The driving force behind Hororata

As part of our 'From the People' campaign we’re profiling the people behind local events, tourism businesses and communities. Cindy Driscoll shares how she is involved with some of Selwyn’s largest events and the Hororata community.

On route to Selwyn’s ski fields in a small town, Hororata sits a large green reserve surrounded by trees.

Most days, the Hororata Domain is a place for recreation and sport, but in the months of May and November it holds some of Selwyn’s major events; The Hororata Highland Games and Hororata Glow Festival.

Behind these events of ten thousand people is Hororata Community Trust executive officer, Cindy Driscoll.

Events have been a part of Cindy’s life from a young age.

At 15 she was involved with events at her parent’s tourism operation at Ryton Station, Lake Coleridge.

In 2014 Cindy came on board with the Hororata Highland Games and in the last few years organised the Hororata Night Glow, a light up of balloons to music.

The Hororata Highland Games originally inspired by a few Scottish people in the area is the The Hororata Trust’s biggest fundraiser, collectively formed in response to the earthquakes.

The community recognised they needed to do something to rebuild physically and mentally to make Hororata more than just a roundabout you drive through, Cindy said.

The Hororata Highland Games is now the largest Scottish festival in the Southern Hemisphere.

All year round Cindy is working on these events, managing sponsorship finances, advertising and enabling 230 volunteers all over the country to commit time to the Highland Games.

In her free time she works with the community, supporting Go Hororata who working on plans for a possible new community centre.

“The hall that we’ve got is not fit for use, it’s an old building and needs a lot of work to bring it up to code. The community made the decision that a new purpose built community centre on the domain would serve us better.”

Starting with a feasibility study in 2017, Cindy has continued to work with the community, architects, project managers and the Council to develop a concept plan for the community centre and a master plan for the Hororata Domain.

Working with the community is Cindy’s favourite part of the job.

“I’m very passionate about events and about community and what events can do for people and the community. The most important thing is my job wouldn’t exist without the need in the community and the trust is very much driven by what the community needs.”

For more information about local events, initiatives and the Hororata community visit The Hororata Community Trust.