March 27, 2013
Former Kingaroy High School student Christian Bjelke-Petersen isn’t reining in his ambitions … but he has no intention of following his dad or grandad into politics, either
It’s horses which have grabbed the imagination of Christian, the oldest son of John and Karyn Bjelke-Petersen, of ‘Bethany’, outside Kingaroy.
Christian, 23, is currently studying a Certificate III in horsebreeding at the Longreach Pastoral College. It’s the latest step in a career around horses that has seen him doing contract work on horse studs and travelling regularly to Canada to work as a horseback mountain guide.
The focus of his studies at Longreach is on horsebreaking and training, but he’s also picking up some useful farrier skills along the way.
“We have always had horses around the property, especially when we lived in Central Queensland,” Christian told southburnett.com.au this week.
When Christian left school he wasn’t sure what career path to follow but he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be politics.
Then an opportunity opened up for him to do volunteer work as an outdoor leader at a “gap project” in Canada.
After that first year, Christian scored paid work in Canada taking young people on four-day horseback adventures to help them develop leadership skills.
So for the past five years, he’s been alternating between living in Australia, where’s he’s been doing contract farm work and helping out on ‘Bethany’, and Alberta in Canada.
His career with horses hasn’t been without drama.
He was working at Clive Palmer’s Cold Mountain Stud at Lowood when the 2011 floods devastated the Lockyer Valley. He spent hours stranded with workmates on a roof before being plucked to safety by a helicopter.
Christian’s been drawn to Longreach to improve his horsemanship even further.
He’s studying under well-known instructor John Arnold who has the reputation for producing excellent horsemen, including Dan James who has won the prestigious “Way of the Horse” and “Road To the Horse” competitions.
And Longreach has encouraged him to take up campdrafting; Christian finalled in his first Maiden draft while competing for the college on a college-bred horse.
In the short time that he’s been at Longreach, Christian’s definitely made an impression … he’s been named College Captain and is part of the Student Council.
In this role he’s been called on to make several speeches at various presentations and official events which he seems to have handled with ease.
So you never know, maybe the lure of public life could one day entice him out of the saddle if called upon …
