Kerrin McEvoy, his wife Cathy, and their four children Rhys, Jake, Charlie and Eva travelled to Streaky Bay for the unveiling of the bronze sculpture made in his honour, and the town turned out in force to celebrate the achievements of arguably South Australia’s greatest ever jockey.
“It’s a special feeling, quite a surreal feeling,” Kerrin said. “It’s not something you really set out to achieve to have a statue made of yourself.
“I must admit I don’t mind grabbing the limelight when I’m on the back of a horse but when my two feet are on the ground it’s a little different.
“Ken Martin has done a fantastic job and it’s a very proud moment to have my family here with me today.”
It was also a proud moment for the Streaky Bay Racing Club which has worked on the project for the past five years. They established a sub-committee which helped to raise the $125,000 needed to create the sculpture by Port Lincoln artist Ken Martin.
Kerrin’s dad Phil was amazed at how the whole town got behind the project. Incredibly they raised $50,000 on one night in the Streaky Bay Hall.
“We had a Dancing with the Stars event where six couples danced and it was a great thing,” Phil said.
“We planned it, and it was a lot of work and a lot of dancing to get to the grand finale. It was online, with money going in, and people could view it online, and the money just kept tumbling in.
“It was just so good. It was a great night for Streaky Bay. I really thank those people that put their heart and soul in to raise the money to get this project going,” he said.
Kerrin also donated a saddle he won The Everest on, plus his whip, trousers and colours which helped to raise another $7,500 at an auction a few months later. The auction and Dancing with the Stars night raised a combined $90,000.
Like the Makybe Diva statue at Port Lincoln, the McEvoy sculpture which stands across the road from the Streaky Bay Hotel is expected to be a drawcard for the town.
But the three time Melbourne Cup winner and two time Everest winner initially needed some convincing to go along with the idea.
“We spoke with Kerrin and he outright said he didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to be a part of it. He said no dad, don’t be so stupid. I don’t want to do it,” Phil said.
“Kerrin’s like that, that’s the type of guy he is. When I put it in another perspective I said look, would you look at it this way and say you’re doing it for Streaky Bay. You’re born and bred there, you went to school there, you played sport there and you’ve gone around the world and done what you’ve done, and you’ve put streaky bay on the map so look at it like that.
“He rang back and I said dad I can see what you’re trying to do so I’ll go with it, and that was fantastic because we would have been up in arms if he said no, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
Phil was a talented jockey in his own right, and one of four generations of McEvoy’s who were on hand to celebrate the unveiling.
“If someone said to me back in the day that our son would be all around the world, and riding for the Sheik, and second in the world to Frankie Dettori, you would have laughed at them.
“He was just so determined to do this. That’s all he wanted to do, he was with horses all his life. He was riding ponies, then got into race horses. He was riding horses in work before he went to school.
“He was just going to be a jockey and that was it. And to do what he’s done he’s put a lot of hard work and commitment into it too. He’s a really focused lad. He really focuses on something strongly, and what he achieves is what he puts in.
“He even goes to the school and speaks when he comes to Streaky Bay, and tells the kids if they’ve got something in mind that they want to do - please do it. He’s done it so why can’t they. So it’s a great thing.”
IMAGE: Rebecca Gosling
