THE PARENTS of a jillaroo student who died at the rural skills campus of Dubbo TAFE College want an official register established to provide detailed information on the background of horses.
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Juliana and Mark Waugh believe a registration system would force owners to be more accountable and afford increased safety for people and organisations buying or hiring horses.
Mr and Mrs Waugh have spent more than two years battling to expose the truth about the
death of their daughter Sarah.
The 18-year-old suffered multiple fractures of the skull, vertebrae separation and cerebral contusion after falling from a former racehorse on March 24, 2009.
The horse, provided to TAFE by Dubbo businessman Glenn Manton, was named Dargo and had raced as Snakey Thought just weeks before Ms Waugh’s death.
An inquest into Sarah’s death found TAFE did not know about the horse’s background.
Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund said Dargo was “patently unsuitable for beginner riders” and the TAFE inquiry into the accident was “not worth the paper it was written on”.
Sarah’s heartbroken parents believe the failures of the TAFE system are not fully clear to the general public.
“We aren’t on a witch hunt and don’t want the people of Dubbo to be angry with us,’’ Juliana Waugh said yesterday.
“But we have been dragged through a protracted investigation because an education institution tried to cover its tracks.
“Even worse, the TAFE jackeroo/jillaroo course continued to run in a dangerous manner for almost two years before it was finally suspended following a series of emails I sent to the minister responsible.
“Now the inquest findings have finally been released it is a bit hard to gauge just how seriously they are being taken.’’
Mr and Mrs Waugh have been through an emotional hell since Sarah’s death and they are now facing legal bills totalling more than $300,000 “because the inquest took so long’’.
The couple firmly believe their daughter’s death was preventable.
“It wasn’t just an accident,’’ Mrs Waugh said.
“Sarah went to Dubbo TAFE to gain country experience before commencing university studies in veterinary science.
“We checked the course out and believed all the promotional material presenting the rural skills campus as safe and professional.
“Little did we know that the course had been cobbled together in an ad hoc manner.
“The inquest was told horse training at Dubbo TAFE had previously been conducted by experienced people on a property at Warren.
“Training had then moved to a riding school. In 2009 TAFE decided to run the training itself by bringing horses to the rural skills campus site.
“Just imagine how difficult it must have been for the TAFE teacher when inexperienced students were required to work with a constantly changing line up of horses.
“It seems incredible that there was no system to check the background of the horses. Glenn Manton told the inquest his children had been riding Dargo for six to eight weeks but the inquest heard he had only owned the horse for a week.
“It appears there is nothing to stop a horse owner from saying anything they like.
“The inquest heard Mr Manton purchased Dargo for $500. Then four weeks after Sarah’s accident the horse was sold for $4000.
“The girl who purchased Dargo was an experienced rider with an Olympic trainer. The trainer said the horse was green and needed training.
“If Dargo had gone to an inexperienced rider, another accident could have occurred.
“That’s why a register is so important. People buying horses should be able to check their history to find out if they have been racing, jumping, working on a farm or just wandering around a paddock.
“Under current arrangements, buying a horse is like a lottery - Sarah’s death is a classic example of just how ridiculous the system is.
“I have been dealing with the Australia Horse Industry Council, based in Victoria, and after receiving the inquest findings we are now talking about ways to improve the voluntary code of practice.
“There is a need to govern people buying and selling horses and individuals and organisations teaching students to ride.
“If owners knew they would be held accountable through a registration system they would be less inclined to portray a horse as something that it is not.’’
TAFE was not available for comment yesterday.