Council backs a winner, supporting spectacular equine event

The 2023 Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular is set to be the most successful ever

The region's annual celebration of its pioneering past and the horses which helped to shape its farming future is set to be the most successful ever in 2023, with Council ploughing additional funding into supporting the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular.

Based on an estimated return of some $2.3 million for the region, Council at its Ordinary Meeting today approved a doubling of financial and in-kind support to a maximum of $20,000 for the landmark event to be staged at Boonah on the weekend of 17 and 18 June 2023.

Mayor Greg Christensen said support through Council’s 2022-2023 Regional Events Grants Program represented an excellent return on investment for the Scenic Rim.

“Around 88 per cent of those attending the Clydesdale Spectacular come from outside the region and last year’s event attracted more than 6,728 visitors, up from 4,424 in 2021,” he said.

“This resulted in 10,109 visitor nights over the weekend in the Scenic Rim alone and contributed to more than 13,000 visitor nights throughout Queensland – with both figures almost double than for the previous year.

"This is an event that attracts competitors, participants and spectators from around Australia, as well as overseas, and attendance has grown exponentially since it was established by a sub-committee of the Boonah Show Society in 2012.”

Now in its 11th year, the two-day event showcases the heritage and history of the Clydesdale breed, which was used by pioneering Scottish and German families since the 1840s to transform the Scenic Rim's bushland into a leading agricultural area. 

It features a range of heavy horse competitions and carriage driving displays, demonstrations of rare trades by harness makers, blacksmiths and wheelwrights as well as workshops, working dog and horse displays, rides, live entertainment, markets, and traditional Scottish food. 

"Council is delighted it could support this event once again with a cash grant funding of $12,580 plus GST and in-kind support through the provision of waste bins and marketing of the event will see an expanded program that will make the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular a truly international event," Mayor Christensen said.

Organising Sub-Committee Chair, Rick Stanfield said the funding support from Council has meant internationally acclaimed Scottish sculptor Andy Scott, who created the landmark Clydebuilt horse statue that stands tall at the gateway to Boonah, could be invited to attend the event and, with the Clydie Spectacular offering the largest prize purse in the southern hemisphere, an international authority on the breed will be engaged to judge the horses.

"Our region owes much to the majestic Clydesdales which played a key role in establishing our agriculture sector by clearing vast tracts of land, ploughing the paddocks and bringing in the harvest,” Mr Stanfield said.

“While the advent of machinery saw a decline in the breed in the 1960s, the efforts of our enthusiastic group who are keen to preserve the 130-year history of these gentle giants in our region has resulted in the Scenic Rim Clydesdale Spectacular becoming one of Queensland’s most significant events, something we are all very proud of.”

The 2022 Clydesdale Spectacular won a silver medal at the Grey Nomad awards on Friday night.