Cantering for a great cause

GOLDEN Plains Trail Riders will be hosting their third annual Ride for MND fundraising event in Scarsdale this Labour Day long weekend.

The ATHRA-affiliated group will set off on a casual ride between Friday, 11 and Monday, 14 March, in an attempt to raise money towards motor neuron disease research.

Club president Samantha Wilson said the event will provide an opportunity to reunite after the lockdowns of the previous year.

“I’m really looking forward to catching up with the friends that I’ve made over the years,” Ms Wilson said.

“It seems to be mostly the same people each year but then they bring new people into it as well.”

The event will consist of camping through the Labour Day long weekend with lunch and drinks provided across both a 50-kilometre trail ride on Saturday and a 20-kilometre ride on the Sunday.

A barbecue will be held on the Sunday evening with music provided by Miss Behavin, who have supported the event each year since its inception.

With over 80 riders expected to participate, the fundraiser has donated over $10,000 to the organisation, FightMND in previous years.

Ms Wilson said she hopes to raise even more this year.

“There’s a kind of satisfaction in knowing that you’ve contributed somehow to try and find a cure for this terrible disease,” she said.

“In finding a way to go about it, I decided that since my passion is with horses, I should try to do something with that.”

Even though the event in hold by the Golden Plains Trial Riders, Ms Wilson said she’s surprised at the number of regular attendants that aren’t from the area.

“I would have thought our local horse-riding community would be going ‘great this is something in our own backyard’ but it’s very minimal how many of our own people actually come,” she said.

“It’s more people who travel an hour or two hours that we’re normally attracting to the event.”

Entry payments will vary depending on the attendant’s age and ATHRA membership status with choices available to ride on individual days or for the course of the whole event.

Visit facebook.com/groups/189506348816233 to grab a ticket or find more information.