A spring in their step

Environment, cattle and culture are all part of the mix on Harvest Road’s Kimberley centrepiece, Springvale station.

Story + Photos Mark Muller

Bec Dunn walks quietly around a pinto horse as early evening light fades over the horse yards on Springvale station. These yards were built by the legendary Tom Quilty, one-time owner of this stunning patch of WA’s Kimberley, and, says Bec, are some of the best she’s seen.

At first, José – the horse in question – is standoffish. He’s had a bit of a rough day, and caused his young rider some trouble, despite her natural athleticism and in-a-saddle-from-birth experience. The general consensus is not that José’s a problem horse, but that there’s something making him uncomfortable and causing him to play up. Bec asked that he be brought over to the yards once the day’s mustering was done. “You see?” Bec says. “Look at him front-on – one shoulder is up higher than the other. There’s something bothering him.” Bec gently puts her hands here and there and runs her fingers along some of the main nerve pathways. It’s very deliberate and José soon relaxes into her touch. At one point, Bec takes in a big, slow breath, and lets it out again. Almost as if copying her, José does the same. Bec smiles and gives a little laugh. “There you go,” she murmurs. “Just let it out ol’ mate.” She looks up at colleague Emily Stewart, who’s watching closely from the rails. “They’re such empathetic creatures – did you see that?” Bec says. “He was holding it all in, and then when I let out a big sigh, he did too.” After half an hour or so of this, José is noticeably calmer, and his shoulders are back lined up at the same level. “I do a bit of Emmett therapy,” Bec says. “You’re just working gently with the horse – it seems to work sometimes, and if it works a bit, well that’s good!” 

A similar sense of calm, considered application of knowledge and experience is evident across the operation on the Springvale aggregation, which is made up of 4 productive pastoral leases: Springvale, Texas Downs, Mabel Downs and Alice Downs. Together, they cover around 604,430ha in the east Kimberley some 320km south of Kununurra. Halls Creek is 70km south and World-Heritage-listed Purnululu National Park lies just to the east, while the Warmun community, with its highly regarded art centre, is 120km to the north. It is largely situated on the traditional lands of the Gija and Djaru people. The combination of pastoral potential, environmental significance and cultural richness is some of what makes the holding unique and informed its purchase in 2022 from then-owners Yeeda Pastoral Company by Harvest Road, the vertically integrated agribusiness owned by Andrew and Nicola Forrest.