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Saturday 1st March
Everyone struggled to rise early this morning after a very late function last night, and everyone around camp seemed a little tired.
Today’s destination was the rodeo at Rockley, which had been postponed from last weekend due to the much welcome rain.
Bruce, Dale and Ian headed across first, taking the most direct, albeit rough, route. Dan, Caroline, Luke, Col, Tim, Jimmy, Bianca followed a little later, taking a smoother road across through Newbridge.
The day at Rockley was much cooler than we anticipated, and an icy wind chilled everybody in the team throughout the day. We have been a little spoilt by the mild weather all the way down, but as autumn is officially kicking off today, it makes sense that things are turning cooler. Due to the cooler day, our merchandise sold very well, especially shirts and vests.
Tim had a blinder of a day with saddle raffle tickets, selling about eighty five-dollar tickets in the crowd. Lucas and Dan also sold a heap of stubby holders around the bar, and the CD sales were also excellent.
Ian borrowed the video camera for a couple of hours and shot some good video footage of some of the bigger rides and falls of the day.
After a long and bitterly cold day, and raising close to $4000.00, the crew from the rodeo decided to head to the Hang Sing restaurant in Blayney for dinner.
But this in itself was almost a debacle, as two of the vehicles were desperately low on fuel, and there were no service stations open on Saturday afternoon! After taking it VERY easy across to Blayney, one of the local service stations was kind enough to open especially for the team, so that both the support vehicles could be refuelled.
On arriving a the Hang Sing, it was a unanimous decision to indulge in the $18 banquet – and what a magnificent way to end the day; a nice warm restaurant, with Dan, Caroline, Luke, Col, Tim, Jimmy, Bianca, Bruce, Dale and Ian all enjoying a brilliant meal and each others company.
Meanwhile, back at Cowra, Yola and John rode their horses to the local Rugby match, at the invitation of the host club, and raised around $2000 for the day in Art Union ticket and merchandise sales.
The rodeo crew made it back to camp by 10.30pm, finding Mark, Leanne and Norm had arrived from Grenfell.
After a very long day, everyone was exhausted and happy to be in a warm bed.
Sunday 2nd March
The team and guest riders departed at 9.00am from the showgrounds, aiming to cover thirty kilometres, half-way to Grenfell.
The Cowra Pony Club arrived en masse and joined us for the first part of the ride out to the local beach on the Lachlan River, and although the breeze was very cool, everyone had a very enjoyable ride.
A few of the riders lived along our planned route, so they continued on with us whilst the remainder of the club headed back to their grounds. Hamish, the youngest rider we have ridden with yet at four years of age, rode a full 25 kilometres unled along the road’s edge, happily singing to himself for much of the way!
A group from Grenfell, who had planned and organised our visit to the town, also joined us for the ride out. It was off our planned route, but a chance meeting with Mark back in Bathurst had changed that. Mark, Leanne, Harry and Norm accompanied us and then camped with the horses overnight, whilst a majority of the crew returned to camp the night in Cowra. Col stopped with the Grenfell riders and enjoyed a cool night adjacent to a small reserve area on the roadside.
Besides Col, the rest of team returned to Cowra in the late afternoon and the Council was very nice in opening up the Council depot (thanks Danny!) to allow our vehicles to be refuelled, ready to continue on the journey south.
A small drama occurred in the middle of the night, when Mark’s horses escaped from their taped enclosure, necessitating a few minutes of frantic chasing to get them safely off the road and secured again.
Monday 3rd March
After the riders drove out from Cowra to the horses, they saddled and the team and guest riders rode out at 9.00am, bound for Grenfell. "Atlantis", who had been left behind to be loaded onto one of the trucks, managed to release himself from being tied, but thankfully Caroline, Biance and John were close by and retrieved him.
It was perfect weather for riding, far removed from the really hot days up north. The team had to make very good time, covering the thirty-two kilometres to Grenfell in three and a half hours, to be ready for the street parade that took place at 12.30pm.
Mark and Leanne had organised the showgrounds for the team to camp, and once the parade was finished the riders made their way directly up to the grounds. The horses were placed in a large taped off enclosure, fed and watered.
In the evening the crew, along with our newest great friends, Mark and Leanne, headed down to the Albion Hotel to watch a private screening of the Man from Snowy River arena spectacular video on the pub’s big screen, and the crew agreed that the show was one of the greatest Australian musical extravaganzas off all time. Caroline was the only person in the crew who had seen the show live, and everyone else in the team had been on the road out in western Queensland when the show’s season wound up.
Some of the team stuck around for a beer and an impromptu inter-team pool challenge, before heading off back to the showgrounds.
Tuesday 4th March
As the team had not intended to travel to Grenfell on the original route, no events or functions had been pre-planned during our stay. Mark and Leanne had organised a bus trip for the team out to Ben Hall’s cave in the Weddin Ranges.
Terry, our bus driver for the day, arrived at 10.30am and the team boarded for a tour with Bruce, the local history expert, conducting the tour. The sojourn also included a trip to Jim Seaton’s farm, a remarkable tribute an earlier time in Australian rural life and testimony to the resourcefulness and resilience of some of the settlers of last century.
On returning to camp, Col branded Akta-Vite, the Brahman calf, and the remainder of his unbranded horses with the "CAC" brand.
Tonight also saw a fantastic evening at the exchange hotel, again mostly organised by Mark and Leanne, and they had organised a great spit roast lamb and camp oven roast ducks! A good number of locals came to support the evening and the bidding for some of the charity auction items was very spirited.
Terry (our bus driver earlier in the day) and his wife Deidre impressed everyone with their rock’n’roll dancing skills, displayed whilst Dan was belting out an excellent set of early classics.
After another pretty late night, the crew headed back to camp, knowing that tomorrow would herald another very busy day.
Wednesday 5th March
The team jumped in the support vehicles today to drive across to West Wyalong to sell our Art Union tickets, which resulted in sales totalling some $3000.00.
The town has suffered at the hands of the drought, however it is bouncing back with the confidence that always abounds when feed starts growing again after getting some decent rains of late.
Tim, Bruce, Dan, Caroline and Lucas headed back to Grenfell after lunch where Luke and Tim continued selling tickets. Dan took the opportunity to head to the Albion Hotel to take care of some faxing.
Bianca, Col, Ian, John and Yola continued finished selling tickets to businesses and people in West Wyalong.
