Megan and her 5* horse, Kirby Park Impress, at the Australian International 3 Day Event in November
It is hard to describe to people outside of Australia how devastating bushfire can be and, with so many in the horse community living in rural areas, it is always likely to impact people we know, and don't know, in the equestrian community
In the past few weeks fires have been burning across Australia causing death and destruction; this is just one of the thousands of stories that could be told but this one is personal to us as it is the heart wrenching story of the fire at Hallmark Farm, near Adelaide in South Australia.
Hallmark Farm was bought by Australian eventing Olympic silver medallist Megan Jones and her husband James Deacon three years ago as their dream property where they would base their family and build their equestrian business. Their baby boy Finn was born on 3rd January 2019 which was obviously a great source of joy but since then, 2019 has not been kind.
In March, Megan had a fall which resulted in a broken knee and her missing most of the eventing season and now their property has been besieged by bushfire
Thanks to making an early decision to evacuate, all people and animals are safe, and their home is still standing but smoke affected but many of their stables and outbuildings have burnt down, along with fencing, their cross country course and burnt out paddocks
This video is a compilation of how the harrowing day panned out. We’ll catch up with Megan and James in the future when they have had a chance to recover or you can follow their Facebook page and YouTube channel
Even in a crisis, James can still make us smile (“I’ve grabbed Megan’s silver medal, our wedding album and a six-pack of beer”) and we know that they will bounce back from this in time
This is their story of a day they won’t forget ……….
A GoFundMe page has been set up on behalf of Megan and James to rebuild their cross country course - find out more HERE
