Heavy Horse Day a chance to appreciate horsepower
STEP back in time to a bygone era of agriculture at Mick Bradford’s Heavy Horse Day this weekend.
For Mr Bradford, there is no horse more powerful yet graceful than a clydesdale.
At 83, he is still an enthusiast for the farming machinery of the 1800s and 1900s and he will be driving his 15 horses through the muddy black soil at his Yangan property.
Philip Thomson and his bullock team will be returning to the event to share the paddock with Mr Bradford this Sunday.
“They’re coming from up the hinterland at the Gold Coast,” Mr Bradford said.
The event recognises the horsepower contributed to the development of agriculture.
See fantastic working horses and displays of horse-drawn equipment and heritage working displays of a local blacksmith, wheelwrighting, haymaking, chaffmaking and corn shelling.
Entry costs $10 for all those who pass through Mick’s front gates for the event, which is now in its 16th year.
Most recently, proceeds from the event have supported LifeFlight Rescue Helicopters, with more than $5000 being raised for the charity.
“One year I know, we got up to $12,000,” Mr Bradford said.
“We’d be over $100,000, no doubt about it.”
LifeFlight Foundation’s community engagement officer for the south-west, Amy Luhrs, said the Heavy Horse Day would help LifeFlight continue its vital community service.
The event is at 122 Swanfels Rd, Yangan, from 9am–4pm on Sunday.
To get there, head east on Yangan Rd, pass through Yangan and turn left into Swanfels Rd. Mick’s property is only a few minutes down the road on the left-hand side (just look out for the horses).
For more information, phone 4664 8206 or find Mick Bradford’s Heavy Horse Day on Facebook.