This is where the cowboy rides away: rest easy in the saddle Will

If that's the case, then Will Harrison was indeed born to be a cowboy.

Long before he could walk, he'd sit perched up on the front of the saddle with his horseman dad Steve.

He had balance - and bravado - even then.

His mum Tracey recalls the first and only time her son threw a monster tantrum was over a horse.

Two-year-old Will sat atop one of his dad's steeds at Barnawartha campdraft but as soon as he was taken down he went "berserk", Tracey says.

"He kicked and screamed and even bit the ground," she laughs.

"I think that was the first realisation of what he loved."

His beloved grandfather made young Will a small set of (very real) spurs that he insisted on wearing everywhere - even to preschool.

"The teacher soon told us he couldn't wear the spurs to preschool because they scratched the floor," Steve recounts.

Will got his first pony, 'Darky', when he was five and that's when the real antics began, older sister Georgia reveals.

Dressed in full cowboy regalia, he'd roar around their Moorwatha property, waving a cap gun and letting it off with a "bang", prompting his pony to shoot off in alarm.

As soon as the pony pulled up, Will would start the game all over again.

On any given day after school, Will would discard his uniform and transform into a cowboy, a Hussar or soldier in the Civil War cavalry.

He even went through a "Zorro stage", dressing up in a pair of his mother's old black tights and a cape, and brandishing a rather life-like sword ... although that ended in disaster when he carved a series of 'Z's all over the doors of a friend's house one fateful visit.

As he grew older, those childhood games might have changed but the horseback adventures would continue.

The Harrisons are gathered around their dining table with Will's partner Sarah Attwater.

Memories and mementos of Will are all around.

There's three belt buckles from his wins in junior Man From Snowy River challenges while several paintings depicting his time as a ringer up north lean against the wall.

Will was "larger than life" - and louder too, Georgia says.

Now, there's a devastating silence in the space where he used to be.

In the early hours of December 23, a sudden and severe asthma attack claimed 28-year-old Will's life.

His friends and loved ones are still reeling from the shock loss.

Will developed asthma as a child (his mum and sister have it too) and there had been several acute attacks that had seen him rushed to hospital over the years.

But his asthma was generally well managed through preventative medication, Tracey explains.

The night he died, the family had been together at a local Christmas party at Burrumbuttock and there was "no sign" he was unwell, according to his mum.

Sarah and Will both left early and went home to their place near Walbundrie.

Will woke Sarah at 1am and told her, "I'm wheezy" and said, "You'd better call Mum".

Sarah immediately bundled Will into the car and called an ambulance, intending to meet them on the way to hospital.

But Will's condition deteriorated at a frighteningly rapid rate.

"I knew it was bad by the way Will was panicking," Sarah says.

Nine minutes down the road, Will became unresponsive and Sarah was told to stop and start CPR.

It would take about 25 minutes for the ambulance to reach them.

"I kept doing CPR until the ambos pushed me off," Sarah says.

Tracey says her son's death is a devastating reminder that asthma is a condition that can kill.

"There's not a lot of awareness about how dangerous it is," she says.

The family is urging people to have an appropriate emergency action plan in place, to know their condition and to have medication on hand - particularly if they live in a rural or remote area.

William Henry Harrison was born on July 25, 1995.

He went to Burrumbuttock primary school and later Murray High.

It was a battle to get him to Year 10, Tracey admits.

He was "super smart" but school and the irrepressible Will just weren't a match, she reflects.

He much preferred lessons from the school of life, and there have been many people (mainly horsemen and women he respected) who spent hours mentoring Will over the years.

Will spent a stint as a ringer working in far north Queensland from 2015, the lure of the vast expanse of the outback and long days in the saddle chasing cattle were irresistible to this wild young cowboy.

He made many friends up north and there are priceless memories of riding broncs, chasing pigs and partying but the longing for home and family brought him back to the district as COVID hit in 2021.

He worked locally on a few properties but "machinery was not his thing", Georgia reveals.

It was Swan Hill horseman Brook Hazlett who advised Will to start working for himself, to break in his own horses and use his skills as a farrier to earn a reliable income.

Will was happy and had settled down with Sarah and her three boys, his family says.

The pair had re-connected on his return from Queensland.

Sarah recalls Will rocked up on their first official date in full cowboy gear with a bottle of whiskey, a block of Caramello chocolate and flowers.

It would remain one of their favourite past-times - eating chocolate together and drinking whiskey straight up.

"He told me he loved me 50 times a day," Sarah says.

"He was an amazing uncle and great step-daddy.

"Really he was a large kid ... there are still Nerf bullets in our shower.

"But he never stopped being a cowboy."

Will was renowned for his stories, incessant talking and encyclopedic knowledge of history, particularly anything horse-related - from the Wild West to the British Empire.

As children, he and Georgia would re-watch Disney's The Road to El Dorado for hours on end.

And nothing had given him greater pride recently than acquiring his first Andalusian horse, which he promptly named Altivo from their adored childhood cartoon.

Throughout his teenage years Will was gifted horses other people didn't want or "couldn't do much with".

He'd get them going, picking up tips and tricks along the way and quenching his insatiable thirst for knowledge with noted horse trainers - and a heck of a lot of reading and googling up stuff on You Tube!

His dad was his first teacher - and will forever remain his hero and best mate.

Steve scrolls through text messages sent to him by his son.

There's pictures of antique spurs, saddles he found on eBay, horses to buy or sell and snippets of interesting history he'd uncovered.

They talked endlessly about horses ... well, Will would do a lot of the talking, and Steve would listen.

"He'd ring and even if you were flat out with work, he'd be on for a chat," his dad says.

"Sometimes he'd talk and I'd say, 'Yeah, that's right' and another hour later when there was a gap, I'd say it again."

A typical message or chat would always end with "Love ya Dad" and the response, "I love you too mate".

One of the fondest memories Steve will hold dear is walking a mob of cattle to Walbundrie with Will only a few months ago.

Tracey's eyes fill with tears as she describes a beautiful boy who gave "the biggest hugs" and equally effusive compliments.

"Come here you gorgeous thing!" and "Love ya Mumsy" were standard fare when Will was around.

"Just the lift in your heart when you saw him pulling up - even if he couldn't stay for long," Tracey reflects.

Georgia can still hear her brother's voice.

"He was so beautifully loud," she says.

From a very young age, Will's happiest place was on a horse.

He'd saddle up and head off for an hour, relishing some alone time.

There were also a few midnight rides across the countryside as a lad that his Mum didn't know about.

"There was a loop they always did with the horses, I'd sit outside and you could hear Will singing or talking on the phone on his horse - you'd hear him long before you could see him," Tracey reflects.

"I'll miss seeing him come up the laneway ..." she adds, her voice breaking.

Will packed a lot in to his short life - and for this, his family will be forever thankful.

That he lived and loved - with a debonair, old-fashioned charm that was rare to see.

The heartache lies in the dreams and plans he made that won't see the light of day.

For this is where the cowboy rides away.