Reined in but still a favourite

EVA BRADLEY/The Dominion Post

ON TRACK: Young Kiwi Bridget Hansen exercises her horse in preparation for the six-day 2010 Horse of the Year show, the biggest equestrian event in the southern hemisphere.

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The star event in the southern hemisphere's biggest horse show has taken a $550,000 drop in prize money but at least it is still on, organisers say.

The 2600 horses entered in the $2.4 million Kelt Capital Horse of the Year have been flooding into Hastings since Saturday, in preparation for the six-day competition.

Organising the 2010 show during a recession had not been easy, Mr Hansen said. His 12th had been a "belt-tightening" exercise, with the most obvious cut being to the Olympic Cup showjumping prize purse, down from $750,000 last year to $200,000 this year.

"It's no secret how tough it has been," he said yesterday, as the show's first day drew to a close.

But at least the event was on. He pointed to the Kuala Lumpur Grand Prix showjumping, due to be held this week, which had been "canned" due to lack of backing.

Mr Hansen said the Horse of the Year's troubles really started the previous year when, just before the show, two sponsors withdrew – leaving a $160,000 hole in the budget. That meant less money to seed the 2010 competition.

This year, there was a drop in some of the show's extras, such as big screens around the 40-hectare site, and the smaller top prize. But on the plus side, the event had a new "platinum" sponsor, HireQuip, along with the continued support of Bell Tea and Kelt Capital.

"We reached our $1.1 million sponsorship target – wonderful, given the climate. The environment has been very, very delicate."

The event runs until Sunday.

- © Fairfax NZ News