Kylie Graham & The Mellos From Humble Beginnings

Kylie can’t remember a moment where horses weren’t involved in her life. Horses were used exclusively, for mustering the 130,000 acre property that ran about 5000 breeders. Her passion for the land, horses and cattle were influenced by her parents and the skilled Aboriginal Stockmen that taught her many valuable lessons. "Three times a year we would drove about 50 mustering horses from one mustering camp to another and be camped out for weeks at a time," recalls Kylie.

“My father Alan Atkinson was a highly accomplished amateur jockey and the largest Thoroughbred breeder in North Qld, breeding up to 50 yearlings per year. One of my jobs as a teenager, when I left boarding school, was to handle them in preparation for sale or racing. As well as being involved with the thoroughbred industry, my family imported many cutting and sprint horses from the USA in the 1970s. Some of these were used in the mustering horses at Valley of Lagoons.”

"We were too isolated, and there were no Campdrafts nearby, the first draft I ever rode in was at Bowen River Campdraft when I was about 18, which was 7hrs drive away. I went with a friend who worked for us, and I rode my best mustering mare, Mello. After that, I drafted on and off but didn’t compete competitively till about 2011. Despite not being from a Campdraft background, my father bred Beau Cadet who won the 1983 Warwick Gold Cup. He was a thoroughbred gelding that successfully raced and ended up a very successful drafter. My desire to learn how to train a horse to cut took me in the direction of cutting from 1999-2016.”