We flew from Nashville to Buffalo via Chicago and when we arrived at the airport we saw Alice waiting for us. She was very lovely and we picked up some groceries from a bulk store on the way to the ranch and the store was massive with soo much food, wish we had something like that in Longreach. We arrived at the ranch at about 5:30pm and met a few of the girls who have horses here and help out and a man named Todd who would be teaching us everything we need to know (Todd has barely any front teeth and told me he attempted the GED(yr12 Cert) 6 times and still hasn't passed it), he is very nice though and him and his daughters are always here even until after dinner at night so it has been nice getting to know them. Our first morning we were told to meet around 8 to start work so we got up early and headed up to the main house for breakfast but noone was awake so we went back to our room and waited for Todd to arrive and tell us what to do, he arrived just before 9 so it is all pretty relaxed here. The first morning feed schedule of the 33 horses seemed pretty intense with the horses all having different diets and the hardest part is not even knowing which horse is which, there is even a horse here with diabetes. It takes about an hour and a half to get all the horses fed and then we headed to the house for breakfast, she had lots of food and even made waffles and they love to sit around and talk. After breakfast we headed back out and Jesse learnt to drive the tractor to take out round bails and we drove the 3wheeler around to the stables to scoop all the poop which was a good workout, we had to get it done on the first day though becuase snow was forecast for the next couple of days. They said they have had a pretty mild winter and most of the snow has melted in the paddock where the horses are which turns them all to mud and makes it hard and messy to walk through, you also have to break the ice on the top of the horses water every morning so the horses can drink. Alice drove us into the salvo's to get some 2nd hand clothes for work which was great because we weren't prepared for all the mud or for how cold it would be. Jesse has been a handy man and been doing different carpentry jobs around the place which they are very pleased with. On our first day we also had our first riding lesson which was a safety and bareback lesson and they are going to teach us western style which should be interesting. We are living in the barn in a great room with an awesome heater and everything we need (including 134 chanels on the T.V, not that we get much time to watch it). Alice feeds us very well and there is always fruit and snacks out for us and the dinners are fantastic, one night we had steak, prawns, salad, baked potates and bread and desert was berry pie with ice-cream and whipped gream (its really good to have some home cooked food instead of all the take-out). Alice runs the ranch and cares for her elderly mother and on our second night here Alice took us all to a little movie theatre nearby and even paid for our tickets wich was lovely. We had our second riding lesson and went on a little trail ride but it is soo cold that you can only ride for about half an hour because your feet go numb. On our third day after the horses morning feed we went skiing at Holiday valley ski resort for the day which was great and I can't believe we are getting to do so much during the day because I thought we would have to work all day but as long as we get our jobs done we are free to do whatever we want. Alice gives us a list in the morning of what needs to be done and she has been very pleased with us as we are the first Aussies she has had here and apparently our work ethic is better than anyone elses and she said she has had some really lazy people there lately. Alice and her mother also think Jesse is a gentleman so are quite fond of him. So far we are really enjoying it here although I am struggling with the cold but the horses are great and the people are lovely and hopefully it warms up soon.