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Wendy Hawes

Woman sits in passenger seat of a red truck.

Feature image credit:
James Murray, Salmon Arm Observer, c. 1998

Photo credit:
Shannon Northcott nee Hawes, c. 2015

It was chaotic the day the fire jumped the valley. People were fleeing with their possessions.With the fire only minutes away, Wendy Hawes knew her neighbour needed help getting her horses to safety. Wendy opened the gate. She was lucky enough to catch one of the horses and started leading it away from the fire, hoping the others would follow. Running out of air she decided to try and ride instead of lead. Testing the horse to see if it would let her ride, Wendy hopped aboard and the rest is history. . .

Woman sitting on a saddled horse.

Wendy Hawes