North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

From Chris Chaplin at the NT's Wagait store ...

Sue and I are about to head off on an adventure … some background.

In August 2013 Darwin jockey, Simone Montgomerie suffered fatal injuries in a race fall at Fannie Bay Racecourse on Darwin Cup day.

Following her death, Simone’s family, including her then 5 year old daughter Kodah, received significant support from National Jockeys Trust, as have many jockeys and families of jockeys in similar situations.

In a show of support and to give something back to the Trust, Simone’s family, led by parents Peter and Lee-Anne and her sister Brooke have decided to complete a fundraising cycle ride from Streaky Bay, SA (Simone’s home town) to Darwin. This 3,010 km ride will take 26 days (representing the years of Simone’s life) and be timed to arrive in Darwin on the Friday prior to the 2016 Darwin Cup. The ride will comprise 12-15 cyclists riding in a relay format. There will be 4-6 support vehicles with in excess of 20 people voluntarily involved in getting from Streaky Bay to Darwin. All proceeds and funds raised will be donated to National Jockeys Trust to enable them to continue to provide support to jockeys and the families of fallen and injured jockeys as the trust did for the Montgomerie family.

Lee-Anne Montgomerie, Simone’s mother, is my cousin. Our daughter Marissa is the only rider from the NT going the whole distance (plus she is the youngest and the only NT born rider in the group). I plan to ride from Streaky Bay to Alice Springs and then re-join the group in Katherine to ride through to Darwin.

I have attached the ride itinerary so that you can see the towns and days where riders will rest overnight. If you or anyone you know is going to be on or near the Stuart Highway around these towns please ask them to look out for us, give us a toot and drop some coin in our tins.

National Jockeys’ Trust

There are 840 licensed jockeys and of these approximately 200 are injured each year. Sadly, since 2013 two jockeys per year have lost their lives. A total of 877 jockeys have lost their lives on Australian racetracks since 1850. Over the last three years NJT has supported 150 jockeys &/or their families to the tune of $1.7m in funds.

It is a dangerous occupation/sporting pursuit. In no other workplace or sporting activity does an ambulance follow participants around!!

Many Australians enjoy horse racing and the excitement that it brings. In fact not many Australians don’t get involved in Melbourne Cup activities, even if it is their only involvement in horse racing for the year. This fun and excitement wouldn’t be possible without the jockeys risking injury, or their life, every time they venture onto a racetrack.

Supporting the National Jockeys Trust through this fundraising venture gives you the opportunity to contribute to the well-being of injured and fallen jockeys and their families.

Supporting The Ride

The easiest way to make a donation to this cause is to do so through Marissa’s “Everyday Hero” donation page. The link to that page is https://give.everydayhero.com/au/marissachaplain .

If you wish to cheer the riders as they come into Darwin then you will be able to do so on Friday 29 July. The actual time of our arrival will depend on various factors however it should be sometime early in the afternoon.

We anticipate good media coverage of the event and so you may well be able to track the ride via radio and TV.

You can also follow the event via the website http://www.cyclingforsimone.com/ or on Facebook at Simone Montgomerie’s Legacy and Twitter at Cycling For Simone.

Feel free to circulate this email amongst any of your contacts – staff, colleagues, family, friends. I appreciate that some companies might have policies that prevent staff from sending emails of this type and I don’t wish for anyone to break any rules. Nevertheless, all involved with Cycling For Simone would very much appreciate the message being spread far and wide.

Thank you for taking the time to read this email. Let me know if you have any questions or want to know more about the ride.

See you back in Darwin!

Chris Chaplin
P 08 8978 5008
F 08 8978 5076
E [email protected]
W www.wagaitbeachsupermarket.com
Wagait Beach Supermarket