Local Gundagai High School boy Jack Lindley has been named the 2026 Junior Man From Snowy River at this year’s Man From Snowy River Bush Festival (MFSRBF) in Corryong last month.
The annual Stockman’s Challenge, which is the biggest in Australia, is a family affair for the Lindley’s with all of the siblings competing this year, as well as Dad (Dan) who used to compete, older sister Claire who has competed for the last 4 years, Jack, who started in the Striplings and is now in the Juniors Section and Lachie, who also competed in the Striplings this year.
Competing against his older sister Claire in the Junior Section, coming into the final Jack and his horse ‘The Lethal Advisor’ held a 45pt lead over Claire on board ‘Yaven Moore Chrome’, but eventually he took out the section with just 22 points over his sister.
This was Claire’s final Junior competition at the MFSRBF because her next birthday will see her move into the Ladies section for the 2027 MFSRBF event.
There were 18 young competitors in the Junior Section, who were placed into the colour groups alongside the Ladies competitors and the Open competitors and completed all the challenge sections alongside their more experienced teammates.
For their final section, they were challenged with cutting and working up to three head of stock in a two-minute showcase of their horsemanship skills under the watchful eye of the legendary cutting horse trainer, Phil Webb.
The Times caught up with Jack’s Dad, Dan Lindley, who said Jack is pretty proud of his achievement.
“It’s a massive achievement for Jack, being just 16 years old. He’s got a couple of years left in the Juniors, but he is pretty proud of it. He also had his sister beside him, which is even better, and it’s a bit of a thrill for us to have had them both 1st and 2nd place,” said Dan.
“It’s a massive achievement for him; there are lots of good kids up there competing. It is hard to put into words how proud Viv and I are of the kids, and the work and effort they put in and the results they are getting,” said Dan.
“Jack’s focus at the moment is bull riding, and he sort of does the competition as a bit of a challenge and a little bit of fun. He’s not that serious of a competitor, but he likes to compete with his mates, and if something works, it works, and that’s the attitude that seems to be working for him,” said Dan.
“For now, the next thing for Jack is that there are a few rodeos coming up that he is keen to get to, and he is also mad keen on footy, too,” said Dan. “As for the challenges, the next one is in springtime up in Murrurundi.”
“Jack is named after his great-grandfather Jack Lindley, who was a very, very renowned Stockman and Cattleman around the place, so to have his name up in lights again and carrying on his legacy is pretty special.”
Jack is also going to be working on trying to qualify for the World Junior Finals again in the States for bull riding and bronc riding next year.
The ‘Man From Snowy River Bush Festival’ event is the biggest Stockman’s Challenge event in Australia, with over 6,500 spectators through the doors every day, which is huge for Corryong.
“To get to compete in front of those size crowds is a big achievement too,” said Dan. “It is the biggest Jack would have competed in front of before.”
A Man From Snowy River Bush Festival spokesperson said, “All the young competitors did an outstanding job in a big atmosphere. Congratulations to Jack and to the other finalists and all the Junior competitors, your skills shone throughout the three days of competition, and it was a thrill to see you all competing to such a high standard at the biggest challenge event in the country.”
Final placings were:
Jack Lindley and ‘The Lethal Advisor’ 610pts
Claire Lindley and ‘Yaven Moore Chrome’ 588pts
Ned Hagon and ‘Diamond R Jaffa’ 553pts
Josh Parker and ‘Chiqita’ 536pts
Cooper Fitzgerald and ‘Midnight Run’ (aka ‘Ziggy’) 494pts
Emily Flint
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