Our Supporters
Mel Baker - Navy Veteran and Retired Police
After serving in the NSW Police Force and the Police in New Zealand, Mel decided to join the Australian Navy at 41. While in the navy, she was subjected to extreme abuse, was medically discharged with post-traumatic stress injuries, depression and anxiety, and became homeless.
Through her work with the Thoroughbred and Veteran Welfare Alliance from 2015, she has regained her confidence and sense of purpose, and in 2019 published her book Painting Beauty with the Ashes and the prequel story of Scott’s work in Conflict to Hope.
Unfortunately, the stress and trauma that mounted over the years caused Mel’s physical health to deteriorate and she could no longer continue with the horses. Instead, she has given many hours to help behind the scenes with Scott and also helped Nick Barkla as his Associate Producer. Mel has gone on to produce her own award-winning short film about her younger life story.
Debbie and Daniel Dickson - owners of Dixieland Estate and Heartland Horse Farm
Owners of Dixieland Estate accommodation in Berrima and Heartland Horse Farm in Sutton Forest. Debbie and Daniel have enthusiastically supported Horse Aid since we were introduced in 2023. Their generosity with their time, resources, connections and energy knows no bounds.
They have together created a multitude of successful award-winning businesses that meet the demand of the community they serve. Daniel and Debbie’s love for people is evident in the way they operate their businesses and engage with people. They surround themselves with like-minded, passionate, enthusiastic and accountable people who share the same dreams, goals and drive.
Scott Brodie has been the Lead Horse Trainer at Heartland Horse Farm since August 2023 and provides performance horse training and riding instruction and is working with Daniel and Debbie to develop an Iberian Horse breeding program.
Caitlin Csbanko - Operations Manager & Assistant Horse Trainer
Operations Manager and Assistant Horse Trainer for Heartland Horse Farm, Sutton Forest NSW. Caitlin has been working with Scott Brodie for two years. She started riding at the age of nine and won money on the radio to buy her first horse. From there she has built a passion for dressage and starting young horses. Caitlin is also a qualified social worker–a field of care she was drawn to after spending five months in Africa as a volunteer when she was 18.
Bill Adam - ex-serving NSW Police Force
Bill was NSW Police Force for twenty years including eleven of those years in the NSW Mounted Police with Scott Brodie. Bill and Scott have subsequently worked together training security horses at the Australian Jockey Club and establishing the Racing NSW Thoroughbred Retraining Trust. Along the way Bill has mentored many volunteers and has worked with Scott to help our heroes through teaching horsemanship skills. Bill has competed internationally in Olympic wrestling and trained his own children to successfully compete internationally in Olympic wrestling and weight lifting.
He was drawn to horses as a child as his father had polo cross ponies.
Isaac Adams - Army Veteran
Isaac is a Horse Aid instructor who has been trained and mentored by Scott Brodie over the last eight years. He has the lived experience of being an Army Veteran having served in Afghanistan after joining the Army as an 18 year old and voluntarily discharging after five and a half years. The wellbeing Isaac has achieved while developing his own horsemanship skills have given him a great ability to connect with participants in the Horse Aid programs and give them support in their individual healing from service trauma.
Isaac and his wife Tempany and three children and a menagerie of animals live on a property in Atkinsons Dam, Queensland where he retrains off-the-track horses, teaches horsemanship and riding and pursues his own goals in equestrian sports. He regularly travels down from Queensland to Southern Highlands, NSW to help Horse Aid run the Five Day Residential programs
He has had the privelege to talk about his experience with horsemanship with ABC, SBS, Channel 9, Sky Racing, a podcast with Warwick Schiller and ABC Conversations.
Our Grants and Sponsors
Steadfast
"It is our absolute pleasure and privilege to partner with Horse Aid. The work and results that they achieve with our Veterans and service personnel is invaluable and seeing the results and great work return full circle to the horses is inspiring. We look forward to seeing this programme continue long into the future."
— The Steadfast Foundation.