Our Story

Clarendon has been the home ground for dressage in NSW for over 35 years, not just for riders in the greater Sydney region but the whole of NSW. 

The Clarendon dressage arenas are a significant infrastructure that are of great importance to our sport and community and sit wholly within the Hawkesbury Showgrounds which are leased from the Crown (public ownership) by the Hawkesbury District Agricultural Association (HDAA).

Dressage NSW has use of the area within the Showground which houses the dressage arenas via a license agreement with the HDAA – this licence for use of the grounds will expire in June 2025.

DNSW has confirmed to it’s membership that they do not have the option to renew the licence in June 2025 and will not be running competitions, training and protocol days at Clarendon past November 2024. 

HDAA do not want to continue with any dressage activity in the permanent sand arenas. They will require demolition of the existing arenas at the expense of DNSW. They intend to turn the grounds into a car park for commercial events at the show grounds which they have indicated is a more profitable use of the Clarendon arena site than for  dressage.

Our Clarendon sand arenas were the first sand dressage arenas built in NSW on public (Crown), not private, land and have been a destination for generations of riders to aspire to, including future Australian Olympian and Paralympians. In fact, they were the venue for the selection events for the Sydney 2000 Olympics!

They have been the home to State Championships, the largest and most effective venue for judge and steward education over many years, the base for Young Rider and High Performance squads and programs, for training and dressage protocol days open to all riders and for significant events in the annual calendar such as the Winter Festival.

Clarendon has provided a sense of community and created a feeling of belonging within the equestrian community, a familiar place full of familiar faces, and a safe place to take horses for professionals, amateurs, para-equestrian, junior and young riders alike.

The grounds have been consistently maintained and developed over the years with significant investment of public, sponsor and equestrian community funds.

The grounds and facilities as they stand today are in excellent condition and would have many years of use ahead of them.

The cost of demolition (estimated to be in excess of $100,000) are required to be borne by DNSW under their license obligations with HDAA and are likely to commence in December 2024/January 2025.

 

Why save Clarendon.

The Clarendon grounds are a critical piece of infrastructure for the continuation and development of the sport of dressage for both the Hawkesbury and the greater Sydney region.

Clarendon is the only significant public facility that is not privately leased by individual clubs in the Sydney region for dressage other than SIEC.

SIEC is in significant demand by all equestrian user groups and is quickly reaching capacity as it is used by all EA and non-EA equestrian disciplines. Bookings for SIEC are required 2 years in advance. It is also becoming cost prohibitive for small clubs and user groups to utilise.

Clarendon has a long and successful history of servicing all levels of dressage training, education and competition.

The confined, fenced space and layout is safe and accessible for all levels of capability and all ages for both horse and rider and the stables and parking area is within close proximity on level ground making it one of the most accessible competition grounds in Sydney.

The grounds have undergone significant development and improvement over the past few years with upgrades to the arenas, stabling, fencing, roads and pathways and bathroom and club house facilities – much of this has been funded either solely by DNSW or by significant government grants secured by HDAA on the basis that they will be used for the wider equestrian community, including dressage.

Clarendon dressage grounds are in excellent condition – it is a unique facility that is fit for purpose and is of great value to both the greater Sydney and regional dressage communities.

 

The solution.

We are lobbying HDAA to retain the grounds and to take up management of the facility and make it available to the entire dressage community on a "for hire" basis.

We are not just acting to save the grounds, we are also engaging in a “continued use strategy” to support a positive outcome for our sport and community and for the HDAA.

This involves building a potential use model and a supporting revenue model. We will be seeking expressions of interest from potential users across individual users, groups, associations and clubs to support our modelling.

We believe there is a latent demand for the arenas from many potential user groups and a significant business opportunity for HDAA which was not able to be unlocked either by HDAA or DNSW due to the previously restrictive terms and conditions of the expiring licence. agreement.

One of HDAA’s stated primary objectives is to manage, maintain and develop the Hawkesbury Showground as a community and event facility for the annual agricultural show and for hire which would fit completely within the objective of retaining the existing arenas – dressage competitions have long been a fixture at the Hawkesbury Show for many years.

Although HDAA is a not-for-Profit, our strategy would also provide an additional income stream for HDDA, much more so than the proposed car parking area which would only accommodate existing events rather than provide additional/new income opportunities.

Act Now and Join the Team

Please sign our petition and join the team to save the Clarendon grounds for the future of dressage in the greater Sydney region and regional NSW. 

Once it's lost it's lost forever! and ever....!

 Contact Us:   saveclarendon@gmail.com