Andrew McCarthy has spent more than a decade combining his two loves — horses and the ocean — while putting a sleepy beachside town firmly on Queensland’s tourism map.

Thousands of people from “all over the world” have felt the waves splash over them at Rainbow Beach while riding bareback on one of the stockman’s 20 beloved horses.

The trail rides in the Gympie region had been a spiritual experience for some, Mr McCarthy said.

“I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ Thinking we’d done something wrong.

“And she was just crying because the beauty of it.”

But after 12 years of showing visitors the blue water and coloured sands of Rainbow Beach — the self-titled “surfing stockman” is hanging up his reins.

“Last ride is the end of October this year,” Mr McCarthy said.

“Horses have got a brain and nerve endings, so it’s just a long time doing that.”

Busy from day one

Mr McCarthy said he could never have imagined how popular the trail rides would become when he started them.

“I was managing a cattle station in Western Australia, and I thought I was never going to make it as a professional surfer, so I thought the next best option was riding a horse up and down the beach,” he said.

“I had visions of doing not many horse rides and going surfing in-between … but that’s never happened.

“We’ve just been busy from day one, before we even opened we had people ringing, willing to do a ride.”

Mr McCarthy has also taught horse riding enthusiasts the art of horsemanship on his cattle farm at Goomboorian.

Australian country music singer Tania Kernaghan was a huge fan and regularly took part in the farm’s camps.

The country pub ride has also been a popular experience, with people allowed to drink a beer on horseback inside a brewery.

“Then you’ve got the beach full-moon rides, they are something special,” he said.

“A number of people have said that we’ve changed their life.”

Big shoes to fill

Visit Sunshine Coast chief executive Matt Stoeckel said Mr McCarthy had helped put the Rainbow Beach region on the map internationally.

“It is an experience that has been loved and appreciated by visitors from all over the world,” hesaid.

“There’s no doubt that Rainbow Beach Horse Rides has been a catalyst for its reputation as one of Australia’s most laid-back holiday destinations.

The tourism body’s chief said he was hopeful someone would fill the gap in the market.

“We just hope that someone sees the potential of the experience and comes in to fill their shoes,” Mr Stoeckel said.

Rising costs a challenge

Mr McCarthy said rising costs continued to be a challenge for small business owners.

“Like every every single business, it’s hard —costs are up, absolutely,” he said.

“We’ve not had a price rise in four and a half years.

“You go too high and it’s unaffordable, then you’ve got no business and you’ve got no income.”

Mr McCarthy said his next tough decision was working out which horses to keep.

“I can’t keep 20-odd horses,” he said.

“So it’s going to be very hard to part with them.”