On returning from the trip, most of the team was scattered about town doing different jobs. Caroline and Col cooked another brilliant baked dinner, which everyone enjoyed. Col headed out to Mark and Leanne’s place to have a look at the property and horses
Thursday 6th March
An early start this morning, heading out at 7.30am on the 26 kilometre ride to the half way point to Young.
A total of seven guest riders, including our now great friends Mark, Leanne and Harry, started the journey, but only Mark and Leanne rode the entire distance to the campsite, which was located on Bulla Creek. The campsite was great for the horses, and although the creek was not running, there was a really good amount of pick to be had along the creek banks. The drought has not been as long lasting or severe around here and this is evident by the fact that the roadsides have not been flogged out in recent history.
Dan and Caroline returned to Grenfell to check the new concert advertisement video and the concert poster layout, and make any necessary corrections.
Ian got a lift back to town with Leanne and her grandfather, selling two Art Union tickets along the way. Leanne had to work and feed up her horses before heading back to the campsite again with Ian, and she had organised to call out to pick up some donated chaff from the chaff mill on the way out.
John, who owns and operates the chaff mill, was kind enough to donate thirteen bags of chaff and also bought another Art Union ticket from Ian, making a very valuable contribution all round.
The people of Grenfell, and especially Mark, Norm and Leanne, certainly made the team welcome and supported the ride in any way they could during our stay.
Late in the afternoon, Dan, Col and Tim decided it was time for a trim in the hair department, so the clippers (with the number 1 guide attached) were passed around, and fairly soon there were three more "skinheads" in camp. Lucas did not get in on the act, as he reckoned that short hair "does not really suit him", and Ian reckoned that he could hold off for a couple more days. It was funny seeing Dan with short hair again, as it had grown quite long over the course of the ride so far.
Friday 7th March
Colin and Bianca rose early and rode out of camp at 6.30am, so as to enjoy a nice steady ride into town. The rest of the riders headed out from camp at 8.00am after Leanne had made a relatively early departure to head back to Grenfell and work commitments. Mark again saddled up to join us for the ride into Young.
The riders arrived in Young with over an hour to spare before the planned 12.30pm street parade, so made their way directly to the showgrounds to prepare for the street procession.
The donation buckets rattled along beside the horses and riders as they made their way around the main street loop in Young, raising a total of $777.00 for the twenty-minute parade, and the public address system in the truck worked flawlessly for the first time in ages!
Afterwards, the team headed back to the showgrounds and placed the horses in a taped off area where there was excellent pick, and ensured there was plenty of water on hand for the horses to drink.
Straight after lunch, the team headed out onto the streets to sell Art Union tickets and sold over thirty tickets for the afternoon, which again was an excellent result. Caroline had borrowed one of the support vehicles to return home to Albury to attend her nieces birthday party, and would take care of some banking whilst away. We are expecting Caroline back on Tuesday evening.
We had some more surprise visitors in Naomi Pickles, Tim’s girlfriend, and Jimmy McKibbin had travelled down again from Bathurst to catch up with the crew (especially Bianca!). Paul Phegan (Tim’s brother) drove up in his ute to visit for the weekend. Sandi, John’s daughter, also arrived for her third visit of the trip so far, to spend a few days prior to heading back to school.
The planned evening at the Young Ex-services Club turned out to be fairly quiet, with Dan playing a few songs and auctioning around twenty items in the two hours allotted to us by club management. Bonnie Phegan, Dan’s younger sister, had brought her boyfriend Jack and his mate [?] along to visit the team, and arrived at the club after driving up from Albury. The club had booked a band and it was none other that the "Levee Breakers", who coincidently played at our farewell function in Albury nearly a year ago!
Yola and John did the rounds of the other licensed establishments in town, selling CD’s, stubbie holders and Art Union tickets during the evening.
The "Levee Breakers" came on and continued to promote our merchandise stall, which continued to do a steady trade for the evening. At about 11.00pm the stall was packed up and everyone headed back in the direction of camp.
Saturday 8th March
The crew headed to Cootamundra today to attend the Cootamundra Wattle Country Music Club’s annual festival. Although numbers were not huge, the day turned out to be a marvellous success, with everyone having a toe-tapping good time.
Jim, the president of the club, invited Dan to sing and say a few words about the ride on stage. Dan obliged with a couple of numbers that soon had the crowd yelling for "More!". Jim saw this as an ideal time to sign Dan up for entry into the Australian Performance section of the festival, in which Dan eventually placed second.
It was a tremendous day as far as fund-raising was concerned, with a total of just over $1000.00, including raffles, merchandise and Art Union tickets. Some of our best customers were motorhomer’s, who had made the grounds their temporary home for the duration of the weekend.
Dan, Caroline, Col, Lucas, Tim, Naomi, Paul, Bonnie, Jack and Joe headed into Cootamundra for a family lunch, whilst the rest of the crew stuck around the grounds. A nice shower of rain dampened proceedings for a few minutes, but it did not take long for the spectators to resume their positions once the sun started shining again.
When Dan arrived back, he teed Ian up to surprise Tim and Luke, who were sleeping on the stands inside one of the sheds adjacent to the rodeo arena. Both of the lads jumped when Ian startled them – and hopefully the video will do justice to the moment! The long days and nights over the last few months are taking their toll and we try to catch a half our of shut-eye whenever we can.
At about 4.00pm it was time for everyone to pack up and move to the Wombat Hotel for the scheduled function there. It was again a very good night, supported by many of the locals. We were surprised to see the number of people who could comfortably fit into what looks like a small hotel and even more surprised when Steve and Nicole Sullivan walked in! We had seen them both back at Mudgee, and as they had a little time off from work, they decided to drive up and catch up with the team again.
Dan played until about 8.00pm and then kicked off the charity auction, which went very well. Col, Tim and Lucas were kept very busy spotting bids from all around the bar area, while Bianca organised the items and Bruce, Ian and Dale looked after the merchandise stall. All up around $2000.00 was raised during the night, making the day an excellent one again.
Even though it was only fifteen kilometres back to Young, the crew was very tired and it seemed to take an eternity to return to the campsite.
Yola and John had taken care their own fundraising in town and also feeding the horses, which had not been entirely without dramas. The horses had escaped and done a fair amount of running around before they were returned to their rightful place inside the electric tape.
Sunday 9th March
A slow day, which saw almost everyone sleep in. Again, as not many shops open on Sunday, the team took care of the domestic chores which always mount up whilst the team is continuously on the move, either riding or fund raising.
