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In This Issue...
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Welcome from Annie & Graeme (and Jess & Mel )
 Time, they say, rushes past faster the older you get! And Yarrabin is fast approaching her 50th birthday in 2013 – and that date will be here before we know it!! Look out for some stories that re-live the past, some golden-oldie photos and even our special Yarrabin book due to be published in 2012. If you have any contributions – photos, stories, memorabilia – we’d love to hear from you!
And not only will we soon celebrate that special 50th birthday for Yarrabin, but this year marks our tenth year holding the reins of Yarrabin!! We took over in December 1999, with loads and loads of grand plans, and with Graeme in East Timor! A big thank you to Annie’s parents, Gavin and Sue Christie, for being there at the start of our fantastic Yarrabin journey. They promised us a year of their time to get us started, yet continue to be very much involved in Yarrabin ten years later. Gavin still rides with us – and nowadays even wears a helmet! (see photo)
What has occurred in the last 10 years? We’ve watched our family grow (we started with 3 children and now have 4, with our first child finishing school and now working with us); we’ve watched your families grow and gained a lifetime of memories; we’ve shared our lives with some wonderful people and some wonderful horses; we’ve also sadly lost some wonderful people and some wonderful horses; we’ve taken literally thousands of photos; we’ve added the games room, ripped out the old kitchen, put in a new WOW spa for 14, renovated all the bathrooms and added reverse cycle air conditioning; we’ve been blessed with many amazing and tireless team members from all over the world; we’ve launched our innovative Yarrabin Leadership & Horses (tm) program and started up new horsemanship workshops; we’ve weathered the worst drought ever, huge insurance hikes, SARS and the equine influenza epidemics; and we’ve been blessed with perfect health and fitness.
And our vision? For Yarrabin to be here in a hundred years still offering fantastic horse riding, unique farmstay experiences and memories that last a lifetime! And a quote to sum up how we have approached the last ten years? “Do what you love, and something will follow!”
We thank you for your support and look forward to sharing more special times together soon. Annie, Graeme, Jessica, Harry, Jack, Will and the Yarrabin Team
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An Update On Our Wonderful Horses
 Where do we start? There is always something happening in the horse world at Yarrabin, especially as we strive to reach the perfect mix of horses for you to enjoy! The big news for those who have been following the development of our two foals, Ollie (out of Amber) and Lily (out of Rosie) is that both have now been started and are in the line doing their share of the work. Amazing to think that not long ago, both were tiny adorable foals. Jack, our 11 year old son, has a taken a liking to Ollie. He does all sorts of things on her, such as jumping, trail riding, flapping a Drizabone and picking up objects from the ground. Ollie calmly participates in whatever Jack wants to do. Lily likewise is a pleasure to ride and will only improve with more work. Some “Rosie tendencies” make her a fun and interesting horse.
We’ve lost a few horses sadly – Rus, owned by Annie’s Mum Sue, and who spent a good bit of time on the trail at Yarrabin, passed away mid February. Max, the go-forward strong black gelding, and Pete, our very tall ex-pacer, both went to the sales in November. And recently, Chiko, our big adorable and kind-hearted Appaloosa gelding went to horse heaven. He will be sadly missed by all, having been a big favourite for many beginners.
Our newest horse is a mid-aged palomino mare called Georgie! She is still settling in to the mob and the nature of Yarrabin work, but by all reports she is a fun and willing horse who is particularly comfortable to bareback!
More horses will soon join our mob. We are off to the Carcour Horse Sales on Saturday 18 April (and again on Friday 5 June). Please join us for some fun and to help in horse selection. It’s a great day, full of energy and horse smells, and is now based at brand new saleyards rather than the old ones in Orange. And we are always on the lookout for horses – if you have one you think would be suitable for Yarrabin, or know of anyone we should approach, please let Annie know.
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An Update On Our Even More Wonderful People Team
 Our wonderful people team, complemented by our super horses, always receive loads of praise from guests for their happy and tireless work. Of course, they don’t view what they do here as “work” – riding horses, meeting fun people, living the outdoor life, and having lots of great memories is more their idea of fun. And to get paid for having fun is a bonus, they say.
Our team is growing. We now have two permanent team members. Mel Byrne, our live-in wrangler/assistant cook/office chick, continues to add value, fun, laughter and the exuberance of youth to Yarrabin. She is almost like a second daughter to us and another big sister to our boys. Mel is great around the horses and there is nothing at Yarrabin she can’t do! She can even sing and play the piano and guitar! Soon she will audition for Australian Idol – let’s hope she gets through!!
Jessica, our eldest child, has successfully finished school, turned 18, received her driver’s licence, has her own car and now is an important member of our team. She heads off next year to university in Wagga to commence an Equine Science degree, after a few overseas holidays. In the meantime, she like Mel helps out everywhere, especially running the Kids Camps and the Yarrabin office. She fits in so well and knows so much – no wonder when you remember she has been fully engaged and living at Yarrabin since she was 9!
