Yackandandah GP sets a safe pace

Riders and horses are in safe hands, with this Yackandandah GP providing advice and supervision at Eventing Victoria competitions. She is a nominee in The Weekly Times Heart Volunteer Awards.

Eventing Victoria’s chief medical officer, Dr Tess Goodwin, with her two-year-old horse, Al. Picture: Dannika Bonser

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DOCTOR Tess Goodwin sees herself as just one of an army of volunteers needed to make equestrian eventing competitions run smoothly.

But it would be easy to argue that Tess’s role is the most important.

Dr. Tess Goodwin volunteers her expertise to make sure eventing competitions run safely. Picture: Dannika Bonser

Tess, a GP at Yackandandah in North East Victoria, volunteers her skills as Eventing Victoria’s chief medical officer.

Tess’s two daughters, Florence and Sophia, are keen competitors in the multidiscipline sport — where horse and rider compete in dressage, cross-country and show jumping — but that is just one of the reasons Tess is more than willing to chip in.

“I am pretty passionate about keeping girls active and involved, and it’s a sport for life,” she says. “The research says if parents are active and participating and watching their children in sport, they’re more likely to stick at it.

“There are so many intrinsic benefits to the sport (of eventing) — mental health, social inclusion — and that’s where for rural communities it’s so important.”

Eventing Victoria chair Janet Houghton says Tess sits on the national medical advisory committee for the sport in Australia and helps ensure competitions run with the correct medical support.

“We could never afford to employ someone of Tess’s skill level to advise us, so to have her volunteer her time and knowledge is invaluable,” Janet says.

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In addition to volunteering at competitions across Australia, last year Tess received a scholarship that supports women to develop skills in sport leadership and management, and last month was a presenter at the national safety conference for horse sports.

She doesn’t see herself as a “leader” — she says she has just followed the example of others.

“You see people lead by example and I’ve watched and learnt from people getting in and volunteering their time,” she says.

“I’m just one of many people doing that, and it makes a community very healthy.”