Harness racing community rallies for Little Wings

The Forbes community is being invited to come together for a day trackside for a good cause when the Forbes Diggers Harness Racing Club hosts its annual ANZAC meeting on Sunday, 26 April. The club’s feature meeting returns to the Forbes Showground paceway and this year will also raise funds and awareness for Little Wings, a charity providing free flight and ground transport for children requiring medical treatment and their families. Little Wings has had a direct impact on Forbes families, including local mother Sarah Neilsen, whose daughter Maddie was diagnosed with a very rare liver tumour last March. Following her diagnosis, Sarah and Maddie spent nine months in Sydney, living at Ronald McDonald House while Maddie underwent chemotherapy and waited for a life‑saving liver transplant at Westmead Children’s Hospital. During that time, Little Wings ensured they could return home for special occasions or short visits, providing vital connections when long road trips were not possible. Little Wings would get them home for a weekend or special occasion, keeping them connected when Maddie just was not well enough for the six-hour car trip over the mountains. “They were fantastic … our lifeline to family and to home,” Sarah said. “If we didn’t have that it would have been a really hard slog in that nine months we were down there.” The charity has been there to help at critical moments, ensuring family could be together when news arrived that there was a suitable liver for Maddie. Little Wings now continues to support the family by providing monthly transport to Sydney, with Sarah and Maddie travelling down one week each month for Maddie’s ongoing chemotherapy. Sarah said the service extended far beyond transport, with all pilots and drivers volunteering their time and going above and beyond to support families in crisis. “The team, the drivers, you can’t ever say thank you enough to them for what they do for families in those situations that just need to breathe,” she said. “They’re just amazing.” Forbes Diggers Harness Racing Club president Lex Crosby said the ANZAC meeting was a chance for the community to come together, remember, and support a charity that directly helps local families. Gates at the Forbes Showground will open at midday on Sunday, 26 April. The program will include the club’s traditional ANZAC service, a full schedule of memorial races and family-friendly entertainment throughout the day. The meeting’s feature event will be the AgriWest Thank You Little Wings Diggers Cup. Entry to the meeting is free, with donations for Little Wings being accepted at the gate. The club is also selling raffle tickets in the lead‑up to race day, with all proceeds going to the charity. Winners will be drawn on the day, with a range of prizes on offer. A colouring‑in competition will be distributed to local schools and preschools, with prizes available for participating children, and younger racegoers will be entertained with a jumping castle. A canteen will also operate throughout the day. The club hopes the ANZAC meeting will not only honour tradition, but also help ensure Little Wings can continue providing vital support to families when they need it most.