Our casuals include long term favourite Elise, currently completing her combined nursing/paramedic degree in Bathurst, and Zoe, who is completing her Social Science/Psychology degree in Bathurst. We have a new farrier, Terry McGovern, who not only has great farriering skills but is also a bit of a wag. We’ll write more about him in future newsletters. Joyce continues to work behind the scenes as our head housekeeper preparing rooms and the homestead for your enjoyment. Her task, she tells us, has been much easier with the newly renovated bathrooms.
We now have two “permanent” positions for backpackers to join our team. If you know anyone or are interested, please let us know. The BIG prerequisites are proficiency in English and horse riding, quick with a smile and a ready and willing team attitude. We’ve just had the pleasure of Josie and Camilla, both from England, and more recently a Pommy bloke, Shane. Not only tireless and cheerful team members, all were extraordinary riders and people-people. They’ve set the bar high for future back packers!
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Yarrabin Kids Camps a HUGE Hit!!
 Five kids camps over Dec/Jan and over 100 happy kids! Yarrabin Kids Camps continue to be popular with the kids spending quality time with our horses, learning great horsemanship skills and enjoying classic Yarrabin activities like the day ride, group cranium and “Big Bootie”! Parents also have expressed their HUGE appreciation to Yarrabin on how well the camps are run, and how wonderful their kids are when they return. They might also be thankful for a little quiet time over a very long holiday period!
Not only did we welcome some new kids to Yarrabin, but we also revelled in the enthusiasm and passion of some new staff! Jessica, our eldest child, finished high school in 2008 and now works with us, with the running of Kids Camps one of main responsibilities. Mel Byrne, our wrangler/assistant cook, has brought years of horse and camp experience to Yarrabin and our camps – and is a real fun gal! And our visiting English backpackers, Josie and Camilla, were priceless! All the kids (and us!) loved their non-stop can-do happy attitude. Plus they were very handy on horses! Even the local blokes were captivated – both received endless invites out to dinner, water skiing etc etc! Thanks also to Leah and Charlotte who are long term Yarrabin team members, and who also threw themselves into making this round of Kids Camps the BEST EVER!
The next Kids Camps is from Mon 6 to Fri 10 Jul 09. Yes, thi camp falls within the private school holidays. Already half full so book early. As an added value, family and friends can join kids from Kids Camp of the weekend following the camp – and the Kids Camp kids RIDE FOR FREE!!
We now have free-ed up space in the public school holidays for a second July Kids Camp. The dates are Mon 20 to Fri 24 Jul, with family and friends able to join us from Fri 24 to Sun 26 Jul. And kids from Kids Camp RIDE FOR FREE over this weekend!!
One change to the Camps is that we will no longer offer the special “Cowgirl Adventures” camp for girls only. All camps now are open to boys and girls, and the ages are from 10 to 17. And something to look forward to (well for the kids anyway!) – we will be producing a special “Kids Club Newsletter”
sent/emailed just to kids. Let us know if you would like a copy. AND we are about to launch a Yarrabin Kids Camp FACEBOOK profile – Jessica will let you know about that soon.
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You might know that up here at Yarrabin, we rarely sit still and are always looking for better ways to let you know what is happening at Yarrabin, and for ideas about how we can improve your Yarrabin holiday experience. Very soon we will send you a link for an online survey, with the chance to win an AWESOME prize. 
Come and CELEBRATE with us! Lock these dates in your diary – Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November 09 for our HUGE 10th Birthday Celebration at Yarrabin. We’ll have a great dance band, a treasure hunt and bouncing castle for the kids (and wannabe kids!) plus a huge birthday cake to cut and share. And of course loads of great horse riding and sore muscles (Just joking about those sore muscles! Our new spa will ease any aches and pains you may have!). 
Our popular Adults Only Weekends are now run once a month! It’s always hard to please everyone all the time – but we like to try! Our unique Adults Only (or Kid Free if you prefer!) weekends book out so quickly that there is now one programmed each month. Only 18 spots are available for each weekend, and it’s an all-inclusive package – for a fixed and fantastic price, you get accommodation, all meals from Friday dinner, four horse rides, a trip to the O’Connell Pub and a few other extras thrown in. You can even stay Sunday evening for a small additional price, and receive dinner, bed and breakfast AND a small group horse ride on Monday morning. So rustle up some fellow adults, or simply come up and meet some likeminded people! Give us a holler for the dates. The next two are Fri 1 to Sun 3 May and Fri 19 to Sun 21 Jun 09.
Again we have listened to many requests from our regular guests for the opportunity to extend their Yarrabin stay to make it a long weekend. A late start at the office or maybe kids not at school. So for only $95 per person, you can share our touch of paradise (and awesome spa!!) for another night. Plus you get to enjoy a small-group, personalised horse ride on the Monday morning. And the best part? Not getting caught up in Sunday afternoon traffic trying to get back to the rat race!
Of course, Yarrabin is open all year round (except Christmas Day) for you to enjoy as an individual, as a family or as a group. Mid week stays and mid week workshops are becoming more and more popular. But we do also program a few activities for you to enjoy: