From then on, horses carried explorers who opened up the country to settlement. They carried Aboriginal mounted police, trained as ruthless killers of their own people. Horses, often fine stolen animals, carried bushrangers who ruled the roads and bailed up townships: 'gentleman' Matthew Brady, 'brave' Ben Hall and the towering, controversial Ned Kelly. Horses carried men to war. Some 120,000 horses were sent to World War I battlefields: only one was brought home. Horses helped build the nation, marshalling the great flocks and herds, helping to create its myths. As they have since the early days of the colony, they carry our bets and, like the mighty Phar Lap in the Depression days, they have the power to lift our spirits.