Jack Wighton explains how he saved a horse while fishing
In the unlikeliest of circumstances, Canberra playmaker Jack Wighton came to the rescue of a drowning racehorse, part owned by Aaron Woods, in the Moruya River on a recent holiday.
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WHAT do you get when you combine Jack Wighton, Aaron Woods, a terrified racehorse and a kayak?
A relieved trainer and his tremendously grateful family.
In the unlikeliest of circumstances, the Canberra Raiders playmaker came to the rescue of a drowning galloper in the Moruya River on a recent holiday with his young family.
Wighton took his kayak out onto the water for a fish, but his peaceful afternoon was interrupted when he saw a frightened horse struggling in the distance.
Trained by local racing identities Greg Backhouse and Linda Pearson — and part-owned by Cronulla prop Aaron Woods — Bellegano spooked at her first introduction to the river and swam off in distress.
Greg and his 17-year-old daughter Kate watched helplessly on the shore as their beloved mare drifted away, where she would almost certainly have drowned had Wighton not paddled across to save the day.
“I was having a fish off the kayak and saw a horse rear up and knock the trainer over,” Wighton said.
“I got out there and she had found a sandbar in the middle of the river.
“She looked like she was in trouble and I could see the trainer and family were a bit worried about her so I kept following her.
“She was wearing herself out so I was getting a bit concerned for her. I ended up getting her back onto a sandbar. By then she knew she was in a bit of trouble.”
Despite the obvious danger, Wighton took it upon himself to get the panicked mare, who weighed more than 500kg, back to shore.
“I got off my kayak and she let me grab her, I calmed her a little bit. She was a big horse so it was a bit scary,” he said.
“She was very, very spooked and on edge, my blood was pumping a bit.
“The water was up to my chest. I had to walk about 100m up the sandbar.
“She was a little bit flighty, so I jumped back in my kayak and tried swimming off the sandbar, but she wasn’t quite ready just yet.
“I jumped off and gave her a pat again. She relaxed a bit so we started swimming back and my rod nicked her on the backside and that got her unsettled again.”
It took Wighton 15 minutes to calm Bellegano and, with one hand holding the kayak and the other on the horse’s headstall, he swam her back to the family.
“She finally let me swim her over to her owners and they were pretty stoked,” Wighton said.
Pearson, a former Australian women’s rugby league player, was so grateful she sent a letter to the Raiders.
“We would like to acknowledge Jack’s bravery and selflessness in intervening and surely saving Belle’s life,” Pearson wrote.
“He was a fair way from the action but made the decision to go out of his way and get involved to see if he could help.
“So thank you to Jack, you have no idea what kind of trauma and devastation you have saved us all from.”
Originally published as Jack Wighton explains how he saved a horse while fishing
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