Col, Bianca, Jim and Ian headed down the street. Col and Bianca let the laundry machines take care of their washing, and then jumped back in the car to find some takeaway for lunch. The four finished up eating lunch at the local park in the centre of town, enjoying the tranquillity of a half-hour under the trees, and feeding the local ducks. Col then did some running around searching for another gas burner and fittings, and just managed to catch Mitre 10 after the doors had been closed for the day!
Tim’s girlfriend, Naomi, had driven up to visit, so the pair, together with Luke and Dan, went into town for a couple of drinks in the afternoon and a bit of a catch up.
Ian stayed awake waiting for Fleur to arrive, as she did not know the way to the grounds, and it was well after midnight before she arrived.
Monday 10th March
Bruce, Dale, Ian and Fleur headed across to Boorowa to sell Art Union tickets and again faced a day of rain. It seemed to be a very localised storm, which hung around the whole day, dumping over fifty millimetres of rain in some spots.
The day passed quickly, it was soon lunchtime, and time to head out to Bruce’s cousin Arnold Spackman’s place for a meal. It was great catching up with Arnold and his wife Lorna, and a perfect opportunity to have a look around the property, and check out their sheep that yield AAAA superfine classified wool.
After lunch, the four returned to Boorowa to finalise the last few businesses in town, and realised that Ian had left his hat out the Spackman’s property. The last ticket was sold, and after the return trip to pick up the missing headwear, they headed back to Young, selling eleven tickets for the day.
Luke, Tim, Dan, Col and Bianca headed across to Barmedman and Temora to sell tickets as well and had a very successful day, selling a further 26 tickets.
Yola and John had a farewell dinner with Sandi, as she was due to head back on the train tomorrow morning.
Tuesday 11th March
The whole team had a very early and bleary eyed start to the day at 3.00am when the horses got out again and tore around the grounds at the gallop. Something had spooked them enough to put the whole mob through the electric tape. Half the team piled into vehicles and headed for the boundary gates (which are left open all the time!) to close them, whilst the other half waited near camp in case the horses returned at full speed.
Thankfully, the horses did not venture out through the gates, but were content to lead the team in a merry chase around the grounds, before succumbing to the tantalising treats of rattling feed buckets back at camp. It was probably about thirty minutes before order was restored, and the horses were all checked for damage. "Snort" scored the dubious honour of having shredded his rug into two neat halves – lining and all!
Ian and Fleur stopped at camp so that Ian could attend to writing journals and Yola and John headed off to drop Sandi at the train in Harden.
Bruce and Dale joined John and Yola selling Art Union tickets in the Harden-Murrumburrah area.
Dan, Col, Bianca, Tim and Lucas headed to Wagga Wagga, after little or no sleep from the nights adventures, piled into the dual-cab at 6.30am to make the two-hour trip to Wagga. Our great mate Geoff Willis (the reigning "Man from Snowy River") had yesterday afternoon invited Dan to come to Wagga get involved with the news camera’s that would be there to interview him about the upcoming Man from Snowy River Bush Festival. It seemed a perfect opportunity to begin promotions for the area and secure a venue for a Wagga function.
After some mishap the crew arrived in Wagga around 10.00am and spent the day putting approximately 100 posters around town and finalising planning for the area.
Wednesday 12th March
The team rode out at 9.00am, after spending a few minutes searching in vain for "60 minutes", Dan’s kangaroo. Fleur had beat the team out, departing at 8.30am, having to be back in Mudgee to work at midday.
Today’s camp was at a reserve, about 4 kilometres north of Wallendbeen, and Tiger, Kevin and Clive joined the riders at various points along the road. The three local riders are taking part in Riley’s Ride into Corryong at the same time as the "Campfires" ride is nearing its completion. All have had their horses in work for some weeks and are well prepared for the mountain work that lies ahead in the next month.
After a chance meeting with Annie, the Wallendbeen School secretary, at Wombat, Ian and Bianca arranged to drop in to the school in the afternoon to speak with the twenty-one students that make up the student body.
On arriving at the campsite, we were surprised to see David and Marita Phegan arrive with their newborn son, Ryan. After a quick welcome, everyone grabbed a quick lunch and headed in different directions. Bianca and Ian headed to the primary school, and had a great time speaking with the children there. Ian and Bianca promised the boys and girls that the horses would be ridden to the school in the morning at about 9.00am, which would fit perfectly with the school and the ride timetable.
Tim headed back to Young, searching for "60 minutes", but unfortunately his search proved fruitless. Col headed out to have a day off with Mick, his old droving mate, and Mick’s partner.
After Tim arrived back, he, Dan, Caroline, Dave and Marita headed into Cootamundra for dinner together, whilst Bianca and Ian headed back in to Wallendbeen for the planned night at the hotel.
Col arrived not long after Ian and Bianca, very happy after his half-day off, and ready to celebrate some more.
Dan and the rest of the crew got delayed in town, so Ian, Bianca and Col accepted donations on behalf of the campfires team from the local branch of the Country Women’s Association, the Wallendbeen Hotel and the Wallendbeen Social Club. The hat was then passed around, and a further $100 was donated from the bar area.
Dan, Caroline, Tim and Lucas arrived at 9.00pm and Dan immediately climbed up on the bar and began playing "unplugged". It was not loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear, so a "five minute roadie challenge" ensued to get the PA gear up and running to boost the volume levels.
The crowd loved the performance, and the front bar turned into a mini dance floor, with Col managing to get a dance with almost everybody – male or female, it didn’t matter!
A really big thanks must go to Carolyn and Joyce – they run a top pub and we (and certainly the local community!) are very proud of their efforts.
Thursday 13th March
The riders struck out at 8.30am this morning, heading for Cootamundra. The first stop was the Wallendbeen School – and what a welcome! We were all surprised by the number of parents and people that were waiting for the riders at 9.00am. As an added surprise, the school, students and parents had additional donations for the cause, which was totally unexpected.
After bidding our farewells and thanks to all present, the team headed back out on the main road and continued into Cootamundra. Warwick and Carol Phegan had made the trip up from Albury with a fresh order of merchandise, met up with the road crew and were waiting at the rodeo grounds for the riders.
The riders had to keep moving along the road to make the pre-arranged street parade at 12.30pm. After arriving on the outskirts on town, Meggan Carswell, who performed so wonderfully for us at Tamworth, jumped on "Jack" and joined the riders for the parade. The riders headed straight down the main street to a great reception from everyone there.
