Equestrian Victoria - Media Release

16 November 2018

MASTER PLAN UPDATE

The Equestrian Victoria (EV) Board wishes to update the equestrian community about planning for Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre (WPNEC).
Timothy Court and Company, architects to the global equine and leisure industry (www.timothycourt.com.au), have been appointed to develop the next stage of a master plan for WPNEC.
“The EV Board believes it is in the interests of both its members and the wider Victorian equestrian community to have a well maintained and supported state equestrian facility,” said Mitchell Fox, EV Chair.
“WPNEC is one of the few publicly-owned facilities in Victoria, indeed Australia, that has the capacity, central location and facilities to accommodate such large numbers of horses and riders.
The development of the master plan is consistent with the key recommendation from the State Equestrian Facilities Plan to “retain and upgrade WPNEC as the state centre for equestrian sport in Victoria.”
“We thank the Victorian Government’s Department for Sport and Recreation for their support as we look to secure world-class equestrian facilities for the next generation,” Mr Fox said.
Timothy Court and Company will undertake a process of extensive stakeholder consultation, building on the consultation that was undertaken in 2017, providing valuable guidance and allowing for a staged implementation.
The next stage of the planning process will involve interviews with a broad range of equestrian user groups, including the sports of dressage and para-dressage, show jumping, eventing, show horse, interschool, carriage driving, vaulting, cutting, reining and polo, as well as HRCAV, pony club and any other groups who indicate an interest in being involved. The master plan will then be refined and published with plans for implementation.
“EV’s involvement in this process is consistent with our Strategic Plan 2018-2022 , in which a key pillar is to be proactive in growing and enhancing Victoria’s equestrian sport facilities.”
EV RELATIONSHIP WITH WPNEC
Mr Fox said the EV Board had a strong and continued commitment to supporting WPNEC.
“We recognise a hierarchy of equestrian facilities in Victoria, with WPNEC as the state equestrian centre, supported by regional and local facilities.
“We have provided input into plans for a number of regional equestrian facilities, for example.”
"We are currently formalising our relationship with WPNEC, and we will ensure that any support provided is well within EV’s financial capacity and balanced against the need to fund member activities and other stakeholder initiatives.”
A governance model is being developed in which the operations of WPNEC will be kept separate from the operations of EV, with any transactions between the two entities conducted on an arm’s length, commercial basis.
EV ROLE IN SUPPORTING MEMBERS AND THE WIDER EQUESTRIAN COMMUNITY
Mr Fox said, “The EV membership remains our primary EV stakeholder group.
“We continue to strive to provide a large range of benefits and services to our members, with the goal of helping them to live their equestrian dream.
“Over the past 12 months EV has hosted 16 major events and conducted 28 squads and training clinics across the disciplines of dressage, jumping, eventing and show horse.
“Supporting almost 5,000 members, more than 4,000 competition licenses and almost 800 horse registrations, we also provide educational clinics and training for judges and stewards, programs for stewards, judges and competitors, and support for new groups such as the Amateur Owner Riders.
“We are committed to providing every member with a great experience and to working closely with Equestrian Australia to provide access to insurance, athlete high-performance pathways and other national initiatives.
“As the recognised state sporting association for equestrian sport in Victoria, for which we receive state government funding, EV also has a duty to support the wider equestrian community.
“Again, we recognise and thank the state government for their support.
“We encourage our membership and the broader equestrian community to find out more about EV’s plans for the future, by reading our Strategic Plan 2018-2022.”

FURTHER INFORMATION
Queries, including from those who wish to be involved in the master planning consultation process, should be directed to Matthew Brown, CEO Equestrian Victoria at 03 9013 0707 or matthewbrown@equestrianvictoria.com.au.