The National Equestrian Centre
Taupo was the brainchild of Mr GP Donnelly, and although it
commenced operations in 1975 with Lockie Richards as resident
instructor on a three-year contract, this was far from being the
beginning.
It had long been considered by some
of the Council that a central training site would be a great asset
to Equestrian Sports NZ (then called the NZ Horse Society), and
back in 1971 a sub-committee of Pat Donnelly, Mary Dalley and Ken
Pike was authorised to check out the likely locations, preferably
in the mid North Island, within the financial reach of the
organisation.
It was Pat Donnelly who came up
with a ninety acre block just north of Taupo, bounded on one side
by the Waikato River, light pumice country never wet, never hard,
therefore ideally suited to year around equestrian
activities. In 1972 work begun on the Centre, and included an
instructor's house, working pupils' cottage, stables, yards and
immediate fencing. A cattle grazing scheme was initiated to
repay the bank loan and arrangements made for a local farmer to
plough, level, crop and regrass for the use of the block for a
year.
Mighty working bees of members from
areas far and near contributed hundreds of man hours, materials and
expertise. The Centre was a busy place, carrying at times
considerable numbers of horses as well as increasing stock units as
the pastures improved, and water was always a problem, until the
Northern Hawke's Bay Junior Group generously financed the whole of
the water reticulation, after which life became easier.
In 1980 the Centre showed a profit
of $10,846, a percentage of this due to an Equine Training Council
scheme set up and funded by the government, the Racing Conference,
Equestrian Sports NZ, the Standard-bred Association, Pony Clubs,
Quarter Horse Society and ACC. Pat Donnelly had arranged for
a course at the Centre for 18 students to be taught horsemanship
(stable management) and riding. The course ran for two years,
then was abandoned due to the unavailablity of jobs and the vast
cost of traning the students.
Part of the 1980 profit went
towards the building of an up-to-date ablution block, plus
considerable maintance on the complex. In 1998 the now
Charisma Hall was built.
Over the years many committee
members, volunteers and riders have helped to make the NEC Taupo
was it is today. Developments and maintance are always on
going, but it is important to know that the the fees paid to enter
a centre run event or for stabliing, camping etc all go back into
maintaining the Centre and its future developments.
