Bandaging her horse’s injured leg, Miggles suffered a round kick to the head but, while it took her a couple of minutes to get up, she decided to continue getting her daughter’s mount on a truck to take them to a riding lesson.
“I was lucky my husband (Rick) and children were with me at the time but you tend to not think anything of it and just get on with things,” she says.
“But as the days went by this terrible headache – like a freight train through the head – got worse and I couldn’t read, couldn’t watch television . . . couldn’t do anything.
“An MRI showed I had a lake of fluid in my temple so I just had to take it easy and let time work its magic.”
That was 25 years ago and one ongoing consequence is that, due to the elevated risks involved should she suffer another head injury, Miggles was advised to never ride another horse again.
That was devastating but she made the best of it by taking up another passion . . . golf.
“I started playing at Awapuni Links using a set of borrowed clubs and with the support of an older friend,” she says.
“I just thought ‘if she can hit the ball like that, then so can I’, and I’ve loved playing ever since.”
Now, 2025 marks the 19th time Miggles has played in the annual Eastland Helicopter Rescue Trust Golf Tournament.
This year she’ll be able to focus on pure enjoyment of the game as she recently stood down from her 10-year tenure as president of host organisation, the Poverty Bay Golf Club.
She’ll be in with a good shot at the prize pool: she plays twice a week and her regular EHRT tournament ensemble, MVP, has emerged as the top women’s team for the last two years in a row.
MVP will this year be sporting Surfing For Farmers t-shirts to double-down on their day out golfing for good.
But it’s lucky they got their entry in early: registrations for the 36 team spots opened last month and were filled in just a few days, though EHRT events manager Sara McNaught says there may be a short wait-list.
This year with a new naming sponsor, the Craigs Investment Partners EHRT Charity Golf Tournament will be on at Awapuni Links on Friday, March 21.
It is one of two major fundraising events that help EHRT hit its $700,000 annual target to support the life-saving work of the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter.
Between raffles run on the course, the sale of EHRT’s famous steak sandwiches, a post-play auction and green fees donated by Poverty Bay Golf Club, EHRT last year raised $15,400 to help meet its fundraising obligations.
And hopes are high for an even better result this year with the Craigs Investment Partners’ sponsorship covering a good chunk of the running costs.
Meanwhile, Miggles Shanks says that while winning is always nice, the EHRT tournament is seen less as a competitive event and more as a fun day out on the green while raising funds for a great cause.
“You often do have to work hard to raise money for such critical services but it’s all worth it,” she says.
“When you need services like the rescue helicopter the team is right there for you, so now it is our turn to be there for them.”
CAPTION: WHEN ONE DOOR SHUTS . . . A kick to the head ended Miggles Shanks’ horse-riding career but opened the door to a new passion, golf, which she’s also using as a fundraising tool by playing in this year’s Craigs Investment Partners EHRT Golf Tournament.