The Cowra & District Trail Horse Riding Club is very excited to be hosting a major horse riding event, the NSW Australian Trail Horse Riders Association (ATHRA) Regional Rendezvous on April 9 to 11.
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ATHRA is the country's peak Trail Horse riding association with thousands of members in accredited clubs spread across the country.
The NSW Regional Rendezvous 2021 is the first state camp for a number of years, and will bring together 60 of these riders from 14 different clubs for a fun weekend of trail riding in the Cowra area.
Initially planned for April 2020, but then cancelled like so many events due to the COVID pandemic, it has been a long time in the planning, but with so much preparation time everything has come together well and the club is looking forward to putting on a fantastic weekend of riding and socialising, as well as giving visitors an introduction and a taste of our wonderful district and all that it offers.
The ride base is a sheep paddock on private property near Lyndhurst, adjacent to the Roseberg State Forest and while it might be lacking in fancy facilities, riders will have everything they need, including plenty of hearty homemade meals and yummy treats to eat.
Saturday will see the 60 riders hit the trails in Roseberg State Forest, about 26km through both native forest and plantation pine, along major fire trails and the single file motor bike tracks.
A dedicated support crew will meet riders along the way with morning tea and lunch to break up the ride and let riders and horses have a well-earned rest.
Other forest users who are in the area on this day are advised to take care and be aware of horses and riders.
The plan for Sunday is a morning ride around the lovely host property Old Woman's Creek, 12km exploring grazing country, rolling hills, up and down and across the creek, and into the bush paddock with a morning tea stop along the way.
Evenings will be spent enjoying hearty homemade meals around the campfire, chatting with old friends and making new ones too.
Clubs will have the chance to share their favourite or most memorable trail riding stories.
One of the highlights of the weekend will be the charity raffle in support of Dolly's Dream with some amazing prizes up for grabs.
It has been a big task planning and preparing for the weekend and club members have been working hard to ensure it is a success.
On the weekend, a dedicated team of volunteers including club members, friends and family will be kept busy taking care of all the riders, as well as cooking up a storm for dinner each night.
Gap RFS brigade will also be lending a hand, delivering water to horses in camp and out on the trail as well as providing lunch out in the forest on Saturday.
The Rendezvous team have also received an amazing amount of support from a wide range of sources including many local businesses as well as horse industry contacts.
Both Cowra Council and ATHRA have made generous cash donations towards the running cost of the weekend, helping to keep the cost for participants as low as possible.
In addition we have received generous donations of goods both for the welcome pack that each rider will receive and for inclusion in a charity raffle.
Riders voted on their choice of charity to support and Dolly's Dream was clearly the most popular choice.
It is hoped that there will be a substantial donation made to Dolly's Dream at the end of the weekend.
The club would like to extend a huge thank you to those businesses whose generousity has helped to ensure the Regional Rendezvous is going to be a success.
Those supporters include: Greens Mandurama, Allflex Tags, Cowra Tourism, Ellis Saddlery, Double Dan Horsemanship, Cowra Vet Centre, SureFoot Pads, Powertools Plus, Manildra Feed, Central Veterinary Services, Greg Grant Saddlery, Blayney Tyrepower, Regis Resources, Pepper Tree Farm Equine, Goodwoods Saddlery, Cavallo Horse Boots, Helmet Brims and Horselands.