A massive effort

Thanks to a massive effort by our volunteers, Samford RDA centre suffered no damage from ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March.

Like other South East Queensland communities in the path of the cyclone, Samford RDA made early preparations for the expected Category 1 winds.

Our dedicated ‘army’ of volunteers moved all the RDA horses to their safe holiday paddock near Wights Mountain, secured buildings and facilities at the centre, and sandbagged the covered arena. A creek running adjacent to the arena has a history of trying to steal away sections of the arena surface.

President Michael Costello explained: “Once the two big days of the weather event passed, we were very relieved to see that the RDA infrastructure had pulled through because of our volunteers’ hard work. A few trees were down and there was minimal damage to fencing along the creek from erosion.

Creek erosion close to the fence near the RDA covered arena

“While the RDA horses returned to the centre a little soggy, they were treated to special feeds and lots of grooming.

“Our ever-resilient volunteers once again came to the rescue in the clean-up phase – floating horses, grooming, cutting trees, repairing fences, and preparing for a return to the RDA program just a few days later.

“As we have seen over the past 18 years, it takes special people to make the Samford RDA charity run. Our volunteers and those who sponsor our horses to help meet costs continue to play a vital role in the centre’s future success. We sincerely thank them.”