively, I set about the process of orginising my years of experience learning from great trainers like Ian Francis, Sue and Paul Farrell, Dave Christensen, Bill and Gail Mitchell, Greg Mcnamara and a man I am very grateful to have spent time riding with, who really made me understand what the goals I was trying to achive with my western horse training efforts were all about.

That great man, Mr Guy Stoops had won many times in the saddle including multiple World Championships and is sadly missed by the industry both in the USA and by his friends here in Australia.

I have also gathered knowledge whilst attending clinics here in Australia from noted USA trainers like Liz and Clint Haverty, Alex Ross, Steve Heckaman, Shane Dowdy, John Lawrence and Mike Moser and it is the infomation I have learnt from these sources, as well as my own trial and error that I will pass on to members of my site.

I have been doing clinics all over the country for many years and do enjoy teaching people the skills they can use to improve. Judging is another of my passions and I will continually strive to be included in the cream of AQHA judges in Australia.

In all I have spent more than 30 years active in this great sport and I am more than sure I can help people of all levels to become better skilled in the events they show in.

Shane Massingham