18 February 2026. If you want to understand why our board is so invested in the work of BackTrack Youth Works, watch the documentary Backtrack Boys.
Directed by Catherine Scott, the 2018 documentary follows three boys — Zac, Tyson and Rusty — over two years as they join founder Bernie Shakeshaft's youth program on the outskirts of Armidale, NSW.
Facing a perilous course toward jail, the boys find their way through Shakeshaft's dog-jumping team, forming friendships and turning their wild dogs into national champions. But as inspiring as their progress is, trauma is never far away, and their survival and futures remain genuinely at stake.
“Keeping kids alive, out of jail and chasing their hopes and dreams”
The film won Best Documentary audience awards at both the Sydney Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival, and has been described as a moving, award-winning look at how training dogs for showjumping can heal some of Australia's most marginalised boys.
It's a powerful, honest look at the work our board saw firsthand on a recent site visit — highly recommended viewing for anyone who wants to understand what's at stake, and what's possible.
You can watch it for free via BackTrack's own website or on SBS on Demand here.
If you spend any time at BackTrack, one thing becomes clear fast: the dogs are everywhere. Not as a mascot or a sideline, but as a genuine part of how the organisation works with young people, every single day.