At 88, Cootamundra's Bob Holder is Australia's oldest active cowboy, having recently returned from a stint team roping in Mount Isa. Last weekend, he showed superb horsemanship winning the local celebrity cutting event, a highlight of the Cootamundra Cutting Benefit Show. Proceeds will help the Gibbs family, after the recent loss of their mother and wife Maree to cancer.
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It turned out "mammoth", bigger than the organisers had anticipated, with 280 entries from riders throughout NSW and Victoria.
The surrounds of the Cootamundra Rodeo Ground were chockablock with horse floats, caravans and vehicles of all sorts for a weekend of fun and activity for horse lovers, with the aim of raising funds to help the Gibbs family.
A complex logistical operation was needed to bring 800 head of cattle for the show, "cutting" being the skill of separating a single beast from at least two others.
The rules mean no cattle can be used twice, although in the celebrity event the cattle were replaced by a "mechanical cow" consisting of a flag moving from side to side along a rope, which riders have to keep tracking.
It's expected that after costs (including spreading several tonnes of sand on the arena) the Cootamundra Cutting Benefit Show will have raised several thousand dollars for the Gibbs family, who in September lost their mother and wife Maree to cancer at just 40 years of age.
One of Maree's closest friends, Darlene Gray, a member of the group who formed to organise the benefit, said Cootamundra also lost a "born and bred local girl who was just the salt of the earth, a friend to all with a heart as big as the moon who will be sadly missed.
"She leaves behind her husband Ritchie, the station manager at Twin Hills Study, and Sam, 10, Josh, 15 and Gracie, 17."
Darlene, who has herself been successfully recovering from breast cancer, said Maree had been battling bowel cancer for the past four years.
"I'm pretty passionate about Can Assist," she said, "I know Maree relied on them quite heavily and they were an amazing help.
"With breast cancer I've been lucky in having the help of the McGrath Foundation.
"Maree had her GP to fall back on, but that's not the same as having a nurse come out to the house once a week and phone you every day to make sure your medications are right and see whether you need this or that."
The mechanical cow used for the celebrity event is a training device normally used to "tune up" horses before they go out to separate cattle.
Celebrities who participated included Heath Bowden from Thompson's partnered with shearing contractor Tristan Phillips, Kandee Horn from Mt Hercules Pastoral Co. partnered with Bill Mullins from Landmark, Paige Louttitt from Twin Hills partnered with Steve Oddie, Darlene's daughter Kristy partnered with Melissa Jasprizza from Cowra, and Tom Kelly from New Haven Park Stud at Boorowa, who rode with the "mystery rider" Darlene Gray, as well as Bob Holder and Lisa Hines.
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