Chance plays a pivotal role in the telling of this remarkable story of how a neglected Clydesdale-cross stock horse was saved from the knackery in a split-second decision , capturing the heart and connecting with the soul of a Hawkesbury-Hills horsewoman , to become a distinguished , and cheeky , member of the NSW Mounted Police .

by Maryann Callaghan

“ It ’ s a story that needed to be told … it ’ s just that incredible and important ,” author and Berambing animal-lover Diana Thurgood said with a genuine depth of warmth and feeling in her voice .

And true to those words , her manuscript Second Chance , which chronicles the unlikely matching of a neglected horse with a former mounted

Toby ( pictured right with Tiffany ) is now a retired , greying 25-year-old . He is living ‘ his best life ’ on a Mudgee property with his brother Bundy ( pictured left ) and being held by author Diana Thurgood .

police officer , is full of inspiration and what Di calls a ‘ series of pivotal OMG life moments ’.

Second Chance , published by Allen & Unwin is already in its second print run and has garnered strong interest in being optioned as a feature film by Hawkesburybased Eagle Rose Productions .

“ The main reason I wrote it is because it ’ s such a beautiful story . True stories have a lot of power to inspire people ,” Di told the Independent .

“ Yes , there are sad moments through it , but overall , it ’ s a happy and uplifting story . It has a strong female main character who stands up for what she believes in and importantly , acts upon it .”

Described as an animal-lover from birth , Di , 58 , who lives with her three adult children and half-dozen horses , various dogs , cats and rabbits on a 40-acre ‘ sanctuary ’ at Berambing , said you should never judge an animal by its looks .

“ It ’ s an animal ’ s character and what ’ s inside … it ’ s that connection and bond that interests me ,” she said .

“ I write about animals and the human bond and I want to continue on that journey . I write about it for people who haven ’ t experienced this kind of bond before .”

And the story of how Second Chance came to be written is another rollicking story of its own .

Di was initially introduced to Tiffany at Bilpin Playgroup because ‘ they both had horses and young children and might hit it off ’ together .

Di , whose family moved out to the Hawkesbury in 1984 , attended both James Ruse Agricultural College and Hawkesbury Ag College . Tiffany and her husband Col lived in Dural and Marayong before moving into the Hawkesbury and running horse riding lessons .

“ We quickly bonded as friends and while in the car on a shopping trip to Lithgow to get groceries Tiff got talking and told me this story about going out to a farm on a chance to buy a beautiful bargain horse called Bundy , seeing again by chance , his neglected brother Toby on the drought-stricken derelict property and their lives together ,” Di said .

“ It was one of those pivotal moments , that moment of OMG this story IS incredible . So , I spoke to Tiff the very next day and said I wanted to write a book about it .

“ Tiff is an amazing storyteller and her life is just a series of crazy events one after the other . She ’ s hilarious and would tell me her story [ in bits and pieces ] … I ’ d tape it and type it up … soon it was 35,000 words !

“ She read it and loved it . My family loved it and kept asking me if I was going to do anything with it . Zoe and Aaron read the manuscript and loved it , I added another seven years to it from 2010 to 2016 into Toby ’ s retirement .

“ I looked around and didn ’ t have an agent , I didn ’ t want to self-publish again and I ’ m a crap marketer , so I sent it as an unsolicited manuscript to Allen & Unwin … and it was picked up just like that – it ’ s

A handsome Toby and proud mounted police officer Tiffany Williams on the job in June 2004 .

like the story needed to be told and it was meant to happen .”

Couple Zoe ( Naylor ) and Aaron ( Jefferies ) whom Di is referring to are the actors from the hit TV series McLeod ’ s Daughters . The Hawkesbury residents , who own Eagle Rose Productions , took horse-riding lessons with the now retired police officer Tiffany , at the Bilpin property she shares with husband Col and their children . It ’ s how they came across her manuscript Di explained .