Wagga council general manager Alan Eldridge dusted off plans for a major rodeo and livestock events facility last week after a trip to a rodeo competition held in conjunction with the Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Wagga played host to an Australian Professional Rodeo Association event at the weekend, but organisers say the facilities are inept and believe Mr Eldridge is “serious” about an upgrade. 

Former councillor Garry Hiscock claims Wagga’s horse community is owed an “agridome” to host rodeos, campdrafting and more.

Two decades ago, eleven horse enthusiasts mortgaged their homes to buy the Equex Centre’s Kooringal Road site, which they entrusted to council to build an equestrian centre. 

In addition, deceased Wagga couple Neville and Olive Parramore contributed $435,00 to the support of equestrian facilities at Equex. 

“We sold the land to council for $1 on the proviso it be used for equine activities, but nothing happened,” Mr Hiscock said.

“Equex has been stolen from the horse people and turned into a sports precinct; it’s criminal activity.”

Charles Sturt University has built a 3000 square-metre indoor equestrian arena, but Mr Hiscock said it was a “glorified shed”, which would “never be of national standard”. 

Councillor Kerry Pascoe – who has previously visited Tamworth’s Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC) with Mr Hiscock and councillors Greg Conkey and Yvonne Braid – said a comparable complex “would bankrupt Wagga”.

Cr Pascoe said the federal government tipped in a “staggering amount” of funding to build AELEC, courtesy of former independent MP Tony Windsor, which was unlikely to be repeated in Wagga.  

Cr Pascoe also believes Tamworth’s facilities had satisfied a relatively small market for sports like rodeo and campdrafting.

“Equex hosts two rodeos a year and you might only get one more if you had a permanent complex,” he said. 

“Go out to Euberta and you’ll find a great facility the polo cross people are more than satisfied with, which can be used for campdrafting and other horse sports.”

The former mayor said focus should stay on a $9 million “multi-purpose” facility to be built at Equex Centre with three netball courts and seating for 3000 people.