Qld beef baron still critical after horse fall

Mr Acton was airlifted to the Royal Brisbane Hospital last Friday night after falling from a horse while competing at Clarke Creek campdraft, north-west of Marlborough, Qld.

Mr Acton was placed on life support at 3am on Saturday, with family told to prepare for the worst.

Australian Campdraft Associa- tion (ACA) president, Ian Atthow, said the thoughts of the entire campdrafting community were with the Acton family.

"Our thoughts are certainly with Graeme and his family," he said.

Mr Atthow said Mr Acton was presented with the ACA Roll of Honour at the 2012 National Finals for his contribution to the sport.

"He has been an ACA member for a long time and competed for many years, and the Acton family load cattle for a huge number of campdrafts," he said.

"Not only Paradise Lagoons but Chinchilla, Warwick, Longreach, Clarke Creek - the list is endless."

With his brother Evan, Mr Acton (pictured at an earlier event) is a director of Acton Super Beef and the Acton Land and Cattle Company, which owns more than 3.8 million acres across Queensland.

The Acton family run about 180,000 head of Santa Gertrudis, Charolais, Angus and Brahman cattle, and supply cattle into both the live and boxed beef export trade.

The Acton family constructed a campdrafting facility at their home property, Paradise Lagoons, which is now the home of Australia's richest campdraft.

Vice-president of Paradise Lagoons Campdraft and long-time family friend to the Acton family, Cameron McIntyre, thanked the public on behalf of the Acton family and the Paradise Lagoons Campdraft Committee, for its support.

Mr McIntyre said to avoid any speculation, it was too early to determine whether or not the 2014 Paradise Lagoons Camp- draft would go ahead as planned from July 16 to 20.

- with HELEN WALKER and BRAD COOPER