This year however, the Gunnedah polo grounds have felt the sting of drought, like many other paddocks around the region.

Desperate not to let the conditions weigh them down, the Gunnedah Polo Club decided to use this year’s carnival as a “call to arms” for locals during drought.

Club vice-president, Edward Hoddle, said the August 25-26 event will be used to support local farming families.

“The committee voted to use the day as a support event because we know it is a tough time for everyone right now,” Mr Hoddle said.

“Over the years, the event has attracted hundreds of visitors over the course of the carnival and we felt that it was important to keep it going for this year and give people something to look forward to.”

Mr Hoddle said the club hoped to garner public support leading into the event.

“It would be great to see some of our local community groups such as Rotary, the Salvation Army or Lions get involved,” Mr Hoddle said.

“We want to support everyone doing it tough as much as we can, and having those services and groups on hand to offer that support would be fantastic.”

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The club vice-president said the club would look to fundraise in the lead up and at the carnival.

“The initial premise of using the carnival as a drought support event was to give everyone something to look forward to and bring the community together as a sort of a call to arms,” he said.

“Cancelling the event would have denied everyone that and by doing this it turns a negative into a positive.”