Unknown people saved seven treasured racehorses from their flooded ranch an hour away, while a NSW family celebrated the birth of a new baby boy

Unknown people saved seven treasured racehorses from their flooded ranch an hour away, while a NSW family celebrated the birth of a new baby boy.

Sean and Genevieve Driver anticipated that transporting a new horse to their racing operation, Kurrinda Bloodstock, near Broke, an hour west of Newcastle, would be the most trying aspect of their Wednesday.

They were swiftly shown to be mistaken, however, when their seven horses were in danger of being drowned by rising floodwater while they were an hour away at the hospital giving birth to their son Romeo.

On Wednesday in the late afternoon, Mr. Driver expressed his confidence that he and the stable’s caretaker, Shane Freer, had used all reasonable prudence in protecting the horses from the rising river.

Five of the racehorses had been relocated to the farm’s highest paddock near the front of the property, while the other two had been kept in a safe stable.

After the March floods, “We didn’t think we’d get caught out,” Mr. Driver told Daily Mail Australia. “We thought we were ready,”

In case something went wrong, Mr. Freer and his two sons were also residing at the property.

Approximately six hours after leaving the property for his home in Maitland, Mr. Driver got a frantic telephone from Mr. Freer.

Floodwater reached the farm house in the half-hour he had been away and flooded the paddocks.

“Shane and the guys were confined to a bed’s top bunk. They were considering making a hole in the roof to wait for assistance, according to Mr. Driver.

Despite being only 150 meters away, the horses were unable to reach them since the water was up to their necks. The water was flowing too quickly.

Third- and fourth-generation families in the neighborhood, according to Mr. Driver, claimed to have “never seen anything like that.”

Mr. Driver went around in an effort to return to the farm in order to save his horses, but the floodwater and bad road conditions prevented him from doing so.

I had to go back and turn around. He said, “I couldn’t get through.”

Only halfway through the same drive did Mr. Driver receive another phone call, this time from his wife, informing him that she had given birth.

At 6.50 p.m., Mrs. Driver wrote a frantic message on the neighborhood’s Facebook page while her husband hurried home.

I need an update on Milbrodale Road immediately. the message read.

“Our caretaker has water inside that is filling up quickly. Could someone please describe the view they have from the front of our property? There are now seven horses on the property. I’m grateful.

Caring members of the Broke community got busy sharing the message with the SES and offered assistance as the Drivers hurried to the hospital.

Mr. Freer informed Mr. Driver that “things are getting pretty terrifying” and that he and the two boys were still confined inside the house.

In order to persuade a SES or NSW Police boat to carry him to the farm, one of the company’s horse trainers, Scott Singleton, drove from Scone, which is located around 100 kilometres north of Broke.

I was talking to him on the phone,” Mr. Driver admitted. He attempted to exit on a boat but was unable to do so.

The Drivers had never met Melissa and Cameron Turner before, so it was fortunate that they spotted the Facebook post and hurriedly brought their tiny boat over to the property.

The tenacious couple initially freed Mr. Freer and the two sons from the house with the assistance of another local, Jessica, before using a chainsaw to remove the paddock gates and assist the horses in swimming to safety.

The water was moving so quickly, that they were risking their lives, Mr. Driver added.

“Even though I’ve never met them, it feels like we’ve known each other for ten years when you go through something like this together.”

The five horses remained in higher paddocks at neighbor Kathryn’s farm, while Mr. Freer and the lads spent the night there.

At 8:50 p.m., Mr. and Mrs. Driver welcomed their healthy son Romeo into the world, which was even more excellent news.

He weighs seven pounds, and mom and baby are both content and healthy, according to Mr. Driver.

The following morning, Kelly, yet another friendly stranger, visited the stables to see how the horses were doing.

Since the improvised rescue squad was unable to locate them the previous evening, Mr. Driver stated that he was anticipating the worst.

Kelly, on the other hand, found the two horses “in excellent spirits” and was able to transport them to a drier location.

In a video to Mr. Driver, Kelly added, “They’re in such good order.”

After a long night, the footage showed both horses gorging on fresh hay and drinking water.

Mr. Driver remarked, “We just want to thank everyone who assisted.”

“Without them, we would have had seven dead horses and three lads stuck on a farm roof.”

Shortly after 5 o’clock on Tuesday, the day before the Drivers’ farm flooded, all access roads into and out of Broke were closed.

According to The Daily Telegraph, flooding in Broke is thought to have destroyed roughly 60 homes.

Fortunately, after “exceptional” rains, the water has started to recede.

“Over the last 24 hours, we’ve witnessed widespread rainfall of 100mm to 300mm, especially around the Mid North Coast.”

According to Diane Eadie with the Bureau of Meteorology, “We saw 305mm in Taree and 213mm in Forster.”

“Singleton” (located 26 kilometers north of Broke) was a concern overnight.

Now it appears likely that the peak, which was at or around 13.71 meters and was higher than the level from March 2022, has already been reached.

The good news is that it’s probable we’ll start to see those in the Singleton area now (ease).

“Maitland is still at risk, and there’s a chance the area will have significant flooding of 10.5”