Under construction: WPNEC’s new arena surface will be ready for December competitions.
Equestrian Victoria announces exciting plans for Werribee Park
Equestrian Victoria announced on Friday that Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre (WPNEC) will be undergoing some exciting development work, including the resurfacing of a multi-purpose arena!
Last year it was announced that EV had secured a $500k Community Sport Infrastructure Grant from Sport Australia, which was assigned to building a new multi-purpose arena. It has now been revealed that the new Martin Collins waxed surface will be completed in time for the venue’s December competitions.
Deborah MacNicol, member of the WPNEC committee and EV representative said, “We have worked with recognised leaders in the space, Martin Collins, to complete the works and I’m so proud that we have delivered the very best surface at Werribee Park, which is exactly what our community needs and deserves.”
Deb is the Chef d’Equipe for the Equestrian Australia Dressage Team for Tokyo and certainly knows what good surfaces are!
Reid Sanders from Martin Collins said, “The waxed surface being laid is equivalent to many high-performance surfaces around the world. The surface does not require the use of water, and it provides increased stability and rebound to horse and rider.”
Ms MacNicol expressed her gratitude to the team at Martin Collins for their willingness to work within the available budget, noting that Reid and his team provided a portion of the work ‘in kind’ to support the Victorian equestrian community.
“To have such a reputable and skilled team of people work on this project has been extremely reassuring. I look forward to a return to competition here at Werribee Park, and to see the enjoyment this new surface will provide to our riders and horses.”
A $500k Community Sport Infrastructure Grant from Sport Australia has been allocated to the new surface.
Additional funding has also been secured for Werribee Park. As part of the ongoing partnership between Sport and Recreation Victoria (SRV) and Equestrian Victoria, it has been announced that the next stage of the Werribee Park Masterplan has been funded by the Victorian Government.
Equestrian Victoria Chair, Carl Parkin said, “We are thrilled to be able to announce these funds will support a comprehensive business case for WPNEC’s redevelopment including, early design work around staging, preliminary designs and costings, as well as geotechnical testing of the considerably sized site. We are extremely grateful to the Victorian government for their ongoing support of equestrian sport here and for their guidance and commitment to ensuring that our members have a sporting home to be proud of.”
Equestrian Victoria had one other exciting announcement – Racing Victoria has extended their support through a major sponsorship agreement in 2021.
Racing Victoria’s Off the Track Program (OTT) is fast becoming a staple in the Equestrian Victoria community, and it’s great to see their support continue.
“This generous support will continue to support the promotion of Off the Track Thoroughbreds at Equestrian Victoria events, as well as the implementation of exclusive OTT initiatives for EV members. We are really excited about the new offerings and continued support by Racing Victoria,” said Equestrian Victoria’s CEO, Matthew Brown.
“Many EV members have or are taking up OTT and supporting these equine athletes which aims to support retiring thoroughbred racehorses in their transition into their ‘second career’ through equestrian sport. I would like to thank Racing Victoria for their ongoing support. We have built a great relationship with the OTT team at RV and I look forward to continuing our work together into the future,” said Mr Brown.
These three major announcements are moments of great celebration in a year that has been much different to the one we had all imagined.
Source: Equestrian Victoria website
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