Just because I wasn't on the board during this time in late December, so I thought I would put up a little posting in memory of Carterton endurance rider and journalist, Helen Bain, whom died after falling from her horse while crossing a stretch of the swollen river east of Masterton.

Ms Bain, a former Kuranui College pupil, has been involved for many years with horse riding, and was a stalwart of the Wairarapa Endurance and CTR Club and national competition place-getter in the sport of endurance riding.

Ms Bain started as a reporter for the Wairarapa Times-Age in the early 90s after studying journalism at Victoria University before working as a general then parliamentary reporter for the Dominion newspaper in Wellington.

She began writing for the Sunday Star Times toward the close of that decade before working as press secretary for John Tamihere and returning to work as political editor for the Star Times.

At the time of her death she was working as communications manager for the Forest & Bird Society.