Vanessa Receives Upgrade At Morgan Park.

After ten days “doing it rough” at Morgan Park, Aratula (Qld) rider and coach, Vanessa Craig (Pictured; Photo by Main Event Phtography) was “lucky enough to be offered a room in one of the demountables brought into the Park”.

“I brought a horse to compete at the Warwick CIC along with some of my pupils and just got stuck here”. Vanessa originally from near Manchester in the UK has stayed on at Morgan Park to look after her own and her pupil’s horses.

“Initially I slept in the back on my float in a swag for 10 days and then I borrowed a two man tent, but the three days of rain made that quite unpleasant. I was beginning to seize up, but am much better now after a massage. I will be staying until the end of the quarantine period to look after the horses, as my pupils have had to go back to school and to work.

“It keeps me busy as there is quite a lot to do especially in the beginning, when the horses were sick, it was quite full on. They were medicated twice a day and, with frequent temperature checks and bandaging, washing rugs and generally keeping my area clean, there is not much time for anything else.

“Most of the horses are getting over the flu now, but other problems are cropping up, like laminitis and tying up, with the horses being so confined in stables and small yards. My horses are just on hay and chaff and get walked every afternoon. They all have day yards and with the horses feeling better some are playing and fighting over the rails, which is a concern.

“I have not experienced EI outbreak in the UK, but I was there for the Foot and Mouth outbreak and this is not as serious as that. But it is certainly impacting on the equine industry and those people reliant on that industry for their income. I am an EFA and BHS coach and my partner is a farrier. We have an agistment, training and breaking business, so those lines of income are not available to us at the moment. We cannot take in the booked horses and those that are there are at a reduced rate.

“I have spoken to the Center Link person here about the government compensation and the claims we are able to make and they have been extremely helpful. I think everything that can be done is being done, or being worked on. But whatever happens, we’re event riders and we’re tough”.