Friday 12th June 2015
By Ben Walker from the Daily Liberal
Members of Dubbo’s harness racing fraternity will come together later this month to help one of their own.
A family fun day will be held in conjunction with the Dubbo club’s meeting on June 26 to help Jess Sutton, the wife of well-known local trainer-driver James Sutton, as she battles illness.
Jess, 31, was diagnosed with cervical cancer earlier this year, which has since spread to her lymphatic system.
The couple have two young children, Ally and Jarrod, and while the prognosis is somewhat positive, friends and family are rallying around them in order to make things a little bit easier.
“Jess starts radiation and chemotherapy soon so things are going to be rough for a little while,” said Amanda Short, who is organising the fundraiser.
“What we’re planning is a twilight market to be held in conjunction with the trots, and we’re trying to secure a jumping castle and some face painting to turn it into a really family-oriented event.
“Brad Haling is going to provide some live music for us, and we have a heap of different auction and raffle prizes up for grabs as well. Jess was a bit hesitant when he first brought up the idea but she’s come around to the idea because so many people are keen to chip in and do their best to help out.
“The harness racing club were only too happy to accommodate the event as well, which shows how tight-knit the community really is. Hopefully through the fundraising we will be able to allow James to take the kids down to visit Jess while she is having treatment and also cover some of their costs.
“We’ve also got the Department of Family Planning coming along to talk about cervical cancer as well, so it will be a chance to help people become a little bit more informed as well.”
An online fundraising portal called ‘Jump In For Jess’ has been set up on www.mycause.com.au, and at lunch time on Monday the tally sat at $2860, while more information can be found on a Facebook page titles ‘Supporting Jess Sutton’.
Harness Racing NSW (HRNSW) is the controlling body for harness racing in New South Wales with responsibility for commercial and regulatory management of the industry including 31 racing clubs across the State. HRNSW is headed by an industry-appointed Board of Directors and is independent of Government.