After the street parade, Meggan and the team headed the two kilometres or so back out to the rodeo grounds to let the horses out for a pick, although the grass was still very short due to the extended dry spell still affecting the Cootamundra area – definitely more rain required here.
Most of the team headed back into town to seek out some donations for the upcoming charity auction and to sell more Art Union tickets. It was a little harder than we anticipated, as Meggan and her cousin Shanlee had already been very, very busy garnering donations from all the local businesses for our cause!
In the afternoon, Dan got busy looking after his horse "Reg’s" feet, before heading out on a romantic horseride with Caz.
The team got showered and ready for the Concert that Meggan and Shanlee had organised for the evening at the Cootamundra Ex-Servicemen’s Club.
Everyone was really impressed with everything that had been organised by the girls. An excellent crowd had gathered to hear performances from Danny, Meggan and Peter Pratt, and each and every number was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the crowd. The best was yet to come, with Warwick, Dan and Tim auctioneering at the charity auction. The rest of the team were deep into their respective jobs that they have become quite proficient at – the same jobs that make these nights such a success.
Both Meggan and Shanlee presented Dan with a cheque for well in excess of $2000.00 for their contribution to the fundraising, making the total raised for the night just over $7,000.00.
Meggan also got her older sister Bec’ on stage to perform a couple of numbers – talent obviously runs deep in the family.
Another "small world" happening that came to light whilst in Cootamundra was the realisation that Dan’s father Warwick, had partnered Meggan’s mother at her debutante ball many years previous!
After one of the best nights of the ride so far, the crew packed up the merchandise stall again and headed home to the camp at midnight.
Friday 14th March
Another day off the horses today, but a hectic day for fundraising. Warwick and Carol headed home to Albury.
Bruce, Ian, Yola and John jumped into one of the support vehicles and headed across to Gundagai, stopping at Coolac on the way. Coolac turned out to be a great spot, with sales of three tickets for the hamlet in a matter of minutes. The tea rooms there have re-opened and all the goodies available are home cooked – well worth a stopover.
The next destination was Gundagai township, which has changed very little since the town was bypassed some years ago. After traversing the business areas of town over the course of the day, the group managed total sales for the day of fourteen tickets, with a couple of hundred dollars in donations.
Col, Bianca, Tim, Dan and Luke headed to Yass, and spent the day facing a difficult climate in town. The continuing dry weather has meant difficult times from Yass and the group found it hard to sell as many tickets as expected. After one of their most challenging days, they managed to sell thirteen tickets for the trip.
The team arrived back at camp in time to witness several storms rolling through the area in the afternoon, and the horses relished the opportunity to play and roll in the rain, getting themselves absolutely covered in mud in the process!
At around 7.00pm the team headed to a function at the Railway Hotel, which although not the runaway success of last night, still kicked the fundraising along nicely. It coincided with the farewell for a couple of local lads heading to Canada to work and compete on the rodeo circuit over there.
After the Railway Hotel function had wound down, a few of the team headed to the Albion Hotel, with Meggan and Garrett arriving just in time to make it through the door before the 12.30am lockout. The Albion is licensed until 3.00am and Lucas and Ian found themselves wandering out the door at stumps – the rest of the team were already tucked away in bed by the time they arrived back in camp.
Saturday 15th March
Dan, Col, Lucas, Bianca, Tim and Jimmy headed to the Quandialla rodeo, although the team was not allowed to do as much fundraising as they would normally do, as the committee was holding their own fundraising events during the day. Nonetheless, after a very hot day they raised over $3000. It was great to catch up with Mark, Leanne and Norm from Grenfell once again, not to mention Russell Green, who was the rodeo announcer. Russell has helped the team over several rodeos across the nation in the past twelve months, including Katherine and Mount Isa.
Bruce took Col’s truck and the big trailer for repairs at Coota Campers. Col’s truck had suffered some damage to the tailgate, necessitating some modifications to the latching mechanism. The trailer had some serious cracking to the suspension mounting points, and total failure could have resulted in a catastrophe. After a couple of hours handy work with a welder, the vehicles were both fixed and ready for the road again.
After picking up the truck and trailer, Bruce kept busy and cleaned up some of the horse’s feet and then cleaned out the trailer.
Ian spent a majority of the day working on journals, whilst Dale caught up on some of the domestic chores, cleaning the caravan and catching up on some of the washing.
Rui and Suzanne Francisco visited from Albury and arrived just before dark. Rui, Suzanne and Ian headed to the Railway Hotel for dinner, as the meals had been fantastic the previous night. They met Meggan, Garrett, Bec and Shanlee again, as they were gathered to see some mates play in a band. The boys in the band played great and had a full dance floor for much of the night.
Ian had a yarn with Bec and soon discovered that she is studying forensic science at TAFE in Canberra and is also in the finals for the Miss Showgirl competition for New South Wales, after being named Canberra Showgirl. Talk about an all-rounder – looks, brains and musical talent as well!
Tim, Luke, Dan, Jimmy and Bianca arrived at the Railway Hotel about 8.30pm and listened to the band for a while. Ian, Rui and Suzanne ended up at the Albion again, along with the Carswell sisters, Shanlee and Garrett. The boys from the band had taken a while to pack up and missed the lockout, and only some swift talking got them past the doormen.
Before heading home, Col passed the hat around the pub and secured a further $300 in donations.
Sunday 16th March
The team rode out of Cootamundra this morning, covering 25 kilometres to a reserve in the Bethungra area. Meggan opted to again ride with the team, going the entire distance, although providing Ian with a momentary scare whilst cantering along the way, almost parting company from "Jack".
On arriving at the reserve, Jim and Tim found a snake at the creek next to camp and as it presented a danger to the horses, they quickly removed it.
Dan, Luke, Col, Jim, Bianca and Tim headed across to Stockinbingal for the Town Fair. It had been a long days ride and the six team members didn’t get a chance to commence the forty-five minute drive to the fair until about 3.30pm. Though the day was almost done by the time the team arrived they stil managed to raise $1300.00 in just on an hour. The boys from Campfires teamed up with a couple of locals into making up a tug o’ war team, and managed to secure second place and the $30 prize money. The more bulky winning team saw fit to donate their $70 purse to the cause as well, taking the tally to $100.00.
The local publican at the Stockinbingal Hotel also purchased three Art Union tickets, adding a further $300 to the total.
