Oblivious to the cheers of the crowd who had heard of her
battle with breast cancer, Lynne McCall competed in at the
48th annual Waikouaiti Rodeo on Saturday.
Fresh after clocking just over 18 seconds in the open barrel
race, the rodeo veteran told the Otago Daily Times she
tuned out the crowd and noise, instead focusing on the first
turn.
"It is critical for women who have breast cancer to have the
support of this support from the Breast Cancer Foundation, as
it can feel like you are very much alone out there."
The Lindis Pass resident said living in an isolated area she
appreciated the calls and emails from thefoundation and it
was nice to help raise founds for it.
Diagnosed seven years ago, and experiencing a mastectomy and
chemotherapy, "all I wanted to do was to ride my horse
again".
"Riding helps me forget about the whole issue of breast
cancer. It was part of my recovery."
She had no plans to stop competing in the rodeos, and it was
a "case of go hard or go home".
The Breast Cancer Foundation fundraising idea originated from
America, and was picked up by a rodeo club in the far north
before being adopted by the Waikouaiti club three years ago.
Encouraging wearing pink shirts was among the fundraising
ideas.
In the past two years the club had raised $14,000 for the
Breast Cancer Foundation, and was on track to top $10,000
this year, club treasurer Henrietta Purvis said.
"We have amazing sponsors, and breast cancer touches so many
families, so we are really pleased how the cowboys have got
behind it, wore the pink, and the crowd has been amazing."
hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz
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