Nigel Sim would have chuckled at his family’s theme for their Relay for Life team this year.
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Team Nige’s Cowboys and Indians will honour a “caring, funny and generous dad and friend” who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on August 17, 2015 at just 46.
The lovable larrikin owned and ran the Albury Horseland store with his wife Allison and was a universally liked and respected figure in the stock horse community – despite not being a rider himself.
Nigel’s three children – Lachie, Jack and Annabelle – were his life and he loved watching them in everything they did, his eulogy last year outlined.
The family has been heavily involved in the Australian Stock Horse Society for more than 15 years with Lachie and Annabelle taking up the reins on the riding front.
Jack, meanwhile, followed in his father’s footsteps with the “kick-start style of horse riding” – dirt bikes.
That’s why the ‘Cowboys and Indians’ theme would have tickled Nigel’s fancy.
“Jack’s definitely more the Indian of the family,” laughs girlfriend and team captain Abbey Gow, 19.
“He’s wearing a huge Indian headpiece while Lachie, his partner Bec, and Annabelle will be in their cowboy gear.
“If you saw the boots and hats lined up on the front verandah you’d know this is a fitting tribute to the Sim family.”
Nigel loved an occasion and at horse events you could always find him eager for a chat with a “big smiley grin on his face”.
There’s no doubt he would have loved the atmosphere of the Albury-Wodonga Relay for Life event.
Thousands of people gather together for a common cause. And, of course, ample opportunities for a chat.
When Nigel was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2013, it turned the world of his close-knit family upside down.
It was when he first became sick that Jack and Abbey started attending the Border relay.
Last year, just four weeks after Nigel’s death, the family rallied to put in a team with a fundraising target of $2000. They raised $6850.
This year the team’s preparations began in July and Abbey has spent hours making feathered headbands and rallying the troops.
The inscription on Team Nige’s relay page reads:
“We relay because we want to raise as much money for research, create as much awareness as possible for other cancers … and most of all create a legacy for our dad.”
More than 40 family and friends will gather in a teepee at Birallee Park, swap stories and share a few Johnnie Walkers in Nigel’s honour.
There will be laughter, comfort found in the camaraderie of fellow teams and shared sadness for those loved and lost.
And when this courageous crew takes to the oval adorned in Indian headpieces, cowboy hats and jangly spurs, you get the feeling “Nige” will be kicking back and enjoying the entire spectacle.