Icon Bev Buckingham Returning to Tasmania

Tasmanian racing legend Bev Buckingham will return to live in Tasmania, reports tasracing.com. A race fall at Hobart in May 1998 left Buckingham a quadriplegic, but over time she has regained some function. "I am still classed a quadriplegic, but I can walk, and I am reasonably independent and better off than some others with my disability," Buckingham said. "Any sportsperson will tell you that he or she wants to retire on their own terms, but I had that privilege snatched from me while I was still at the top of my game. It was very difficult for me to even watch a race and when I did, I usually ended up crying and kept asking myself why me." Buckingham revealed, "I should have sought professional help to get me through the mental pain in the early stages, but I chose to try and do it myself, and I know now that was the wrong choice. I've come to terms with my life's path and coming back to Tassie to live will be a huge step, but one that I know I have to take." An inaugural inductee into the Tasmanian Racing Hall of Fame in 2005, Buckingham was also inducted into the Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame six years ago. She has been living in Sydney for most of the past eighteen years. Buckingham and daughter Tara will attend the Tasmanian Oaks meeting on Sunday. "Mum has spent all of my life looking after me, so now it's time she started doing what's best for her," Tara said. "She has told me so much about Tasmania and after spending some time here it is easy to see why she wanted to come home. I am really looking forward to living here, because compared to Sydney, this is heaven."