Heavy horses record a big coup for valley

It provided welcome family entertainment for all the horse and animal-lovers we have living amongst us, allowing them to show off their horses, to learn about others and compete in or watch novelty events that would otherwise be more at home at Wauchope’s historical Timbertown.

Horse-lovers make up a big portion of our population and the event was always going to be supported well locally.

But to reach 5000 visitors, some who had travelled with their horses from Western Australia (no easy task), exceeded all expectations.

Food and supply vendors at the event were reportedly run off their feet. The money flowed into town as well, with an influx of overnight visitors reportedly filling our accommodation venues to capacity.

This, despite the option to camp out at various venues too. It would have been a cold, cold night, but some of the participants we met during their stay in Yass appeared to be as tough as the heritage heavy horses they owned.

Woo Back was the initiative of the Yass Antique Farm Machinery Club Inc 

and was borne from the excitement horses at Classic Yass attracted.

Being a not-for-profit organisation, proceeds from the event will be donated to Yass' own Can Assist cancer support program, and to a lesser extent, the Heavy Horse Heaven in Canberra and the Yass Rural Museum, among other charities.

Final profit numbers have not been tallied yet, but it will be interesting to see the outcome.

And to top it all off, we set a world record! We've placed Yass into the Guiness Book of World Records and ensured ourselves yet another place in the history books.

Congratulations to the organisers and all who supported the event. I know there are no promises yet, but I'm keen to see if it will morph into a regular gig.