Attention has been focused on grand national gestures being made for drought relief recently but a number of individuals and groups are quietly making a difference and touching lives with their thoughtfulness as well.
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Each of them involves horses in one form or another.
One is Racing Victoria, which has adopted Aussie Helpers as a beneficiary in its $135,000 spring racing carnival charity drive.
For the duration of the carnival, which got underway at Underwood Stakes Day at Caulfield at the end of September, jockeys and trainers will be representing a number of charities.
Racing Victoria will donate $1000 each week to the nominated charity of both the jockey and trainer who accumulate the most points on each race day across the spring premiership. This rises to $25,000 for the premier spring jockey and trainer at the end of the carnival.
Trainers Peter Moody and David Hayes are amongst those in the Aussie Helpers “team”, along with jockeys Damien Oliver and Hugh Bowman.
Described on the program as having a goal to help fight poverty in the bush, Aussie Helpers’ founder Brian Egan was invited to Caulfield for the launch and to speak to media in Victoria about the plight of graziers in Queensland and northern New South Wales.
”I did so many TV interviews in Melbourne I thought I was the Prime Minister,” Mr Egan said. “People down there are looking at racetracks two inches thick with rye grass and they didn’t realise things were so serious up here, but they wanted to help.
“It could earn us up to $40,000.”
Feeding horses
Gunnedah stock feed producer Pryde’s EasiFeed has donated seven tonnes of its product to drought-affected families from Blackall to Julia Creek, a gesture that has been welcomed with open arms by the many people keeping children’s ponies and station horses alive.
“We’ve had tremendous support from that part of the world,” principal Peter Pryde said. “It wasn’t a hard decision to make.”
The feed was sold at greatly discounted rates by the outlets at Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton and Julia Creek.
One of them, Steve Eussen from Central West Rural said the one tonne sent to him lasted two days, even though he limited it to two bags a person.
“The post about this on social media had 41,000 hits – there was a very positive response,” he said.
Stan’s generosity
One of the bush’s great friends, Kenilworth horse trainer Stan Johnson undertook his own bush rescue at the Longreach Cup race meeting, offering racehorses, pearls and kindness in equal measure.
He raised $2400 for the Longreach Jockey Club when he donated Craiglea Vito for auction. The three-year-old colt was purchased by grassfed Hughenden jockey Tom Delahunty during the 125th anniversary celebrations.
Stan then went on to share 10 sets of pearl necklaces made by wife Marilyn with Longreach School of Distance Education home tutors, and to present two more sets to LSODE liaison officer Deanne Jones and Jockey Club committee member Leanne Luck, to thank them for their help.
He was supported by the Kenilworth Krafters, Gympie Lions, RSL women’s auxiliaries, the Hervey Bay Quilters and the RNA, raising money for the 2016 LSODE school musical.
This is on top of the donation of 120 iPads to distance education students to take their schoolwork out to the paddock on days that they are needed outside to help with drought feeding or water runs.
“People are desperate,” he said. “Whatever we can do to help, that’s what we’ll do.”
