ride4acure

Am riding out of Armidale in the morning. Leaving the stables at 8.15 and riding past O’Connor Colllege at 8.30am then onto the other side of Armidale to visit Martin’s Gully School and say hi to the kids with the horses. Then down the Uralla Road to Uralla to briefly visit with St Joseph’s Primary School. They have a donation to contribute to ride4acure and I’m calling in to receive it.

Am aiming to be at Uralla by 2.30pm. willl have the horses at the Uralla showgrounds for the night. Am having a very early start on Saturday morning for Bendemeer with a big day of 47kms. while in Armidale I’ve visited Chandler School, Ben Venue Primary School, Oconnor College and Martin Gully Primary. Also had a couple of functions at University of New England with Rural Health/Graduate Nurse group of about 60 students. On Tuesday night also presented as guest speaker to the Armidale Rotary Club and then also met today with local Independant MP Richard Torbay. Have had a very busy few days here which has been fantastic. Also gave an interivew to Prime TV and the local paper Armidale Express.

Am looking forward to being back on the road. Weather is getting much cooler with the last few mornings frosty with  top temperature during the day of around 20 degrees. Have a new warm beannie for wearing on the frosty mornings and it doubles as a neck and ear warmer I can wear with my Akubra! I look like  a soft version of Ned Kelly with it on! Will take a photo and put it up here! Very unique look for sure.

riding the big hill.

The tablelands have welcomed us ride4acure Trekkers. Last night at about 5pm after a very wet afternoon of riding down Waterfall Way, I rode into Justin Blanches Racing Training Centre on the edge of Armidale, out of the rain and into a big roomy dry barn. Meg had never gone inside a barn before but she was happy to get out of the rain. Justin has a great complex, and Meg, Wrangler and Billy have a big roomy dry sandy covered area with a great grassy paddock, plus plenty of hay and feed. They’ve done such a great job to get this far, and I reckon coming across the Great Divide was some of the most demanding riding we’ll do. Got the toughest out of the way first I reckon.  The Armidale to Kempsey road has some of the most stunning country I’ve ever seen. Massive gorge country, majestic Macleay River, Georges Creek, cliffs etc, truly incredible and wild.

Goat Track Day 3

I have had the privelege of staying with such fantastic people. Ian Flood (old friendand neighbour from Moparrabah)  in Bellbrook and Ross Foster provided me with a good little paddock. Then 2nd night atMaryanne and Peter Simpson at Smiths Flat with a delicious roast lamb dinner and a cold XXXX Gold to wash it down!

Leaving Smiths Flat Day 3

Next night saw me reach Georges Ck at Neil and Sandy Booths amazing  “Top Hut’ right on Georges Ck. Had a great little paddock right at the hut for the horses and every time I’d move the horses would be looking through the window for me! The biggest challenge there was leaving, I could easily have stayed, it’s such beautiful country and such a cosy hut to camp in with solar power and the best open fire I’ve ever seen! Can fit a strainer post in there! I lit her up and had to sit 5 metres back as it was so hot! Neil and Sandy offer their cabins for hire and can reached on 0265 678 230. I’d highly recommend their Georges Creek Huts if your looking for an authentic holiday destination.  There’s also top notch bass fishing on your doorstep.

Top Hut at Georges Ck horses with nosebags on.

Myself, Emma and Sharon on our way to Jeogla. Held up with road works on Big Hill.

I left Booths on Thursday morning and had Neil and Sandy’s daughter Emma Rossiter and Sharon McIver ride with me to Jeogla where I stayed the night with Charlie and Linda Frizell. Hannah was a great mate of the Frizzel family and we’d met up with them on and off over the years at Junior Rodeos and Campdrafts. I left Charlie and Linda’s at 8am on Friday and Sharon joined me for the ride to Chandler Public School  (Woolomombi) about 12kms away where I was greeted by the whole school (about 20 kids) and gave the “Mela-What?” presentation to an enthusiastic group with 3 Mums also present. Lee Rose the acting Principal and Kate made us a deliscious lunch and the horses enjoyed many carrots the kids had bought to school for them. The students raised $51 with an out of uniform day and made a donation to ride4acure. Yesterday on Anzac day I left the Divall family farm on Stockton Rd and with Andy and the boys we rode horses into Hillgrove to the 8am Anzac service. 

