8 The Festival was an idea born from four community minded, horse passionate men who combined their vision to turn an annual country race meet into a major festival for everyone to enjoy. Dr William Howey OAM moved to Australia more than 50 years ago and has been an integral part of the equine community in the Upper Hunter including the Scone Race Club and the Scone Equine Hospital. He said the Festival sprung from the annual Scone Cup, a social phenomenon. “The first Scone Cup at the White Park track was held in 1947. It built up this incredible momentum and it’s grown into a not to be missed event. “During the week of the Cup we would hold a two-day sale at White Park that culminated in two days of racing with huge crowds. “It was before my time in Scone, but Jim Rodgers, Mike Pritchard, Barry Chapman & Brian Russell then came up with the larger Festival forming a volunteer committee that has nurtured and grown the Festival over the years.” Scone’s label as the ‘Horse Capital’ also grew from the formation of the Scone Equine Group. Dr Howey joined the Scone Equine Hospital when it was a small veterinary practice in 1967 working under Murray Bain. For his service to the practice and for his incredible contribution to veterinary science, Dr Howey was awarded one of the nation’s highest honours – a Medal of the Order of Australia. Dr Howey was also awarded the Warburton Estate Agents Scone Horse Festival VIP of the Year in the second year of the Festival. It’s an award given each year to someone who exemplifies the spirit of dedication and service within the equine community, and this year it went to Julee Gilmore. Julee is a founding member of the Upper Hunter Dressage Club, played a big role at the Scone Pony Club and has supported several community events over the years. Julee moved to Scone with her husband in 1983 and they’ve never looked back. “You’d go out to Moonan Flat for a competition, they had a family who had pony club out there. It was beautiful, you’d camp there for the weekend with the family. The friendships we made too, you just don’t get that in Sydney. Obviously, there’s things in Sydney you can’t do in the country but it’s just not the same.” The theme for the 2025 Warburton Estate Agents Scone Horse Festival is ‘Home is where the Horse is’. “It’s very relative to me, I’ve always been involved with horses, and it just showcases Scone and how we’ve been promoting Scone as the Horse Capital of Australia for all these years. I think it’s great,” explained Julee. CEO of Scone Race Club, and the 2025 Festival President Jason Hill, said the event is like nothing else. “Scone is a remarkable community filled with rich Australian equine history which has been celebrated throughout the Festival each year. “It is an integral part of the rich equine heritage of the Upper Hunter Valley. It is a highly regarded event which provides entertainment and competition, while delivering significant economic and social benefits to the region with around 10,000 people attending each year,” he said. The 2025 Warburton Estate Agents Scone Horse Festival is expected to be the best yet with the much-loved Scone Equine Hospital Horse Festival Parade set to showcase the finished upgrades of Scone’s main street. Mark your calendar for May 9 to 18, 2025 for 10 days of entertaining and exciting equine events! The Horse Capital of Australia will celebrate the return of the Warburton Estate Agents Scone Horse festival in May for the 45th iteration of the 10-day celebration of all things equine. Home is WHERE THE HORSE IS
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