The Forbes Pony Club (FPC) has been running since 1965, with many successful riders starting their riding days at the club, Forbes has always been known as a com­petitive club that produces quality riders.

Last weekend was a huge weekend for the club. The Charlie O’Connor Showjump­ing event was held on Saturday 2 May and the FPC Gymkhana was held on 3 May.

The Charlie O’Connor Jumping event is a showjumping day held by Forbes Pony Club, where riders compete over jumps at different heights based on their skill lev­el. It’s one of the club’s main competitive events of the year.

A gymkhana is a fun equestrian event, run by local clubs, with each Club hosting one annual gymkhana in their hometown. Rid­ers of ages 3 – 25 take part in show events such as best rider, skilled based races, bar­rel races and games for beginners. Riders from clubs all over the central west came to Forbes to represent their club.

The Forbes Pony Club gymkhana fea­tures a very special event called the “John Stewart Memorial Barrel Race”. The riders with the five fastest barrel race times on the day compete in the finals for the title. Up for grabs was an embroidered prize rug spon­sored by Flemings Property Services. The 2026 winner was reigning champ Abi Bem­brick with a time of 19.748 seconds.

It was highly contested with the top three riders coming in just one point second apart, Mercadez Cartwright from Young Pony Club came in second with a time of 19.898 sec­onds closely followed by Forbes rider Jack White with a time of 20.637. The presenta­tion was supported by John Stewart’s Fam­ily, mother Lois Stewart and sister Kathy Welsh.

Caitlin Lewis of the FPC said, “Over­all the weekend was a huge success with many thanks to our hard working commit­tee, it takes a huge amount of behind the scenes work to get an event like this run­ning. We are grateful for anyone who gets in and helps out prior to or on the day. We had amazing Canteen ladies Jodi Bilsbrough and Leeanne Lewis who kept us fed all weekend.

“We also had three senior students from Red Bend Catholic College who came to help out, they were put to work helping score events, hand out ribbons and take or­ders in the canteen, they were an amazing help on the day.

“Our beginners ring was a hit which was evident by the many smiles from our little riders, this was made possible by Jenna Krakouer who organised and ran the be­ginners ring on the day, Jenna had 15 tiny riders and ponies to entertain, not an easy feat.”

If you want to be part of the FPC, they of­fer ‘Come Try’ memberships where a rider can attend a rally day with their horse to see if it is the right fit for them. See Forbes Pony Club on Facebook for more information.

Abi Benbrick on Manny. Photo Credit: Steve Krak’d Lens.

Parkes Jockey Club will stage a super-rich Maiden race on their Cup Day that could be worth over $116,000 to winning con­nections. The Country Boosted Maiden Handicap (1000m) at Parkes on Sunday 18 May is an Inglis Xtra Bonus Series race, incentivised with a $100,000 bonus to the winner.

Winning connections of designated Maidens receive the $100K bonus should the horse be an Inglis graduate from 2023 and beyond and paid up for the Inglis Race Series. Inglis Bloodstock’s CEO, Sebastian Hutch was keen to see the bonuses being won by as many sets of connections as possible.

“Through the Inglis Race Series, we wanted to create an opportunity for more people to win more prize money more of­ten and the Xtra Bonus Series allows for exactly that,” Hutch said.

“The hardest race for a horse to win is their Maiden, so we wanted to give every buyer and owner of an Inglis graduate the opportunity to win extraordinary prize mon­ey at the entry level of racing.

“There is effectively one Maiden a week on average, at different venues – around half of which were in NSW – over different distances ranging from 900m to 2000m giving many of our clients regular chances to win significant money.”

“It’s a day filled with excitement for all ages, with activities like a jumping castle and a bucking bull. Our major sponsor is the Tomingley Gold Operations-Alkane Re­sources and year after year their sponsor­ship provides critical funding that enables the event to continue and flourish.”

Gates open at 11:30am. Entry is $10 for adults, kids allowed in free. A bar, canteen, bookmakers and a TAB will be on-site.

Dear Stakeholders, 

I am pleased to announce a significant development that reflects our ongoing commitment to equine welfare and the preservation of our social license at Harness Racing New South Wales (HRNSW). 

In close collaboration with the Harness Racing Industry Consultation Group (HRICG), we have successfully completed the integration of our re homing operations. The decision and subsequent integration enables HRNSW to directly oversee the re homing effort and ensure that we consistently uphold the highest standards of equine welfare. This strategic shift underscores HRNSW’s steadfast dedication to the wellbeing of our equine athletes and our responsibility to the industry and the broader community. We firmly believe that by taking direct control of the re homing process, we can provide our retired standardbred horses with the care and attention that is expected. 

It is of the utmost importance that HRNSW maintain high standards in equine welfare while continuing to lead the industry in a responsible and forward-thinking manner. HRNSW remains committed to ensuring the welfare of all standardbred horses and we are confident that this strategic move will further strengthen our capacity to uphold these vital responsibilities and ensure the well-being of our equine partners. 

Finally, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the previous Re homing Company members for their unwavering commitment in supporting the re homing of standardbred horses. 

Should you have any questions or require additional information, please feel free to reach out to our team. 

Sincerely, 

The West Wyalong Pony Club invite all riders to attend the Phillip Judd Memorial Showjumping Day and the Zone 11 Combined Training Day. For more information please check go to https://pca.justgo.com/workbench/public/events.