Canberra Royal Update

Thank you to all those who have entered horses. So far we have entries that have reached last years level. What an achievement and demonstration of how committed our exhibitors are.

Exhibition Park is the venue (showground) for the Royal Canberra Show. It is managed by a wholly owned ACT Government Authority called the Exhibition Park Corporation. The Show Society rents the park from the Exhibition Park Corporation for two weeks per year to stage the show.

There will be a lot of media talk around about the future of equestrian events at Exhibition Park in Canberra. The Exhibition Park Corporation has advised us today (26 October 2007) that there will be no equestrian events at Exhibition Park until further notice, due to the risks involved with Equine Influenza (EI).

Our position is this:
1. We do not accept that it is reasonable to ban events like Harness Racing, which only have vaccinated horses and have bio-security protocols in place.

2. Exhibition Park Corporation say that although the risk is low, they want zero risk. As we know, not even the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service can give you that
assurance.

3. We will commence negotiations with the relevant ACT Government Minister to have this decision altered.

4. We continue to believe that with NSW and Queensland proceeding to normalise horse racing from 1 December 2007, there will be a lot of progress re the expansion of green zones by the end of November. Warmer weather, increased vaccination around buffer zones and no further outbreaks will play a major role in achieving this.

5. Our next decision date will be around 6 December 2007. If, at that time, there is absolutely no chance of horses being free to travel by the end of February, then we will reassess our options and inform you immediately through our website (http://www.rncas.org.au/). However, if for instance NSW is declared all green and horses start to move across the state borders, then we will proceed with greater confidence.

6. The final comment is that we do not have a crystal ball and can’t tell what’s around the corner.

We don’t want to give up! The sooner we can safely get our horses back in the show ring, the better off we all will be. So bear with us, keep your chin up, keep the hygiene processes going and we will keep urging our Governments to be fair and reasonable in decisions affecting the recreational horse industry.

If you have any questions you can contact Mrs Amy Gorman in our office on (02) 6241 8867.

Geoff G Cannock
Chief Executive Officer
Royal National Capital Agricultural Society