Hillgrove Anzac ceremony with Divall familyHillgrove with Divall family Anzac Day

 It was a significant start to the day. Andy, Kelly and I then rode down to Chinamans Gully (a shortcut) had a morning tea break, then I rode on for another 5 hours to Armidale.

My horses are having a well deserved break until Thursday at Justin Blanches. I’m down with them in the morning to feed and rug, then have functions at schools, University of New England, Rotary Dinner tomorrow night and also the local MP Richard Torbay. Doing a radio interview in the morning at 7.30am.

The challenges with the horse trek is packing up, keeping things as light as possible, and packed well. It’s a big job getting the load right. Getting it wrong can have catastrophic results for my horses. My horses health and well being is so important as healthy horses will get me to Melbourne on time. I take it one day at a time and don’t think to  far ahead. Having said that I’m about to jump in a car and head off for a drive along the Tamworth Road. ride4acure has raised approximately $6 500 since the trek kicked off which is brilliant. Also received half a dozen cattle donations along the way! I am constantly humbled by peoples generosity. yesterday a lady made a $50 donation on the roadside and shared her story of an early stage melanoma being removed from her face. Everyday I meet people who are ‘dancing’ with melanoma and living with the uncertainty that comes with that.

Billy, Wrangler and Meg are having a well earned rest day today at Neil and Sandy Booths property at Georges Creek. I’m staying in a fantastic Hut right on the Creek and it is awesome. I have some great photo’s I will put up soon.  I have been out of phone range since I left home and will be until next Sunday! Go Telstra.  My horses  have  been working hard since last Saturday when we left home and rode the 30kms into Willawarrin to start off on the trek on Sunday. The night at Willawarrin was fantastic and a huge crowd were there to support ride4acure. Overall $5 500 was made over the weekend for the Hannah Rose Melanoma Research Fund.  A massive thank you to Aimee and Todd Wilson for hosting the ride4acure fundraiser at the Willawarrin Hotel and to all the fantastic generous businesses who donated goods for both the auction and also the BBQ at Bellbrook. Kempsey Stock and Lands Laurie Argue did another fantastic job with the auction, buying the ‘sell’ of the night for himself the Carlton Party Pack! 

Sunday morning kicked off with a donation of $1500 from the Sussman Foundation (collective of three local Rotary Clubs) to ride4acure, and also Father Peter Richards gave a moving Blessing of the Horses to start the trek. While we were gathered, 30 horse riders in a ‘horseshoe’ out the front of the Willawarrin Hotel, Coggie Wilshusen gave us a ‘on the spec’ poem that was brilliant.  As we rode along Armidale Road many motorists gave donations and we were also ‘seranaded’ by an enthusiastic local playing a beautiful peice on his piano accordian for us as all the riders processed past his farm gate. Lots of people came out to say Hi and give us a wave.

Sunday night  Joe and I stayed in Bellbrook with an old friend Ian Flood (ex Moparrabah) and Ross and Joan Foster from Bellbrook kindly let me put my horses in their paddock. Monday night Joe and I rode 30 kms to Smith’s Flat and stayed with friends from pony club Maryanne and Peter Flately.  We rode in in the rain (it rained the first three day! on and off) got the horses bedded down for the night and then had a beautful lamb roast for dinner, baths and into bed!

I have collected another $50 in donations yesterday just riding along  as I rode over the “Goat Track” aka Armidale Road. Also a donation of livestock for our ride4acure cattle sale on August 21st in Kempsey.

I have walked a couple of kms and went barefoot through three mountain creeks to get to Neil& Sandy Booth’s house this morning to get on their computer to update the blog! Now that’s dedication guys! And guess what here I am finally online and I’ve come without my computer cord to download photo’s for you! Next time. I am staying in the most fantastic hut on the creek that is available as a holiday cabin. Will post photo’s of it soon.

If your keen you can go to facebook and Esther has downloaded photo’s from the first day onto our facebook ride4acure group. There’s also a link there for ABC interview and photo’s.  The Mid North Coasts ABC Rural Reporter Kim Honan, rode with us the first day 23 kms from Willawarrin to Bellbrook and did an awesome job. I do think her muscles may’ve been a little sore the next day or two though!

