Founder · Host · Horseman

Building quiet places in nature.

I'm Riley. I run Unwind Escapes, a hand-built glamping retreat 90 minutes from Sydney. Years of travel taught me what I wanted to build: something sustainable, something I cared about, on a piece of land worth the work.

See Unwind Escapes → Meet Riley
Riley Mackillop, founder of Unwind Escapes

My Story

Nature, built by hand.

I built Unwind Escapes from the ground up, literally. It started in 2022 with pallets from Bunnings, a basic deck, and a single bell tent on a historic cricket ground in the Dooralong Valley.

From there, thanks to the guests who kept coming back, we built a Geodesic dome, a Safari Tent, and now our most luxurious accommodation yet. The question driving every decision is the same: how do we break down the barriers to nature? Most of us live in cities, and these wild spaces are exactly where people want to be. Our job is to make them easy to reach, with all the comforts of home. No roughing it.

When I'm not hosting, I'm in the arena with Ronnie and Elaine, the two young showjumpers I'm bringing up through the grades. Five years competing as a professional showjumper in the USA taught me how to develop young horses properly, and I get to apply all of it here, to my own, on the same property guests come to stay on. It's not lost on me.

Riley,
FOUNDER OF UNWIND ESCAPES

Unwind Escapes

A retreat, built with care.

Glamping domes, safari tents, and lodges on twelve acres of bushland on the NSW Central Coast. Starlink across the property, air conditioning in every stay, and kangaroos on the lawn at dawn.

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Unwind Escapes property hero Luxury bed inside a glamping accommodation Geodesic dome interior Pine forest at Unwind Escapes Milky Way over the Lemon Tree property Redwood grove safari tent Illuminated Love sign at night Redwood Safari Tent exterior Check-in at The Burrow Redwood Safari Tent at Unwind Escapes Clubhouse at Unwind Escapes Redwood forest on the property

Team Mackillop

Meet the horses.

Two young showjumpers on the property, both early in their careers. One bred by my family, one off the racetrack. Both smart, honest, and coming up through the grades.

TM Christiano Ronaldo, showjumping
TM Christiano Ronaldo

"Ronnie"

Bred by the Mackillop family in 2018 and started by Steph, Penny and Jock in Terrey Hills. I took over his training in 2022, Steph brought him on through five, and I picked the reins back up in late 2024.

He jumps barefoot, goes in a snaffle, and has a quiet honesty in front of a fence that's hard to teach. Olympic silver medallist Chris Burton called him "an absolute ripper, very careful, very clever, very watchful."

28
Rounds in 2025
71%
Clear rounds
20M+
Social views
Ronnie's full profile →
SandDancer (Elaine), showjumping mare
SandDancer

"Elaine"

A 2019 Off-The-Track Thoroughbred mare, sired by Japanese powerhouse Maurice out of a Danasinga mare. Raced twice under the name Maurice Mymum before heading straight to Hayley Sutton in Dubbo for her re-education into showjumping.

Nicole Bowen and I bought Elaine together in early 2024. Nicole has since moved to Dubai, so Elaine now lives on the property with us and has been under my full-time ride since April 2025. She's one of those horses you can actually feel learning underneath you.

90%
4 faults or better (2026)
1.20m
Track height
6yo
Current age class
Elaine's full profile →

JumpOff

Making showjumping more fun to watch.

A friend and I built JumpOff to scratch our own itch. We wanted watching a Grand Prix to feel like being in the game, not just watching it. It grew into two things: a live prediction game you play along with as the class unfolds, and a weekly newsletter that hands you the whole sport in one read. Both are mine, both are running right now, and I'd love you in them.

The JumpOff game open on a phone at a live showjumping Grand Prix, scoring a Nailed It and a Legendary prediction

The Game, live now

Predict faults. Wager on time. Pick the podium.

This is the one I'm most excited about. Watching a Grand Prix is brilliant, but it's better when you've got skin in it. So now you do. You watch the class live, at the show or on the stream, and call each round in real time, against your friends and against the crowd.

  1. 1Scan a QR on screen or in the program. No app, no account for guest play, free.
  2. 2Before the horse reaches fence three, call the faults: 0, 4, 8, 12, or 16 plus.
  3. 3Add a double-or-nothing wager on time, and call eliminations or retirements.
  4. 4When it goes to a jump-off, pick the podium and climb the live leaderboard.
Nailed It faults correct +1
Legendary faults plus time wager +2
Elimination or retirement called +2
Jump-off, exact podium spot +2
Jump-off, right rider, wrong spot +1

Live leaderboards track rank, points, and accuracy as it happens, with private leagues for your barn, club, or sponsor alongside the public global boards. There is a class running right now. Come play one with me.

Play a live class → Free to play, guests welcome. No account needed.

The Newsletter, every Tuesday

The whole showjumping world, in one Tuesday email.

The newsletter is the steady companion to the game. Every Tuesday I send the full breakdown of every 5-star class from the week, then quick hits on the 4-star and 3-star shows, the industry news worth knowing, and a look ahead at the week coming. Instead of being drip-fed scattered articles and social posts, you get the whole sport in one easy, digestible read, with over a year of archives to dig through.

Read JumpOff.News →

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Get in Touch

Say hello.

Best for bookings, partnerships, or anything else worth a conversation.