Riders and volunteers have returned to the Riding for the Disabled (RDA) NSW Manning Great Lakes Centre at Rainbow Flat for the first time since the Hillville fire nearly destroyed the facility in November.
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In an added bonus, they returned to find an undercover seating area added to the already large undercover arena, making the facility more weatherproof than ever.
The new structure was made possible thanks to a $30,000 grant from the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation (NPCF), which has been a long-time supporter of RDA NSW and the facility at Rainbow Flat.
RDA NSW Manning Great Lakes president, Ed Binney said without the generous and ongoing support of the foundation the centre would struggle to offer the services it provided.
"If you don't have the money to do the developments we've done, then you haven't got a weather-proof facility," Mr Binney said.
"This facility you can ride any time."
NPCF director, Jennifer Leslie, said the foundation prided itself on supporting grassroots organisations like RDA.
"The foundation really focuses on social disadvantage in regional NSW," Ms Leslie said.
"The purpose of it is to support local communities where there's a need.
"We also focus on youth, and a lot of young people use this facility."
Ms Leslie said NPCF had donated $280 million to RDA NSW over the past 15 years, including funding the roof for the undercover arena at the Rainbow Flat facility 10 years ago.
She said it was great to see the riders and volunteers return to the centre and enjoy the benefits the facility provided.
"You can just see the joy they get out of it," she said.
"It's a two-way benefit."
Mr Binney said the bushfire that swept through the area in November could've been potentially devastating for the centre.
"Fires can do anything," he said.
He pointed to a large shed across The Lakes Way that had been warped and destroyed in the heat of the fire.
"If that happened here at the riding area that would've been the end of us," he said.
"It's really hard to rebuild what you've done over a 15-year period."
Despite the fact the major infrastructure at the facility was spared, the centre still suffered significant damage.
Luckily the 13 horses at the centre were evacuated in the hours before the fire swept through.
Mr Binney said around $22,000 had been spent on repairing fences and other parts of the property, with another $5,000 worth of work to do before the centre would be returned to normal.
While around half of that cost had been covered by insurance and a small charitable donation, the volunteer-run organisation still had to cover the rest.
RDA NSW Manning Great Lakes will be holding a fundraiser at Great Lakes Paddocks at Wootton on Sunday, March 22 from 1-4pm.
Food, alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase and the cost of entry is $10.
All proceeds from the event will go towards covering the costs incurred as a result of the bushfires.
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