PLUMPTON Road was the place to be on Friday evening as charity event 'Hoedown Showdown' brought the roof of the Riding for the Disable's (RDA) indoor arena down.
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Country shenanigans, traditional dancing and live entertainment brought a number of community members together, all to raise funds for the charity which supports people with disabilities.
Organised by Wagga Takes 2 participant Lee Hesketh, the evening was supported by several prominent locals including her singing partner Aaron Oldaker, member for Wagga Joe McGirr, radio personality Leigh Ryan who MCed the night, as well as Sydney-based inspirational speaker, Lucy Bloom.
"I think the best part of the night would be seeing the amount smiles, there were just smiles everywhere," Ms Hesketh said.
"Everyone got in had such a good time, and the kids were just having a ball.
"It was just a brilliant, brilliant night."
With COVID-19 still leading to event cancellations across different parts of the state, many local event organisers are having been witnessing an influx of last-minute ticket buyers.
Hoedown Showdown was no exception to the delight of Ms Hesketh and RDA volunteers.
"We were a little bit unsure because the ticket sales are quite slow until the night itself," she said.
"[Ticket sales] started going bang, bang, bang, we hooked them in left, right and centre, it was brilliant."
All the money raised on the night is headed towards helping the Riding with the Disability fund their everyday operations as well as a replacement to the organisation's old, "clapped-out" farm vehicle.
The not-for-profit, which has been hard-hit throughout the pandemic has needed donations for some time, and Ms Hesketh efforts have well and truly reignited the spark.
"It's definitely injected a lot more, just enthusiasm, but after the last couple of years I think it's definitely picked them up a lot, and it has attracted new people to join RDA," she said.
"Which is really what it's about, it's more about the awareness of the charities."
RDA secretary Dawn Haddon said the local group is always in need of volunteers everyone is welcome to join, unless allergic to horses, as experience is great by nonessential.
Starting 9am on February 19, the group will be hosting a training day at the facility for those eager to change the lives of others while working with animals and making new friends.
"Most of the volunteers usually start off with leading the horses because all the riders generally have somebody to lead their horse and they'll get instructed on how to stand near the horse, and what to watch out for," Ms Haddon said.
"Also, we have carriage driving, so people who don't want to get too close to a horse can always participate in carriage driving.
"They can get involved in several areas with like fundraising too that we continually do all the time, and we always need help us with that sort of thing."
Those interested in joining the ranks at RDA are invited to come along on the day, as well as pre-exiting volunteers and any 12-18 year-olds interested in the youth division.
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