Ian stayed back at camp to continue writing journals, while Rui and Suzanne headed home from the reserve in the early afternoon, and they will catch up with the team again in Albury.
Monday 17th March
St Patricks Day and the best of Irish Luck to everyone…
The team rode from the overnight camp at the reserve toward Illabo, after departing about 9.00am.
The route along the back roads proved to be a little confusing, requiring Dan to make a quick phone call from horseback to John Pratt (Peter’s father) to confirm the road that the riders should be heading along in order to take the shortest route to Illabo.
Dan and Ian called into the public school on arriving in town and caught up with the teachers and students. The music teacher was none other than Meggan!
The showgrounds where the team was camped required the riders to almost backtrack up beside the main road for nearly a kilometre, but the extra ride was worth it. The facilities were surprisingly good for such a small town.
In the evening, the team headed down to the hotel, where the patrons included John and Peter Pratt and our mate Meggan, and two locals! All the team except Ian and Yola were present. Ian was felling a little crook, with the onset of a cold due to the cooler days and nights of late, and stayed at camp working on the journal pages.
Lucas and Tim departed the hotel early and spent a bit of time playing kick to kick with a footy that had turned up somewhere amongst the gear in the truck, before the remainder of the crew arrived back in camp.
Tuesday 18th March
The riders headed out at intervals this morning, heading towards Junee. The wind was quite cool, allowing the riders to make good time and Ian arrived well ahead of the remainder of the riders, and pulled up to wait at the Shell Service Station for everyone else.
Yola appeared soon afterwards and rode through, headed down to the Showgrounds, where all the support vehicles had arrived earlier. After waiting another fifteen minutes, Ian headed toward the showgrounds as well, not having yet sighted Dan or Col.
As there was no parade scheduled, all the riders rode straight to the showgrounds and fed and watered the horses.
On the way to the showgrounds, we noticed Laurie Daley Park, not far from the Junee football oval, reminding all passers by that the former Australian Rugby League captain and Canberra Raiders star started his career here in Junee.
After grabbing a bite to eat for lunch, the crew split up again to carry on fundraising. Ian, Bruce and Dale headed the forty kilometres across to Coolamon in the afternoon and managed to sell nine tickets for the day. The rest of the team descended on Junee, selling tickets and gathering donated goods for auction. It turned out to be another good day with an excellent number of tickets sold.
After returning to camp, Dan, Tim and Luke headed to the hotel to hold another competition as to who is the best pool player of the three!
A trotting meeting was scheduled for the evening and Terry, who was calling the races, was very helpful in the plugging of the ride and the upcoming functions. Bruce did the rounds with the bucket, and received just over $90 in donations from spectators.
Wednesday 19th March
The horses and riders struck out from Junee at 8.00am, and it appeared to be a less than ideal day for riding, with a strong cold wind and a mild dust storm being kicked up by the inclement weather. Visibility was not too bad, out to about 500 metres before things were invisible in the worst patches.
The paddocks that had been well chewed by sheep, or cultivated in anticipation of not yet forthcoming rain, were the worst affected by the wind, with large dust clouds kicked up and making breathing and seeing difficult as the riders trudged on.
The destination was Wallacetown, about half way between Wagga and Junee, where the horses were secured in a break on the side of the road opposite the service station. The vehicles were placed on the wind side of the parking bay, as the dust being kicked up by the wind in the actual parking area was almost intolerable.
All of the team, except Dale, who stayed behind to keep an eye on the horses, headed in to Wagga to continue selling Art Union tickets and to seek more donations for Friday night’s charity auction to be held at the Tolland Hotel.
Ian spotted a poster about the Chevrolet Nationals being held in Wagga this weekend and rang Denise Roughley to organise a visit to one of the functions during the show, as he had ridden "Chevy" a lot of the way from Winton in Queensland. Denise was kind enough to allow a "one-off" visit to the Friday night function at the Wagga Wagga Winery.
The team had a really great day selling tickets and was motivated to continue on in Wagga, as there are so many business houses within the city.
Thursday 20th March
An early morning shower, which literally dropped mud on all the horses, vehicles and swags, messed the campsite up a little.
Although the wind had dropped from yesterday, it was quite a cold breeze that greeted the riders for their 8.30am departure. Lucas joined the riders today to cover the twenty kilometres to town and managed to be unceremoniously unloaded from his horse "Roma" not once, but twice. The first happened on the approach to North Wagga, when Dan’s horse "Toppy" stepped out at the canter and knocked Luke’s horse sideways, unseating Luke. After almost saving himself twice, Luke eventually parted company and injured his wrist again (the same one hurt in the rodeo fall at Goondiwindi) on hitting mother earth.
The second came just after arriving in Wagga, as the riders were remounting after a quick stop awaiting the journalist from the Daily Advertiser. As Luke went to remount, his horse stepped back underneath him, causing him to fall over the horse’s shoulder on the off side – almost headfirst! We’re not sure who laughed most at this incident, Luke or the other riders!
The team spread out through the business areas of Wagga to sell At Union tickets and seek donated goods for auction. It was almost strange for all of us to be in such a big city again, Wagga being the biggest place since Darwin that some have the team have visited.
Dan was laid low this afternoon, feeling a bit off colour, and spent the afternoon in the truck recuperating. It seems that a bug is making its way around the crew.
After finishing up around town at 5.30pm, the team headed back to camp and got freshened up for a barbeque at Geoff Willis’ place, not far off the Gundagai Road. It was a great evening around the industrial sized campfire and some yarn-swapping, the crew headed back to camp at 10.30pm.
Friday 21st March
The team stuck around camp this morning taking care of odd-jobs until around 11.00am, when preparations began for the street parade.
The riders headed down Bayliss Street at 12.30pm and were greeted by a very busy main street and for the first time in the ride, media actually "jostling" for position to get footage of the riders in the parade. Both the WIN and Prime TV crews had their fitness tested as the reporters and camera operators followed the parade along the footpath.
As soon as the parade was finished, the team again spread out to tackle the Bayliss Street businesses for donations, as well as the surrounding shopping malls and business areas. All up around 25 tickets in the Art Union were sold for the day and we got a heap of donations for the Charity Auction at the Tolland Hotel.
