Leigh Nichol Raymer will receive the 2024 January Davies Humanitarian Award from the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA).

The award was created in 2008 by USHWA member Callie Davies-Gooch in memory of her daughter to recognize contributions beyond harness racing, and it is given annually at the Dan Patch Awards Banquet.

At the end of September, Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 hurricane, devastated the southeast across 10 states. North Carolina took heavy damage as Hurricane Helene made impact as the deadliest storm in its history. Complete towns were washed away from flooding, destruction swept across the state and many lives were lost.

Raymer, a current resident of Columbus, North Carolina and a member of the harness racing community, was instrumental in the relief after the hurricane.

"Our farm, Thermal Ridge, is based just 10 minutes from Lake Lure and 15 minutes from Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock was completely washed away; so was the neighbouring town Bat Cave. We are 15 minutes from Hendersonville and 35 from Asheville," said Raymer. "We watched our neighbour's house across the street get flooded out. We personally know several people displaced, working hard to save their businesses and have come to know tens of dozens who have lost their homes. We spent a lot of time during the week without power, reaching out to people we hadn't heard from hoping they were okay. 

"We were surrounded by destruction. It's all personal," continued Raymer. "The good from this bad is, our community has come together so strongly. We have met so many in the community and had so many people from other states reach out to help. Unfortunately, we are far from normal and we wonder if some will have to be a new normal."

Raymer was born into the harness racing business. She moved to North Carolina in 2020, bought a farm and created her own business through a farm stand.

"My mother's father drove and trained horses in Delaware, my father trained and bred horses, and my step-mother is an equine veterinarian," said Raymer. "I grew up in Delaware at the racetrack, worked for my dad and then others as I got older during the summers while home from college. After receiving my master's in public relations from University of Georgia, I worked for Winbak Farm for four years in marketing and communications. A year later, I met my husband Tyler at the Harrisburg horse sale. We trained horses for about nine years, mostly based out of Delaware and did New York Sire Stakes. 

"When COVID hit, we decided to move to North Carolina on a whim. We were able to buy a farm for what we sold our house for in Delaware. We brought Tirade Hanover and Master Builder with us. Tyler got the job as the official farrier at Tryon International Equestrian Center, and I have been able to stay home, work on the farm and homeschool our son Rory. Rory had been struggling with word problems, and I decided to get a small farm stand to sell eggs and produce from our farm. Tyler laughed at me, as we brought it home, thinking it was another harebrained idea I had. It worked helping Rory learn word problems, counting money and adding decimals, plus we started bringing in a small weekly passive income."

Raymer used her farm stand to make an impact in the hurricane relief efforts.

"When the hurricane hit, I had planned to sell produce and pumpkins that weekend," explained Raymer. "I put everything out, but noticed we weren't selling much. No one had cash and then, an older farmer mentioned it would be nice if we had bread [as] he did not have any. I ran up to the house, grabbed him half a loaf of bread. I then told Tyler that we had a problem, no one had cash or enough food. 

"The electricity was out and everything was shut down," continued Raymer. "To get gas we had to drive over an hour towards Charlotte and had to drive into town for internet service. We got in contact with friends from Charlotte for food and then had other friends bring in baby supplies from Charlotte. Our original thought was to donate the items at the local spots, but noticed things were in disarray. We decided we could be more accessible at our own produce stand so we did."

With the help from others, more donations piled in to supply the farm stand. 

"Bigger places were turning away supplies and volunteers, but our goal was to not say no. First we filled our carport with supplies, then we had a church from Virginia join with a couple from Minnesota to buy us a storage container. It was amazing to see. I had started with days asking God where we were going to get supplies, and ended asking God where we were going to put supplies. Each time I asked, he responded. It has been mindblowing.

"The couple from Minnesota also made us shelves to put down by the road. For the first month we were open every day. Each day we were going through $2,000 to $3,000 worth of food and supplies. We have had people come up and tell us they lost everything. We have given them tents, inflatable mattresses, sleeping bags, heaters, propane, grills, food, clothing, toiletries, pet food, bedding, cleaning supplies, whatever we can possibly fit in their car. In one instance, we had a couple living in a lean-to that we first supplied them with their tent. Then they were given a trailer but it needed repair. We have made them an account at the local hardware store to fix up the trailer, we got them a new dryer and some flooring. We also had a family that had their house completely emerged in water, and we were able to get them sponsors to help rebuild.

"We are now open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It is now more self-serve with shelves filled with food and supplies. I work just keeping the shelves full, giving hugs and asking if there are any specific needs. Tomorrow we are handing out 100 Thanksgiving boxes with canned vegetables, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, canned ham, fresh produce, toiletries and a turkey breast. We hope to do the same for Christmas and we are also doing a toy drive for the local kids."

Raymer will be recognized at the 2024 Dan Patch Awards Banquet, presented by Caesars Entertainment, which will honour the best of the best of harness racing, both human and equine. The banquet will be held on Sunday, Feb.  23, 2025 at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida. 

(USHWA; Photo of Leigh Nicole, Rory and Tyler Raymer)