Horse riders in the midst of training for upcoming competitions will no longer have to rely on car headlights with the installation of four bright lights at the Katherine Horse and Pony Club.
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Work and family commitments coupled with the intense heat during the day, typical of the Territory, has seen the representative team forced to train at night.
The new lights are the first major step in building the club into a state of the art equestrian facility.
Vice president of the club, Alison Ross, said the new lights mean opportunity for more events to be held out of the hottest part of the day.
"We received a Facilities and Capital Equipment grant from the NT Government for $94,370 to get new lights as the first step in developing the club into the best it can possibly be.
"We have been really restricted in how many months of the year we can train, we would usually stop in September or October because it just gets too hot.
"But now our representative team will be able to train at night without any hassle and our younger riders won't have to suffer through the heat when it gets into the hottest months."
Construction of the four new lights was completed last Friday, by local electrical contractor DJ Hogan, but not before the club raised some serious funds to make up the total of the cost.
For the past six months, the club, run on volunteers, has been pounding the pavement selling raffles to raise the funds.
Digging into money set aside to get the project completed quickly, the club is just over half way to raising enough to cover the total cost of the lights, coming in at $117,800.
But the hustle and bustle has been well worth it, the vice president said.
"We often wake up at 5am on Sundays to be saddled and ready for pony club by 7am, to beat the heat," she said.
"The majority of our riders are under 12 and it gets too hot for them.
"I am thinking a lot of parents will welcome the occasional sleep in."
The pony club revamp is not even close to completion with dreams of an undercover arena, which could cost up to $1 million.
On a more achievable level, the next upgrade will see a new kitchen and storage facility at the club house replacing the old and decrepit demountables.
The club will be hosting a sausage sizzle fundraiser on Saturday, May 11 at Rod and Rifle TackleWorld on Giles Street.
For more information head to their Facebook page here.
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