SPIRALLING insurance costs have seen the end of live horse racing at the Bronze Thong, with hobby horse race events to replace the real thing this year.
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Paul Baldock, secretary of the Wattle Flat Progress Association and Bronze Thong committee member said it was not financially viable to run live horse racing this year, so the decision was made to follow the European trend of hobby horse racing, at least for this year’s event, being held on November 3.
“The reason for this is insurance premiums have gone up; last year the insurance alone was $4,000 for a one-day event, it’s gone up another 20 per cent this year, and we just can’t do it.”
He said the idea of hobby horses was put forward, and the committee hope the community will embrace it.
“Hobby horse racing is a craze currently sweeping Northern Europe, so we thought we’d give it a go.”
He said the change in format negates the need for costly insurance.
“The plan is to run a series of races including the Bronze Thong itself. It will be similar to the real horses with prizemoney offered.”
Mr Baldock said the committee will provide the hobby horses in both adult and children’s sizes, so the races will be inclusive for everyone.
“I think it’s going to be fun; we’re planning to do adults and kids events.”
The race track won’t be as long as the traditional course, but will instead use the straight section of the course which means there will be plenty of excitement and easy viewing of the ‘horses’ as they go past the crowd.
While the races have yet to be finalised, Mr Baldock expects the children’s races to be 50 metres to 70m and the adults to be 200m to 300m.
Though this year’s event won’t feature live racing, Mr Baldock didn’t rule out its return in future years. He said the committee was talking with Bathurst Regional Council about the possibility of sponsoring the event.
He said the committee was confident the race meeting this year, which will also feature a tug of war tournament, live entertainment, thong throwing, market stalls, novelty events, face-painting, dog agility displays, a barbecue and a car and motorbike display, will be a big draw card for families.
Councillor Jess Jennings, who has raced in the Bronze Thong, said it was tragic that insurance costs had killed off the bush horse race.
He said he would support the proposal for council to provide a funding platform for the event and other village events to continue in the future. He said any funding platforms should be triennial, enabling committees to plan ahead.
