New South Wales harness racing trainer Darren Elder had been planning a Queensland trip for his talented pacer Shannonsablast during the Winter Carnival, but is now, he is just happy to be safe and dry after being forced to evacuate his property at Louth Park.
Elder had spoken with the relevant authorities yesterday and it had been thought his property would be spared, however, by this morning the situation had changed dramatically.
“By 9am this morning we were forced to evacuate the horses,” Elder said. “We had 17 horses that we had to get off the place, including a mare in foal, so it has been a pretty big day for me
“I had to swim the horses about 100 metres across the river, but it felt like a kilometre every time.
“My arms are aching and so are my legs, but the good news is that they are all now safe.”
The water was full of debris and Elder’s family had to be on the lookout for anything that could cause a problem.
“The water is dirty, you can’t see anything at all, but you have to be careful of the snakes and my wife did have to alert me to a red belly black snake that was floating by,” Elder declared.
“The water has come up under the house…it is still about three feet from getting in, so at the moment I have just returned to grab some clothes, have a shower to remove all the dirt and then I will leave with everything I can carry.”
Even when the water does subside it is going to be a long time before everything is back to normal for the Elder stable.
“I reckon it will be at least a month before we get everything fixed up,” Elder said. “The water will go down quickly, but it has risen up that high that it has covered most things.
“I’ve just finished putting a walker in and the water has gone up over the motor. The thing you have to remember is that all of these things are material and they can all be replaced.”
Elder confirmed he still wants to go to Queensland later in the year and believes Shannonsablast will be able to make the trip.
“I made sure I had worked out which was the best way across the river and I had a distinct path before I asked Shannonsablast to swim across,” Elder said. “He handled it fine and it won’t have done him any damage, so there is no reason why I still won’t go.”
“The harness community has been great…a lot of people have been helping me out and I’m very thankful for that because it makes it a lot easier to get things done.”
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HRNSW Media