Hannah Bacarella holds the Black Caviar number plates
When an eventing rider is badly injured you can guarantee that their friends and the equestrian community will rally round to help the best they can.
This is exactly what happened at the Ricky Bannister Fundraining Dinner and Auction on Saturday 22nd June. 200 guests filled the Sherwood Receptions in Greenvale, Victoria to enjoy the dinner and raise money for Ricky’s rehabilitation through the live auction and raffles plus a silent auction.
The MC Michael Bacarella and auctioneer Gerry Gleeson (above) kept the evening moving along and encouraged bids on the 63 auction items which included:
Racing 'Atlantic Jewel' framed photo signed by Michael Rodd & Mark Kavanagh
Cricket Bat signed by Australian Cricket Captain Michael Clarke
AFL Football signed by 2013 Richmond Team
1 x Photo of Black caviar signed by Luke Nolan & Peter Moody
Racing 'Black Caviar' commemorative Victorian personalised License Plates "CAV 25"
Racing 'Kingston Town' framed and signed photo
4 x Melbourne Racing Club (Caulfield) All Inclusive Corporate Package Tickets on a table with TVN Tipsters The Shark and Gator
Private Cooking Class for 4 people with Young Chef of the Year Winner 2013 Mark Briggs
Racing 'Black Caviar' Limited Edition framed signed photo and saddle cloth
AFL Footy show finals tickets x 2 - 19th September 2013
Michael Bacarella holds the Carlton jersey
The generosity of the guests during the evening will directly benefit Ricky and the event organisers Carmen Leigh, Hannah Bacarella, Michelle Retra and Carolyn Bailey Lofts were delighted with the support shown. Another incident prior to the start of the dinner also impressed on them how the general public wanted to help Ricky
“On Saturday, as we were setting up at the venue, a man called in to see us as he had heard about the fundraiser the day prior on the radio. He said it was a great cause and, although he did not know Rick or Emily and he was not a rich man, he gave us a cash donation of $20.00. He had driven to the venue just for this ..... it left us all speechless..” says Carmen
Carmen Leigh, Natalie Drack, Alexandra Medved and Catherine Sfregola enjoy the evening
In addition to the auctions there were some fantastic prizes to be won in the raffles and lucky Lou Cooper (or maybe she bought a LOT of tickets!) won two of them.
The major raffle prizes were:
A weekend away on Hamilton Island including return airfares & accommodation, donated by Equiluxe Horse Floats and won by Lou Cooper
A night at Crown Casino including valet parking, breakfast and dinner, donated by Integrity Logistics and Warehousing and won by Catherine Sfregola
A Daylesford weekend away including accommodation and dinner donated by DHL Global Forwarding and won (again!) by Lou Cooper
A raffle of smaller items for both ‘horsey’ people and ‘normal’ people was designed to raise a smile as well as money and did both.
Ricky’s recovery will be a long road but will be made slightly easier by the financial and community support shown by this fund raiser. This is something that could happen to any of us; no doubt many people who were unable to be there on the night may wish to contribute towards the costs of rehabilitation and on-going care for Ricky who has a C4-C5 complete spinal injury.
If you would like to help Ricky and his wife Emily, who is expecting their first baby in September, the best way to donate is via the Ricky Bannister website
Thank you to all who supported the fundraiser - here are a few snaps from the evening
Cara Neilson and Melanie Wu
Jackie and Kirsten Kerry
