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Fabian Damage At NEC |
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Dear Members,
As many of you are aware the Equestrian Centre
at Vesey Street received serious damage during the onslaught of Hurricane
Fabian.
Some prior precautions has been made but not
one was prepared absolutely for the ferocity of the storm.
Of the 17 Washingtonian Palms which graced the
southern end of the Centre 15 were destroyed and had to be removed.
Some casuarina trees were blown over from the golf course and rails +
posts around the main ring and collecting rings and track were damaged and
need to be replaced. The canteen was blown over and severely damaged
together with many of the appliances inside.
One of the stall blocks was severely damaged
with the roof blown away, and the structure bent. The other one was
not so severely damaged, but needed some TLC. One judges box was
blown over, but miraculously the drivers box on top of the
building was OK and the lights only slightly damaged.
Thanks to the efforts of a handful of people
much of the damage has been repaired and the facility is now usable again,
albeit in a limited capacity.
During the week after the storm it was
expected that we would need professional help in removing the trees and
debris.
As this help was not immediately forthcoming,
due to other committments, it was decided at short notice to get a work
party of volunteers last weekend. Unfortunately many of our members
are upset that they did not receive the message that help was needed, but
on the other hand my phone was not exactly ringing off the hook with
offers of help.
Anyway the NEC is now back in a usable state
thanks to the efforts of Duponte Landscaping, but more especially to
chairman of the NEC Michael DeCosta and his band of helpers and the
equipment.
The damaged trees have all be removed, the
gate and railings repaired. The stables put back in place awaiting a
new roof, the canteen bas been put back on its wheels and the lights
repositioned.
The BHPA clear round jumping competition has
been put back on the Calendar for Sunday 28th September and the driving
clubs is having a track preparation and BBQ on Saturday 4th October.
On Sunday 5th the BEF Fund Raising Show which
was postponed from September 6th will be held.
Dates for other postponed shows are being
worked on so watch the Calendar and please bear with us while we try to
put things back to normal.
Fortunately to my knowledge no horses or
ponies were injured during the storm, although virtually all of the
stables received some sort of damage
Well done everyone
Michael Cherry
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Photo's courtesy of Sue and Steve Gibbons
The only
thing left
standing!
The Canteen |
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The right hand Stable Block |
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