Boyle’s Boy romps home a £2600 winner       

By Bill Hicks IN THE past year, Glenochil prisoners, staff and their relatives have raised a staggering £15,000 for CHAS, but last Saturday night the figure leaped a huge hurdle — and it was thanks to a dead cert. At the Friends of CHAS Rocking Horse Ball, in Edinburgh’s Prestonfield House Hotel, Boyle’s Boy romped home a £2600 winner during the evening’s auction. Built in Glenochil’s craft workshop, the dappled gelding from the stable of prisoner Kevin Boyle showed a clean pair of heels when it shot out of the starting gate towards the auctioneer’s hammer.

Glenochil inmate Kevin Boyle, with his  instructor Gary McMillan.

However, long before the auctioneer searched for his opening bid, the course for Boyle’s Boy had been charted. Died Having supported CHAS for the past four years, George Wimpey Builders had a table at the ball and sitting watching events unfold was finance director Ian Thomson and his wife Alison. Last year their daughter Kerry died at the age of 12, having suffered Leigh’s Disease, a metabolic condition which lowers resistance to illness. “Kerry was diagnosed when she was four and we used Rachel House many times,” says Ian. “Colleagues and friends who were at the ball with us knew our background and when we spotted the horse on display prior to the auction we decided we’d bid for it.” Having taken a table at the Rocking Horse Ball for the past four years, the George Wimpey employees knew the type of competition they’d be up against. “We were well versed in the bidding process and, holding our nerve, we managed to secure the rocking horse for £2600,” says Ian. “We are planning on using the horse for other fund-raising events to raise more money for CHAS and are already looking at taking it to an event at Musselburgh race course next month.” When staff and prisoners heard how much Boyle’s Boy had raised, no-one was more pleased than prisoner Kevin Boyle and warder Gary McMillan. For nine months, under the guidance of former joiner and tutor Gary, Kevin toiled on the horse and, just days before the ball, Boyle’s Boy — BB for short — was transported from Glenochil to Prestonfield. “The idea came from a similar horse made two years ago,” says Kevin, who admits he had never lifted a woodworking tool since leaving school.  “The legs and base are made from one piece of wood for strength, but the rest is built from scraps.” Pressure Under pressure, Kevin knew once he’d made the commitment he couldn’t let CHAS and the children it serves down, even though there were times when he could have seen the project far enough. “Some nights I lay in bed cursing it and didn’t want to face it again. But I’m overjoyed at what I’ve achieved.” Although he was sad to see BB leave Glenochil, Kevin is happy at getting the opportunity to give something to Scotland’s sick children. Mind you, if it hadn’t been for sharp-eyed Gary, things could have turned out somewhat differently. “When the head was ready for fitting . . . I stuck it on the wrong end,” admits Kevin.

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