Twelve year GIST survivor and former harness driver, Bobby Kinsey, had two goals when he started planning “Harness a Cure” – to raise awareness about GIST and raise money to cure this disease. With over one hundred participants in the walk and donations continuing to arrive, Dover Down’s first Harness a Cure event to benefit the Life Raft Group’s research was a huge success thanks to Bobby who tells his fellow raftmates in the email community, “Keep Rowing.”
Bobby asked both drivers and horse owners to pledge a portion of their purses for “Harness a Cure”, one of fif-teen races held on March 25. In addi-tion, the Delaware Standard Bred Owners Association agreed to match the horsemen’s contri-butions, up to $5,000. Immediate-ly following the races, Bobby led over one hundred participants, including Congressman John Carney, in a 5/8 mile walk around the Dover Down’s race track to raise GIST awareness. Walkers made contributions and received pledges to par-ticipate.
Bobby is already making plans for “Harness a Cure” 2013. It was my sincere pleasure to work with Bobby and his family and friends on this event and like Bobby, I know that this will continue to grow as an annual event. The Life Raft Group thanks Bobby, his volunteers, the Dover Downs and the Dela-ware Standard Bred Owners Association for their time, talent and generosity.