Agricultural
24 March, 2025
Combined efforts produce stellar Cambooya facility
If it takes a village to raise a child then it also takes a massive team effort from the Cambooya Campdraft Association, Cambooya Pony Club, other local pony clubs, local businesses and politicians to successfully redevelop the Cambooya Recreation Ground into a first class equine facility.
On Friday, 14 Match, the official opening for the Shade Sails, Jump Trailer and Arena Surface was held.
Cambooya is home to the only equine arena between Toowoomba and Allora and thus attracts riders from the likes of the Clifton, Nobby and Greenmount districts.
The major change was the massive job of removing at least one foot of black soil from the entire arena and replacing it with a sandy, horse friendly surface.
Beginning on the Friday after the official opening and continuing until Sunday, the three-day opening Campdrafting event was a massive undertaking with over 300 competitors and amazingly over 1000 head of cattle for the competition and hundreds of horses.
Add to this tractors, water trucks, horse and cattle transporters and floats and an army of officials and helpers and the size and depth of organisation becomes apparent.
It is also apparent that the equine recreational community on the Darling Downs and Campdrafting in particular is a major growth industry.
The Cambooya groups received funding from both State and Federal Governments with Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) getting behind the applications for government grants.
Present at the Opening Day were TRC Councillors Rebecca Vonhoff, Edwina Farquhar and Tim McMahon and their enthusiasm and pride in attending was clearly evident.
One clear example of the spirit that exists among the Campdrafting community was the task of providing over 1000 head of cattle for the three day event.
Typical of the whole team involvement was that of Allora Pony Club member Chris Rickert who supplied 40 head of Waygu and there was obviously a whole host of locals such as Chris who supplied the necessary cattle for the event.
Pony Club President Alina Butler thanked all those who contributed to the redevlopment of the facility in her opening address.
“Cambooya Pony Club was established in 1983 and has a strong history of developing horsemanship skills and fostering a love of horses in children,” Ms Butler said.
“Our club has continued to grow and is led by a visionary team.
“A notable achievement was securing a $35,000 grant from the Queensland Government Gambling Community Benefit Fund, which funded the creation of a top-tier Jump Trailer built by Quast Metal Fabrication.
“I would like to thank key individuals, including Terri Johnstone, Danae O’Keeffe, and Phil Quast, for their contributions and bringing this project to life.
“In 2021, the club’s grounds were severely damaged by flooding.
“To address this, we applied for a grant under the Community & Recreational Asset Recovery & Resilience Program (CRARRP) 2022, initially seeking funding for flood remediation.
“We were successful in this application however it became apparent the scope of work was much larger than first anticipated and we had to extend our funding application and project to a value of close to $1 million.
“Thankfully we were successful, leading to one of the largest outdoor arenas in Queensland.
“I would like to personally acknowledge the hard work of many individuals involved in this project, including members from our club Jodie K, Dan Renyard, Nikki Olsen, Taryn Turl, Matt Butler and Tim L. Dane Bateman and Arran Holden from the Campdraft Committee.”
Ms Butler also thanked the businesses who helped with the works, and Council staff.
“There is no doubt the improved facilities will be a boom for equine events on the Downs and all who contributed to this day can take great pride in what they have achieved,” Ms Butler said.
Local MP Pat Weir was invited but unable to attend due to parliamentary commitments.
This improvement in equine facilities is most welcome as equine recreation on the Downs appears to be going through a huge growth period as entries in competitions at regional shows reach record levels.
Members of the equine community on the Downs have their fingers and hooves crossed that the RASQ Toowoomba Showgrounds can be successful in its quest to stage equine events in the 2032 Olympics.