As previously organised, Ian loaded Chevy on the float, and he and Bruce headed out to the barbeque at the Chevrolet Nationals. The organisers allowed Ian to ride into the function on the horse and spend some time speaking with entrants and their families. After a really pleasant evening, over $500 in donations were made by the Chev’ owners.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team had set up at the Tolland Hotel, which was again a great gathering for the Phegan family. Well over 150 people supported the evening, which was hosted by Australian Rugby League Legend, Arthur Sommers and his daughter Jeanette. Arthur is the "little" bloke immortalised on the Winfield Cup Premiership Trophy.
Dan played a few sets of songs, but as the room was so packed, there was hardly room for dancing!
Jeanette had her long hair clipped down to a "number one", raising $1257.00 in the process, and then Arthur got in on the act by raising a further $800 to have his hair dyed in the "West’s" colours. A couple of his old St. George supporting mates had the last laugh, by switching the spray on dye to red, instead of the expected black and white, much to Arthur’s mock consternation!
Together with the Charity Auction, the evening raised over $7000.00 – an excellent result.
Saturday 22nd March
The team had a slow start again this morning. Most headed out to make the most of the Saturday morning trading to sell some more raffle tickets in the business areas.
Our great friends Graeme and Rhonda Sparks returned to camp after quite a few months travelling elsewhere. We first met the couple near Winton in their magnificent “Eagle II” motorhome, and since their last visit they had been home to witness the total eclipse at Ceduna, and had enjoyed trips on The Ghan, The Indian Pacific and The QEII ocean liner!
Around midday the team headed back to camp and organised horse feeds and merchandise for tonight’s “Black-tie and Boot’s” Ball, from which our cause is a major beneficiary. The ball was held at the Riding for the Disabled facility on the outskirts of Wagga, and the car park quickly filled with patron’s vehicles.
The night was a very pleasant one, and the band quickly had the dance floor filled. Sally Sullivan, a young local lady, provided further entertainment with her great vocal talent, and kept the revellers partying during the band breaks.
Dan auctioned one of the few remaining Year of the Outback flags, realising $800.00, before he and Col headed off at about 10.00 pm for a quick trip back to Albury to pick up two young horses for the Wagga to Albury leg. They also wanted to make a quick surprise appearance at Dan’s uncle’s (Ron Turton’s) 50th birthday, where they arrived at 11.30pm.
Tim and Luke were approached by the organisers to introduce themselves to a couple of young ladies from Griffith who had won passes for the event on the local radio station, and who appeared much younger that many of the other attendees. Tim and Luke obliged and quickly befriended their new acquaintances.
Tim had his third ever crack at auctioneering and auctioned off a Sydney Harbour Bridge Walk on behalf of the organising committee. He did an excellent job and secured the winning bid of $350.00, making the organisers very happy with his performance.
Before anyone knew it, midnight had come and gone, and it was time to leave, so the girls invited Luke and Tim out to one of the local hotels, whilst the balance of the team headed back to camp for some sleep. Arrangements were made for the girls to “swag it” at the showgrounds closer to town, rather than out at the RDA complex, on their return from the pubs.
Around 3.00am the four returned to the camp from a reasonably big night out, and decided to cook up a nice feed of fillet steak on the BBQ as they were feeling a little peckish. One of the girls could not wait for a feed to cook, so got busy munching down on a handful of Pal Meaty Bites – to the obvious horror and bemusement of Luke and Tim. A scary story but very true, and one wonders about the normal dietary habits of this particular individual…
Sunday 23rd March
Again being Sunday, today was slated as a day of rest, after a particularly long and hectic week.
Dan and Col were still in Albury, and the remainder of the team spent the morning catching up with domestic chores, like washing and cleaning up. Harry and his wife, Vic, called in to invite the team around for lunch at their house, so arrangements were made for a barbeque.
Steve Dixon (Dicko), Ian’s mate from Wodonga, arrived for a quick visit to say G’day and not long after Andrew McCormick from Melbourne arrived to do the Wagga to Corryong leg. Andrew has taken upon himself to help fundraise and has already earned over $4000.00.
Dicko, Ian, Graeme and Rhonda piled into Dicko’s wagon and headed out to the Coachhouse Hotel to have a look at the Chev show and admired the acres of gleaming chrome and polished paint. After getting some quick photograph’s, it was time to head back to catch up with half the crew for lunch at Harry and Vic’s place.
Dicko headed home to Wodonga, and Tim, Lucas, Bruce, Dale, Ian, Rhonda and Graeme headed out to lunch. Harry and Vic put on a tremendous feed, and the twenty-two years Harry spent in the RAAF as a chef and catering officer were definitely not wasted. Harry’s mate Kenny, and his wife Rosemary, were great company and kept everyone entertained with yarns from HOG runs of late.
After a marvellous lunch, the afternoon crept away very quickly and it was time to head back to the Showgrounds to feed and rug the horses. Dan and Col had arrived back from Albury with their respective young horses and everyone present at camp headed around to Chris and Maree Phegan’s for another delicious barbeque meal.
Monday 24th March
The team mobilised and had a really quick meeting to develop a plan of attack for canvassing the remaining business locations in town. After everyone’s destinations were finalised, the team headed in different directions to spend the majority of the day chasing donations and Art Union ticket sales.
Col and Dan spent the morning at the special store cattle sale and secured the donation of four animals to our cause, netting over $800.00 for their efforts. Thanks must go to Don McLean who rang to donate a cow and calf for the sale, they alone raised $500.00.
Everyone in the team had a great day, selling a total of fifty tickets.
After returning to camp at the close of business hours, the team made preparations for tomorrow’s departure from Wagga.
Yola sold an entire book of tickets in the evening to Fred and Noela Horsley, who visited camp and made a terrific donation of $1000.00!
Tuesday 25th March
Geoff Willis joined ride, along with Andrew McCormick, for the 35 kilometres from Wagga to Mangoplah.
The riders were slowed a little by a visit to the Tolland Hotel to get some photos with Arthur and Janene.
Tim and Colin rode ahead of the remainder of the team, as Colin was needed back in Albury on urgent family matters. Tim, not used to the faster pace being set by Col, developed some sore parts of his anatomy. As Mandy, Col’s daughter, had arrived at tonight’s camp to give Col a lift back to Albury, she took Tim’s place, and Tim gladly continued to camp driving Mandy’s car! Bruce then took over from Mandy about four kilometres from the camp, as Col was very keen to get back to Corowa to see his sick father. Meanwhile, Ian, Dan and Geoff were bringing up the rear.
