The inaugural T.R.E.W 'Celebration of the Horse' Open Day was held on the 23rd May 2008. It was an unprecedented event for such a small organisation, and as such, brought with it the full gamut of emotions... from absolute fear of failure and inadequacy, to passionate belief that only WE could pull off something like this because we had a shared vision, and a great team. More than a month afterwards I am still reeling from the knowledge that a handful of committed individuals, who had never really met in person, managed to orchestrate such a successful and enjoyable event.
I begin this report with some words from Eloise, who thought nothing of uprooting her young family and travelling from interstate to support T.R.E.W. She is totally committed, for which we thank her.
"I was more than pleased to travel from the Barossa Valley in S.A. to Inglewood to participate in the T.R.E.W Open Day. My daughters & I were welcomed by our fantastic host Bec. When we arrived I could feel I was in a place quite different to many others, there was a real sense of caring & compassion, which made me feel right at home and at ease.
My highlights for the weekend were meeting all the other T.R.E.W forumites even though it felt as though I had known them for years. I enjoyed the laughs, the stories and the general sense of community I found within T.R.E.W. I really enjoyed being part of the Open Day & the presentations were of a very high standard & all very interesting & informative.
I cannot wait for next years Open Day & will be making the journey again.
El"
And some reflections from some more of the T.R.E.W Crew involved:
Bec:
- My favourite moment: watching Jaimee with Tucker in Jude's demo...practically busting with pride for her boy.
- Hardest moment: when I couldn't find bloody Julia, and I had to introduce Carlos, and couldn't pronounce his surname.
- Food moment: my first meal of the day, when it was over...a huge bowl of chopped up left over sausages & onion...yummm.
- Saddest moment: everybody leaving.
- Proudest moment: watching Cinders cavorting about the round yard, looking like a gleaming black beauty AND, looking around to see all of you wonderful people beavering away beautifully.
Maree:
- Ok for me (and Georgie and Lewis) here goes .. ...
meeting Amanda and finding out she was 'normal'
- Finally getting to Bec's and feeling welcome
- Seeing the relationship between Jamiee and Tucker. ... truly something to behold.
- Meeting El and your little ones .. .. Beautiful children and a WONDERFUL mum .. ...
- Watching Tanya work her butt off and still keep a smile on her face and her sense of 'umour.
- Realising that Lewis can jump a gate from a standstill, catch his back legs and still come out on top. .. .. tough bugger!!!!!
- (sorry about the gate Bec!!!!)
- Meeting Toby.
- Watching Carlos, buying his book, and then talking to Georgie about what he does and her saying to me ( like a VERY 15 yr old)... ... well DER .. . .. mum .. . ... what he does is just soooo common sense and then watching her with Lewis and realising that she does JUST what he does .. ... BIG revelation for me.
And the most amazing thing of all .. .. ..
- Meeting the people that I did, and knowing that somewhere out there are humans that care more about horses than anything else .. . . .. and THAT is why I drove all the way that I did .. .. Oh .. . and to torture Amanda as well!!!!
Good stuff, good friends were made, and lots of memories to reflect on.
Doesn't get better than that really.
Tanya:
- My favourite moment: Meeting Cherish in the flesh!! I kept making sure the people who looked at her display realised it was the same horse!
- Hardest moment/s: Answering people's questions in the T.R.E.W tent, when I have been part of the group for only a very short time.
- Food Moment: Polishing off the carrot cake on Sunday night!
- Saddest Moment: Leaving it all behind.
- Proudest Moment: Seeing Bec finally crack a true, stress-free smile at the end of the day when she realised it really had been a success!
- Most enduring memory: Meeting wonderful people and feeling truly welcome.
Julia:
- Hardest moment; trying to make myself hear without a microphone to do intros.
- Food moment; an onion sandwich made by Brian (Bec's dad) on the T.R.E.W BBQ.
- Saddest moment; making Tia cry by screwing up her picture with the waste paper.
- Proudest moment; giving my first radio interview with the delightful Rob from Goldfields FM, and all for the horses...oh, and Cherish lying on her belly scratching through Michael – the Holistic Vet’s talk.
- Most enduring memory; has got to be the teamwork and fabulous friendships built between like minded folk.
I have to confess to a variety of emotions prior to the day. I had many sleepless nights worrying that there had been no alternative but to schedule an event on Easter weekend, and I wavered between panic that nobody would turn up, (after all who was crazy enough to spend their Easter Sunday at a horse welfare fundraiser?), and the idea of being swamped with so many people everything would run out in the first half hour.
Once I trailed up to the property with bags, baggage, feed, trestles shade tents, boards, displays, horse etc., and met El who was already in full swing, Tia tagging along behind and Kia tucked under one arm, I realised that it was real. Tanya alleviated a lot of my concerns by being so very organised, and having added to my displays for the T.R.E.W tent with some fantastic ones of her own. It was now I truly began to realise what a talented bunch we were, and all with our own special skills.
The arrival of Maree, Amanda, Georgia and Lewis was a great moment for me. Here were two women I was convinced I would love, (or had I just fallen foul of the Internet, and were they really nuts?). Two nicer, stronger, resilient women, with all their priorities absolutely in place, I have never met. In fact for me that is the overwhelming feeling from the day, that drawn together by our love of horses we ALL shared a common bond that belies description, but I know we will remain firm friends, for that I am forever grateful, and from this our Equine friends will benefit.
Oh and there are definitely people out there that are crazy enough to join in and support us, not least the great demonstrators, (who to a man donated their time and shared their expertise so willingly), and those who attended the day and helped us make it a truly inspirational event. Finally and as we should say, last but by no means least, Bec whose vision is the prime mover, not just for the Open Day, but for T.R.E.W the organisation. Thanks Bec
Julia Walker
T.R.E.W Secretary |
It really was special to have some of TREW's past horses here on the day to assist our guests with their demonstrations.
