Clydesdale rescued from steep gully
BY JEFF TOLLAN
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In a heartening tale of discovery, Amy the Clydesdale has been reunited with her owner after 10 days trapped in a gully.
Her rescue had the hallmarks of a classic tale – an aerial search, drama, blood, sweat, gorse and a tractor.
The saga began when Henry and Beth Prescott-Ballagh returned to their Waihaorunga farm from a trip away, to find their five-year-old, 16-hand-high, Clydesdale mare missing.
Police were informed in case Amy had been stolen and David Sutton of Waitangi Station offered his helicopter for an aerial search of the farm. It was Where's Wally, country-style.
To Mr Prescott-Ballagh's delight, Amy was found yesterday, at the bottom of a gully, surrounded by thick, seemingly impenetrable gorse and unable to move.
"She hadn't gone that far from the paddock. She went down into a gorse gully that was steep and she couldn't get out. We spent three days combing everywhere; without the helicopter ... we would have smelled her before we saw her."
The helicopter pilot only spotted Amy thanks to her white face looking up from a mass of yellow and green gorse.
The five-hour rescue mission was not for the faint of heart, with Mr Prescott-Ballagh taking his tractor with a mower attached, into the depths of the gully, cutting a track to Amy.
"She's as happy as Larry, chewing on grass," he said after the rescue. "Once she got out she was fine. Just a bit weary. There are no cuts, nothing.
"We were just so pleased to get her back."
- © Fairfax NZ News
