juniper

Good morning Ursula, I'm from Australia too......I'm a therapy assistant in Country Western Australia. I have a lady who loves horses and remineces about her time riding ..... I took her to a friend's farm so she was able to feed the horses (carrots), pat the horses and generally be on the farm again. This worked really well, it was delightful to see the connection she had with the horses, I got some wonderful photos.
We also have riding for the disabled (mentioned in earlier comment) and depending on your person's condition/health maybe they could assist at a place like this even if to help put riders at ease....a win win situation.

We have a GUYS GARAGE......works really well with the men choosing to be busy working on projects - from sanding, painting and small repair jobs - or just "supervising" the rest of us

Good Morning - thanks for all the great ideas......I think the answer to question 1 is over $6,000,000 but this is the total prize money. According to: http://www.topendsports.com/events/horse-racing/melbourne-cup/winners-prize-money.htm

Year Total Prize Money Notes
2014 $6,200,000 First $3,600,000 and trophies valued at $175,000, $10,000, $10,000, $2,500 & $2,500 to owner, trainer, rider, strapper (Tommy Woodcock Trophy) and breeder respectively; Second $900,000; Third $450,000; Fourth $250,000; Fifth $175,000; Sixth $125,000; Seventh $125,000; Eighth $125,000; Ninth $125,000 & Tenth $125,000.
Hoping google is correct :-)
cheers
Lee-anne