On the weekend of Saturday, April 12, 150 riders continued this tradition.

“It went very well; it was a fairly spectacular ride,” Sandy Hollow Horse Ride president Mark Judge said.

“[Due to] the weather on the Friday we expected the numbers would be down and they were- probably down 80 from last year.

“The people who were on the ride were fairly good riders.

Aside from the feature ride on the Saturday, a weekend full of entertainment was also provided.

“We had  bush poet Bob Skelton,” he said.

“A special mention for Stan Ray- he gave a chainsaw carving demonstration and his works were auctioned off raising $600.

“The auction went really well [overall], we raised around $5,500.

Mr Judge is predicting the final tally of funds raised to reach $30,000 gross.

After costs, he expects $25,000 will be donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.

People travelled from everywhere from the South Coast to Queensland to attend the event.

Mr Judge is hoping to encourage more people to get involved and assist with organising rides in upcoming years. If you would like to help organise next year’s event, contact Mark 6547 6118.