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Angel and Pippin have been reunited after the therapy horse went missing for more than two days.
Sascha Yeomans and Tom Mullinar announced they had located their son's therapy horse early on Friday.
The pair, along with their son Angel, returned to the Ah Young's campsite in Buckland Valley where they were staying when Pippin went missing on Tuesday.
Once there they heard his bell in the distances, and when Sascha called for Pippin, he came to them.
The family said the horse had broken his hobbles but was entirely uninjured.
They thanked the community for their support.
EARLIER
Thursday 4pm
Strangers have united to support the search for a Beechworth boy's therapy horse.
Sascha Yeomans and husband Tom Mullinar were camping with 12-year-old Angel, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, at the Ah Young's campsite in Buckland Valley this week.
Angel's nine-year-old therapy horse Pippin, hobbled and wearing a bell, wandered off from the campsite around lunchtime on Tuesday while briefly unattended.
Tom Mullinar, now in the search and without reception, told The Border Mail he and his wife had been inundated by support.
"It's mainly private community members who are all offering to help, which is wonderful," he said.
"We've had support from the local ranger and DELWP.
"The community has been wonderful in terms of their response, from the residents in Bright, Myrtleford and Beechworth, to the hunting and riding communities.
"The horse was lost in the Buckland Valley, along the Buckland River."
Mr Mullinar said Pippin had been trained for his stepson to ride as part of the boy's therapy.
Their camping trip - which in a horrible run of back luck, also involved a broken-down car - was preparation for a major trip next year.
"We are going to ride the Bicentennial National Trail next year, COVID-permitting," he said.
"We were planning on heading off in March, with it being part of his therapy too.
"Pippin is an assistance horse and is very precious."
A Facebook page called 'Finding Pippin' has been created by a close friend, Cassandra Thieme, as a central communication point.
Strangers have searched private properties, along creek beds and provided resources at the campsite, with Ovens Valley Horse Riders Association already nominating to search tomorrow.
Thursday 10am
A Beechworth family is desperate to find a precious service horse called Pippin that belongs to a boy with cerebral palsy.
Sascha Yeomans and her son Angel have appealed for help after Pippin, hobbled and wearing a bell, wandered off from Ah Young's campsite in the Buckland Valley around lunchtime on Tuesday.
The family have spent the past two days searching, and her close Geelong-based friend Cassandra Thieme is helping them spread the word given the significance of Pippin to the pair.
"This horse is more than just a horse," she said.
"She's put a photo up of Pippin and her son.
"They've been training him basically for this huge trip they're doing next year hopefully.
"Basically this horse is kind of like he's wheelchair - his therapy horse and access horse to the bush.
"They realised just a few years ago that his back was starting to get scoliosis. By riding, he started to straighten up so the Royal Children's Hospital said to her 'The more you can ride with him, the better'.
"They'd actually planned a trip and making a documentary of his progress with this horse, and and now the horse has wandered off in the bush.
"It's devastating - she literally said to me last week, 'This horse is the best thing that's happened to us for a long time'."
Those who know the family have gone to the valley to help the search on horseback, with a Facebook post on the Beechworth community page.
Ms Thieme said the family was devastated and had been modest in asking for help, but she thought it was important to share their plight.
"I'm miles away but I just wanted to help in whatever way I could," she said.
"They're such a deserving family and have been in Beechworth for a while.
"You couldn't meet a nicer boy than Angel, who is 11 or 12, he's just pure love and has a wicked slapstick sense of humour."
A search will meet around 3pm this afternoon at the Ah Young's campsite for those wanting to assist - note phone reception is limited.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