Tomorrow I head off and am riding to Jeogla to stay with good friends of Hannah’s the Frizzel family and then into Hillgrove on Friday visiting the Chandler School on the way.  Sharon McIver and Emma Rossiter are riding with me for a couple of days as far as Chandler School.  Sunday I will ride into Armidale.

I find the most challenging part of the day the packing up of a morning. Saddling three horses and balancing all the packs is a big job.  And knowing that if I don’t get things right it could cause Billy to get a sore back which is to be avoiced at all costs. The horses and myself,  remaing sound is my top priority.  Lifting the packs all weighing over 20kgs each up to my shoulder height, Billy is 15.2hh so I’ve gotta lift it up to my shoulder to get it on the hooks. Then to top it off the big blue pack goes even higher up with all my camping gear in it above the green packs! Lucky that bike ride last year gave me muscles in my ear lobes!

The ride through the upper Macleay has been magnificent, stunning gorge and river country, windy narrow mountain passes, very single lane! Two more days and I’m over the Great Divide and onto the Western side of the ranges.

Joe rode with me up til yesterday on Gruggie, who was Hannah’s very first horse! Gruggie was very happy to have three great days riding and was happy as anything, I swear he was smiling! Said to Joe I think he’d like to go all the way to Melbourne!

Joe’s home with his Dad and gone in today to Kempsey Show, then back at school from tomorrow. Joe will be joining me for different legs of the trek, next time I’ll see him is June 2nd at Narranderra, then again  June 29th the last week of the trek. He’s such a great kid, and is totally dedicated to  ride4acure.

ride4acure’s first meeting for the day was in Kempsey with State MP Andrew Stoner.

Andrew Stoner MP and Maura Luxford Kempsey 9 April 2010

Andrew is very supportive of ride4acure and is keen to help where he can and intends to mention ride4acure and the issue of adolescent melanoma in parliament. Andrew has always been involved in the local community and over the years as I’ve taken my kids to compete at horse events I have seen him at many of our local rodeo’s, campdrafts and shows.

118 days of training can fly that’s what I’ve discovered. with only 10 days left to ‘play’ with organising, planning, phoning, mailing, emailing, writing letters by hand (yes I do that too when needed!), lobbying sponsors, seeking donations for auction etc.  and of course doing the miles in between all the above with my horses. We’re off on  a 30km training ride this morning (6 hours of riding) then back to the computer. Riding is my relaxation, when I’m in the saddle everything else falls away, slows down and comes into focus. I have loads of time to ponder things and plan! Some of my best ideas come while I have my bum in the saddle!

Last night had a snapshot of ride4acure on Prime News filmed at Willawarrin at the Rodeo grounds and the main street. Hannah was a member of Willawarrin Pony club for ten years, and also rode each year in May at Willawarrin Campdraft. This year on 2nd May the Hannah Rose Memorial Encouragement Campdraft (Trophy kindly donated by Coggie and Linda Wilshusen) will be held as part of the weekend of the Annual Willawarrin Campdraft on 1 & 2 May, incidentaly the 2nd May is Hannah’s 22nd Birthday. http://portmacquarie.iprime.com.au/index.php/news/prime-news/saddle-up-for-charity-video,344841

Am meeting with our local MP Mr Andrew Stoner tomorrow to brief on ride4acure and doing the rounds of business who have pledged donations for the auction at Willawarrin Hotel next Saturday (17th April) night to pick up items. There are some fantastic things on the auction  list guys. Two stallion services, two shirts sent out from USA by Pete Farley (Pro Bull Rider),  farmstay, sculptures, Carlton Party Pack, meal vouchers and much more. If you have items you’d like to donate please contact me or drop at Willawarrin Hotel or Silver Dollar Saddlery in Smith St (next to Subway) Kempsey.

This weekend am doing a 60km round trip campout with my 11 year old son Joe. We’re riding into Willawarrin on Saturday from Moparrabah for Joe to ride at ponyclub on Sunday. Joe will be joining me for the first few days of the trek over the ‘goat track’, aka….Armidale Rd with the stunning and amazing views of the Macleay River.