“We were only together for six months - six wonderful months. But we always told each other how we felt, so there was nothing left unsaid.”

“He was such a special person - a real old fashioned gentleman who saw the good in everybody. He was so good for Glen Innes and so many people,” she said.

Mr Futter shared his love of horses with Ms Hawkins, whom he first met at Relay for Life three years ago, and also taught to shoot. “He told me he always wanted a horse that would win at the Metropolitans, and at Grafton, a horse that would race in the Cuninghame family colours.”

Ms Hawkins paid tribute to a woman from Ballandean who was amongst the first to arrive at the accident.

“She rang her husband to come and collect the three children who were in the car. She stayed with me for five hours, at the hospital, during the police interview, until my brother Graham arrived from Tamworth. She was an angel. The staff at Tenterfield hospital were also wonderful, especially (former Glen Innes palliative care nurse) Michael Moore.”

Mr Futter, of ‘Tirranna’ Mt Mitchell, was a sixth-generation Glen Innes district grazier currently serving his second term as president of the Jockey Club (following in the footsteps of his uncle Alec Robertson-Cuninghame and grandfather Forbes Robertson-Cuninghame after whom the racecourse is named). While racing was in his blood from his mother’s side, he inherited his father Dick’s love of clay target shooting, representing Australia at the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games, was a referee’s referee at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and one time held a State double barrel championship title.

Educated at the now-defunct Backwater Public School, Glen Innes Public School and The Kings School, Parramatta, Mr Futter returned to ‘Tirranna’ after studying at Orange Agricultural College and jackerooing at Woomargama Station, Holbrook.

He introduced new ideas and built on the family’s noted Hereford herd, which often produced the top selling lines of cattle at the annual Breeders Sale.

“He was very interested in breeding and stock pedigrees, and did some artificial breeding to boost the genetic base,” his father Dick said.

Happy to offer assistance, he enjoyed sharing his knowledge of cattle with junior judges, and got satisfaction from helping teach young people how to shoot clays.

“He never boasted about his success, and went about things quietly and unobtrusively,” his brother-in-law Michael Norton of Brisbane, said.

“There are a lot of things he has done that we we’ll never know about.”

For some years he represented Glencoe district residents on council’s rural roads committee, and for a period, was also a member of the Mt Mitchell bush fire brigade.

Mrs Futter said her son at the time of his death, was “perhaps the happiest he had ever been”.

“He was so happy with his life, with Leonie, and also the excitement of his involvement with two really promising racehorses. Our thoughts go out to Leonie, and our thanks to Michael Moore for his tremendous support to us all in the hours after the accident,” she said.

Mr Futter will be cremated at a private family service. A celebration of his life will be held at the Glen Innes Racecourse on a date to be fixed.