IN rescuing a broken-down racehorse named Elvis, musician and author Gillian Wills says she ultimately rescued herself.
The 75-year-old Ransome resident will launch her memoir, Elvis and Me: How a musician and a broken racehorse rescued each other, at Cedar and Pine bar in Bay Terrace, Wynnum, from 6.30-8pm on October 15.
The book traces the linked journeys of Ms Wills and Elvis, the former racehorse she cared for from 2006 until his death in 2021.
“We shared a parallel journey,” Ms Wills said.
“I found in caring for Elvis that I could be loved not for things that I have done, but for me.
“I wasn’t a professor of music. I wasn’t the loser that had taken on this horse. I could be liked just because I was Gillian.
“It put me in a new era of self-worth. He helped me find a new identity.”
Ms Wills, a former Dean of Music at the Victorian College of the Arts, moved to Queensland in 2000 to join her partner, then Queensland College of Art director Mostyn Bramley-Moore.
After moving to Kangaroo Point, she worked as a lecturer, arts and music journalist, radio contributor and music examiner.
But when Mr Bramley- Moore left his studio job and wanted more space for an art shed, the couple began looking for a property with a larger yard.
That search unexpectedly led Ms Wills to an online advertisement for a horse.
“I found myself googling ads for horses and found Elvis – fresh off the racetrack and perfect for a beginner,” she said.
The couple drove five hours to Kyogle to meet the horse, but Ms Wills said the reality was confronting.
“He was skeletal. His head was drooped. He had insect bites,” she said.
“I looked into his eyes, and it was like he was screaming, ‘Get me out of here’.”
Elvis’s physical condition gradually improved, but Ms Wills soon discovered he had deep behavioural trauma and was terrified of saddles.
“If a butterfly shifted its wings, Elvis would gallop off, but a truck could go past and he wouldn’t notice,” she said.
“I was told I had taken on more than I could chew and that if I was smart, I would take him to the knackery.”
But Ms Wills refused to give up.
“I have that determination gene and there is no way I won’t see a project through,” she said.
Music will remain part of the story at the Wynnum launch with internationally acclaimed guitarist Karin Schaupp providing a musical interlude.
The book is published by Hawkeye Publishing and is available through independent booksellers and retailers including Amazon, Collins, QBD, Mary Ryan, Riverbend, Dymocks and Harry Hartog.
Ms Wills is now working on her second novel, Open Sky.
Entry for the Wynnum launch is $12.75, and bookings can be made on 0341 615 787.
