Beloved Snowy Monaro horsewoman and equine educator Michelle O'Neill killed in horse accident

The Snowy Monaro community and the broader equine community has been rocked by the news of the sudden death of one of the nation’s leading equine trainers and educators, Michelle O’Neill, in a horse accident east of Bredbo on Wednesday (14 August).

Involved with horses all her life, Michelle O’Neill started out in the saddle with stock work on the family farm before her involvement broadened to Adaminaby, then Cooma pony clubs where she participated in everything from sporting to jumping, tent pegging to showing.

But it was dressage that won her heart for a while, not just for the involved training but for the connection Michelle could create with a horse. It was a discipline she took onto the competitive circuit with great success.

Michelle then changed tack and immersed herself in rodeoing, specialising in barrel racing and steer undecorating.

It was the love of the calm temperament of the quarter horse that led her to start breeding in the early 2000s and that interest would take her beyond the rodeo arena to campdrafting, western pleasure, reining and showing at halter.

Michelle, an experienced educator, taught clinics across the country and at her home through her business Cherry Tree Equine which was established in 2010 after she realised she was sick and tired of seeing people being disheartened by either poor horse selection or lack of guidance.

Originally, Cherry Tree Equine revolved around private lessons and retraining and selling horses. But over time the business grew to where it revolved around horsemanship clinics and online training through Cherry Tree Virtual, launched in 2023.

She had a strong reputation for instilling confidence in all her students by using both ground and ridden work; the same principles that enabled her to train many horses for herself and others.

A regular contributor to Australian Performance Horse Magazine, her knowledge was also honed in a question-and-answer column in HorseWyse Magazine with which she also co-produced a DVD titled “Please…Can I Have A Pony”.

Michelle rose to even greater national prominence as a presenter at the national equine showcase Equitana which began in 2012 with the Equitana HorseWyse Kids Interactive which continued in 2013 and 2014 and then in 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022 she was a presenter in her own right, with topics such as “Finding Your Ideal Equine Partner” and “Happy Trails”.

Michelle had a strong reputation for instilling confidence in all her students, her clinics covering her three basic principles of consistency, control and confidence using both ground and ridden work.

These same principles enabled her to train many horses for herself and others.

She often joked that if her horses had any holes in their training, there was no-one else to blame but herself.

According to NSW Police, emergency services were called to a property on Greenhills Road, Peak View at about 2:30 pm on Wednesday following reports of a workplace accident.

Officers attached to Monaro Police District attended the scene alongside NSW Ambulance paramedics and located the 49-year-old, who had suffered a horse kick to her head.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police established a crime scene and have commenced investigations, and the matter has been reported to the coroner and SafeWork NSW.

Tributes are pouring in as the news of Michelle’s death ripples across social media, led by her beloved barrel racing club, the Cooma Can Crushers, who said they simply would not exist without her.

They described Michelle as a greatly loved and admired horsewoman, competitor, friend, role model, mother, partner and daughter.

“She was an inspiration to many cowgirls and cowboys around Australia – young and old,” they said.

“She has done great things for the barrel racing and horse community in her years on this world – she is an irreplaceable loss. Her absence will be felt heavily by all.”