(Photo: kilkivangreathorseride.com.au)
September 11, 2013
“Half a horse ride is better than no horse ride” … this is the thinking behind a decision to run the 2013 Kilkivan Great Horse Ride in a different direction and over a shorter distance.
The ride will be held on September 21 from Woolooga to Widgee and will end with a night of live entertainment at the Widgee Sports Grounds.
The Kilkivan Great Horse Ride Association was hit with a perfect storm earlier this year when flood waters tore through the Kilkivan Showgrounds.
The flood damage forced the postponement of the 2013 ride, which had been scheduled for April.
And while the Association looked to find another date, and Gympie Council worked to repair the showgrounds, a jam-packed schedule of events already booked – including the Tom Quilty Gold Cup and the Australian Campdraft Association National Finals – stopped the Association from being able to use the venue.
Association chairman David Lahiff explained today there is a three-week “curfew” between events at the showgrounds to allow the grounds to recover.
“We couldn’t hold it any earlier in the year and if we held it any later, it would be only six months before the 2014 ride,” he said.
In the end, the decision was made to hold the postponed Kilkivan Great Horse Ride in conjunction with the Angel Flight Ride which runs every year from Woolooga to Widgee.
There will be three “trails” converging on Widgee on September 21.
- The Angel Flight Trail will leave at at 7:30am from ‘Turavale’ at 3257 Woolooga-Bauple Road, Woolooga. The ride will cross the range, stopping at the Webb family’s property ‘Thornside’ for lunch before heading to Widgee.
- The Hanging Rock Trail will start at 8:30am at the Kilkivan Bush Camping and Caravan Park on Rossmore Road, south of Kilkivan (with any overflow of riders starting 1km further down the road on David Lahiff’s property). Food and free entertainment will be are available on Friday night (BYO alcohol) and Saturday breakfast at David’s place. Riders will also stop at ‘Thornside’ for lunch.
- The Carriage Trail for horse-drawn vehicles will start and end at the Widgee Sportsgrounds. It will also stop at ‘Thornside’ for lunch.
Mr Lahiff said he expected about 350 riders to take part this year, well down on the record of 1152 set several years ago, but added he could be “surprised”.
Tanda Webb, at ‘Thornside’, also doesn’t quite know how many riders she’ll be expecting to roll up for lunch, but she’s not worried.
“Everyone’s welcome,” she said.
The traditional “Tom Grady Campfire Concert”, sponsored by Ken Mills Toyota, will be held from 6:30pm at the Widgee Sports Grounds after the three trails conclude.
Music will be provided by students from the Australian Institute of Country Music in Gympie, Karen Thompson, Bruzz and Glen Albrecht and meals and drinks will be available at the Widgee Bushman’s Bar
The 2014 Kilkivan Great Horse will be back to normal – weather permitting! – and is scheduled for April 5 next year.
