PG . 20
AQHA FEATURE
Gill Sawrey with her husband Hugh Sawrey meeting the queen at the opening of the Stockman ’ s Hall of Fame , Longreach in 1988
Their geldings included the El Grando sired Wagga and Euroka Image by Mr Moore 8 .
In 1977 the family relocated to Lurg Victoria and it was here where Gill Sawrey took part in her first completion cutting . She gradually became a regular on the cutting circuit and proved to be a consistently strong competitor , winning the High Point Ladies award on Bobby H and Elgrando Tootie in 1988 . As Hugh ’ s health declined in the early ‘ 90s he eventually retired from competition and Gill became the face of Bangtail stud around the show circuit . In 1995 she rode with the Australian non-pro team on Bomber Doc and consistently placed in Australia ’ s top ten non-pro riders from 1990 to 1997 .
However her reputation and high regard within the cutting fraternity was borne not simply via show results or money won but through her respect for all riders , professional or amateur , young and old , newcomers and old hands . This was evident in her competition manner but even more so the instigation of the Kelly Country shows .
The shows took many different forms over the years . In some seasons they held night cuttings and they were the first to introduce the Novice-Any-Horse event that would be taken up later on by the NCHA as the Rookies .
AUSTRALIAN QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION - WWW . AQHA . COM . AU