The team arrived at Mangoplah, where Bruce immediately took care of some hoof maintenance on Jack and Dan’s new young horse, “Squirt”.
The team headed to the Mangoplah Hotel about 6.00pm, but a rural seminar being held at the hotel meant that our fundraising activities could not kick off until 9.00pm.
Colin had returned from Albury and immediately got busy assisting with the auction, raffles and merchandise, which raised $1500.00. The Mangoplah Hotel was an excellent venue. Zyggy, the manager, had a big night out, finishing up back at camp being entertained by Colin around the campfire (the first that we have had in almost two months!) until the wee small hours.
Wednesday 26th March
The riders departed Mangoplah at 9.00am headed toward Cookardinia. The ride was fairly uneventful, and the team was still amazed at how dry the local area has remained, when other areas further north have received good rains.
"Chevy", being led by Ian, decided to get loose after being hit in the backside by a piece of wire flicked up by the horse that Ian was riding. He led Ian a merry chase along the roadside before being caught about a kilometre later.
The Cookardinia travelling stock reserve was as dry as any of us can remember it, and the dams have long since dried up. The horses were watered from the tanks on the trailer and fed up.
Mick Rake arrived from Albury with some more LNT supplement blocks and a couple of bags of chaff, and spent some time chatting with the team, before heading off again.
Caz, Bianca and John cooked up a really nice dinner of corned beef and vegies, and the team sat around eating dinner enjoying the warmth of another campfire.
John and Tom Phegan arrived from Jindera on John’s Triumph road bike well after dark and warmed themselves around the fire as well. After enjoying a couple of drinks, they headed home. Taryn Canavan, an old friend of Dan’s from Lake Albert Pony Club, arrived with her boyfriend Mal to catch up on news of the ride. After a few hours of chatting with Dan and Caz, they unrolled their swag and camped with the team for the night.
Thursday 27th March
After spending the night on the dusty reserve at Cookardinia, the team headed out at 9.30am for the 25-kilometre ride to Culcairn. The riders travelled fairly easily today, as the Prime TV camera crew was expected out at around lunchtime.
Ian was really impressed by the walking speed shown by "Chevy", covering the nine kilometres from Morven to Culcairn in a neat hour, leading the way.
It turned out that the Prime crew would not be able top catch up with the team until tomorrow morning, so once all the riders arrived in camp and tended to their mounts, plans were made to split up and sell Art Union Tickets in the surrounding towns.
Bruce and Tim headed across to Henty, selling a total of three tickets, whilst Dan, Col, Bianca and Luke went to Holbrook and sold another seven tickets, making the total for the day a good one of eleven!
Caz headed into Culcairn to do some shopping for the crew and spent the early afternoon enjoying the company of her nieces and sister-in-law.
Tim volunteered for a short while as a ball retriever for the junior football team, whilst they were having goal-kicking practice.
Ian had made arrangements to meet up with Jenny Beer, who is a former workmate at Albury City Council, and they caught up at the Culcairn Hotel about 6.00pm. Not long afterward the rest of the crew, along with a large number of visitors from Albury, arrived at the hotel, much to the consternation of the pub chef, as everyone wanted meals!
It turned out to be a pretty big night at the hotel, with the place being filled with the Campfires team, their friends and families; it turned out to be an equally big night around the campfire, with the team adjourning back there after finishing the evening at the hotel. The realisation that most of the team is only two days away from home in Albury is starting to sink in.
John Phegan headed off to the swag, and almost immediately the air was filled with the marvellous rhapsody of his snoring! His younger brother Michael soon found a remedy – he placed an esky lid under John’s arm and said "John, I want you to take care of this for me…". It worked a treat, and John was quiet for a majority of the night.
Friday 28th March
Today’s ride was another 25-kilometre journey from Culcairn to Gerogery West.
Col received news that his father is very unwell in Albury, and the crew could immediately tell that Col’s thoughts were very much elsewhere.
Prime TV arrived at 9.00am to do a story about the ride arriving in Albury. The reporter, Steph Hunt had only been on the job for five days, after completing here studies at CSU in Bathurst.
On the way through town, the students from Culcairn Public School came out of class to meet the riders as they passed.
It was funny to have the news car pass the riders, stop, take some shots, and then do the same thing over again about three times!
The riders had an appointment to meet the students of Gerogery Public School at 1.00pm, so they pushed on toward Gerogery, arriving some forty minutes early! This provided the ideal opportunity to drop into the Gerogery Hotel, and say G’day to the publican and enjoy a cool drink, before heading down to the school.
Councillor Tony Quinn arrived to welcome the riders to the Hume Shire and presented Dan and Ian with a cheque from the Shire to add to the cause.
The staff and students were very happy to speak with us and had many questions for the riders to answer about the ride and the horses.
After a very pleasant stay at the school, the team headed the final four kilometres or so to the Gerogery West TSR, where camp had been well set up by the crew.
Ian headed into Albury to send media releases to the local and national outlets regarding the upcoming arrival in Albury of the riders. This visit also provided the ideal opportunity to catch up with some of his Hume Shire Council workmates.
Dan and [need more elaboration here] headed to Albury as well, before making their way back to camp to prepare for this evening’s function at the Pleasant Hills Hotel.
The drive back to Pleasant Hills was a fairly long affair, about eighty kilometres or thereabouts, but the area is certainly very aptly named. Colin and Dan had loaded "Snort" and "Reg" on the float, as the locals at Pleasant Hills were very keen to see some of the horses that had made the long journey down from the Territory.
When the team arrived, they were astounded by the turnout that awaited them. The local organisers (made up primarily of the Clancy family!) had been very busy, and many people had travelled from far and wide to attend the function, as well as celebrate the third anniversary of the community-licensed hotel’s opening. Not only had the organisers arranged a great feed for everyone present, but also auction items for a monster charity auction to be held later in the evening.
Col and Dan jumped on their horses bareback and rode them through the hotel, right amongst the patrons. After some video was taken, and a few still photo’s shot, the horses were put away before the evening began in earnest.
Dan had already set up his PA gear after he arrived at the hotel, so as soon as everyone was making their way to the back room of the hotel, he was stuck straight into the music. Quite a few people were hearing Dan for the first time since the team had headed off toward Darwin, and they all agreed that Dan was playing better than before!
Dan, Warwick and Tim shared the auctioning duties for the charity auction, powering their way through the almost fifty great items up for grabs on the night. Bidding was very strong, keeping the spotters very busy (Luke, Col and Tim are now spotters extraordinaire, and everyone at an auction is entertained by their antics), with the auction raised a majority of the proceeds for the evening.
A number of local friends of the team members also came to support the night, so it was a good opportunity to see some faces that had been missed for many months.
The night raised an amazing amount, closing in on $10,000.00, which is probably the best support per capita for a town that we have received in the journey so far!
The team headed back to camp around midnight… or a bit after, keen for a well-earned kip.
Saturday 29th March
The team has anticipated this particular day for just over three hundred days since driving out of Albury in early June last year. Today is the day that we ride back into the town that most of us call home. It is a triumphant day – we HAVE made it back – older, wiser, and acknowledging that we are all different people to those that headed out on the road many months ago.
It has kind of sneaked up on us. Everyone in the team has been focussing on the day to day activities and the next function to be held. Now everyone realises that this day is a very special one – one that has long been a dream, and is now a reality, 4,600 kilometres in the saddle (or behind the wheel!) later.
The day started out as any other, with breakfast, saddling horses, and packing up the camp. The riders headed out toward Albury from the reserve, guessing that it would be a slow, due to the number of well-wishers and friends stopping to say g’day and "welcome home".
It turned out to be a great ride into to outskirts of town, one of the highlights being the welcome on the corner of Himalaya Drive, complete with waving crowd and a big banner!
The riders were expecting to meet a police escort at the Olympic Highway and Hume Highway intersection at Ettamogah at 10.30am, and obliged by turning up right on time. Unfortunately, the police were no where to be seen, so the entourage continued on to the BP Service Centre on the outskirts of town to prepare for the passage through to Dean Street for the planned civic reception.
It was a hectic preparation, making sure the PA system was working in Dan’s truck, gathering flags, double checking the fitting of our Old Mac’s horse boots and organising the order of the vehicles. We also knew that a number of other riders from Police Youth and Wirlinga Pony Clubs would be joining the parade in Thurgoona Street, prior to the civic reception.
As time was becoming our enemy, the riders had to pick up the pace, and trotted the entire seven kilometres into the centre of Albury, stopping only for red lights.
Once the team turned into Thurgoona Street, we could see the waiting Pony Club riders, and after a quick welcome and safety address, the parade was underway – still sans one police escort!
Being a Saturday and midday, quite a few people were still in the city centre and we saw a large number of shoppers stopping and waving as we made our way up the main street. As we approached the Kiewa Street intersection, the crowd became noticeably larger, and quite a large crowd had gathered at the town (Queen Elizabeth II) square.
It was a VERY emotional few minutes, as the riders guided their mounts amongst the gathered crowd, tears of joy and relief filling their eyes. They were not the only ones to shed a tear, as many of the gathered family and friends joined the welcome celebrations, paying tribute to the efforts of each and every one of the volunteers who had worked so hard over the past few months to achieve a tough and daunting goal.
Representatives of Albury, Hume and Wodonga Councils were in attendance, all speaking wonderfully, and welcoming the team back to their home areas. Dan then took the opportunity to thank all of those who have helped the completion of the ride a reality. Our sponsors, supporters, friends and crew all received a warm round of applause from the gathered crowd, acknowledging the valuable contribution each had made to the successful completion of the journey.
The only shortcoming of course, was the fact that the team had not yet reached the goal of $500,000.00 yet, and that another $100,000 was required in the next two weeks to push the total over our optimistic total, but that time was still yet to pass…
After the completion of the formalities, thank-you’s and catching up with old friends, it was time for the crew to head out and tend to the horses. Tonight’s camp was to be at the Robert’s Road grounds of the Police Youth Pony Club, which has tremendous facilities to cater for such a large contingent of horses, riders and support crew. The route to the grounds passed West’s Borella Road Seafood, and Darryl and Lionel were very generous in supplying the riders and the entire crew with fish and chip’s and drinks for the afternoon! Thanks fella’s the fish really was first rate.
After a quick de-brief, the team had a few hours to kill before the Thurgoona Golf Club function scheduled for 7.00pm. Many spent it relaxing, catching up with old friends, or enjoying a shower or refreshments, before heading out to the Golf Club for a night of entertainment
The crew arrived to a rapidly filling venue, and by the time 7.30pm rolled around, the golf club was almost chokkas!
Dan again sung for the enjoyment of the large crowd and a special charity auction was held for surplus gear and items that had been collected along the road. All up the night realised a further $7000.00 for the charity.
After a late night, the crew settled down for a good night’s sleep, prior to a scheduled day off tomorrow, which is probably one of the most anticipated day’s off so far for the team.
Sunday 30th March
After the hectic and emotional times of yesterday, today would be a welcome change for all of the crew members.
As a scheduled day off, the team headed in as many directions as there were team! Everyone had plans to catch up with friends, family and loved ones, and for the most part, these plans became a reality.
The otherwise happy day was saddened by the news that Colin’s father, Murray Mitchell, had passed away at Corowa after a long illness. Col was keen to have horses as a guard of honour at the funeral, and the team was one hundred percent committed to supporting Colin at what is obviously a difficult time.
Everyone had returned to camp by late in the evening, and retired knowing that the next week ahead would be very hectic if our goals were to be achieved.
Monday 31st March
The team were up and organised early to start fundraising toward the required $100,000.00. Each person was assigned an area of Albury to sell some of the remaining Art Union tickets, and everyone set out with a renewed vigour, knowing the support that we had already received from the Albury people.
Ian wrote a brief media release about the passing of Col’s dad, and circulated it to the local media, before heading off on the ticket selling trail.
Everyone had a brilliant day, with just over one hundred tickets sold – making the target another $10,000.00 closer. Tim had an absolute blinder, with thirty-one tickets for the day! The news that the total raised for Wagga was around $52,000.00 in just five days lifted everyone’s spirits. If we could raise the amounts that had just been achieved in Pleasant Hills and Wagga Wagga, then there was an absolute certainty that even more could be done in Albury; especially since the Country Extravaganza concert was only a matter of days away and the talk around town was very positive about the line-up appearing.
Confirmation of the funeral arrangements for Colin’s dad had the team preparing for a guard of honour, including six horses, tomorrow afternoon in Corowa. The knowledge that tomorrow was going to be a "quiet" day in terms of fundraising meant that the team was extra committed to making every hour left in the remainder of the week count, but for tomorrow the teams thoughts will be with Colin and his family.
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