The preparation for Summernats has caused the closure of Exhibition Park in Canberra, causing grief for some horse owners in the region on a day of catastrophic fire danger.
Residents in areas including Murrumbateman have been urged to enact their fire plans early, but those efforts are being hampered after Exhibition Park's 200-capacity horse stabling area was closed.
The evacuation point at Exhibition Park is closed annually for the bump-in for Summernats, but in previous years it hasn't coincided with the forecast fire conditions.
An ACT government spokesman said other sites had been opened as alternatives in preparation for such conditions, and the news was put out through the ACT Equestrian Association.
But Murrumbateman resident Ebonny O'Sullivan said she had no communication about the closure and alternative venues. She has 10 horses on her property which she tried to evacuate to Exhibition Park early on Saturday morning. She was turned away.
"If we take five horses now [to Queanbeyan] and five horses later, we literally need to leave someone to stay there with all five horses, there's no fencing to hold them in.
"You would need someone to stay there and be looking after your horses because they're not enclosed, and then you lose an asset that you could've used to load more horses."
Ms O'Sullivan said she felt her only option now was to stay put until there was imminent fire danger. She was concerned if she went to the other evacuation points she could be turned away, and roads could be closed at any time.
"Hopefully it doesn't get to that stage," she said.
"It's pretty nerve-wracking."
Jennifer Truong has five horses and has lived in Murrumbateman for 11 years. She said she'd never experienced this before. After being told Exhibition Park was closed, on Friday night she saw a Facebook post saying it was open. She also tried to evacuate horses there on Saturday morning.
"I can't believe it's not open for us," Ms Truong said.
"It has 203 enclosed areas whereas Queanbeyan is over an hour's drive away and has limited yards. Yass is closer but it has limited yards, so my concern is driving there, having to hold two horses or trying to find somewhere to put two horses in order to come back and get the other three."
"We've done everything we can to prepare the property and we're hoping nothing will eventuate but it's very frustrating that EPIC won't open, considering Summernats it not even on."
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On Saturday morning Ms Truong was able to find an alternative place for two of her horses on a private property, but she said she would no longer be initiating her early evacuation plan and had "bunkered down" at home.
"I'm waiting, which we were told not to do, for a fire to actually occur."
An ACT government spokesman confirmed Exhibition Park was closed for horse relocations and said there was no declared emergency activating horse relocation centres in the ACT.
"Any decision for relocation is currently voluntary," the spokesman said.
"If there was a requirement for NSW to request ACT to open a formal equestrian relocation centre, this would come through NSW emergency services."
The spokesman said ACT representatives met with NSW representatives on Tuesday, December 17 to talk about horse relocation and to confirm a suitable alternative site. There was confirmation that Queanbeyan Showgrounds would be made available.
The message was passed on to ACT Equestrian Association members on Thursday, December 19.
Horse owners were warned they would have to be self-sufficient at Queanbeyan and other relocation areas.
Canberra Equestrian Centre manager Kym Adams said she was notified of the closure of Exhibition Park and she believes it is a "really practical decision".
"The combination of horses and V8s and burnouts was never going to work," Ms Adams said.
She said even this weekend without the full event in progress, with trucks coming in and out for the event set-up "it's not the safest place for horses to be".
"There was a recent decision that [Exhibition Park] would be open through the bushfire season, but then an agreement was made with Queanbeyan Showgrounds, which hasn't been available in the past," she said.
"Queanbeyan would normally only open up for emergency situations, not for relocations. The warning is to act early, remove horses from the situation before anything happens, so of course everybody is trying to do that."
She said the equine community has had a "huge amount of information" given to them about preparing for bushfires.
"It's a really hard and confronting time.
"We have a really awesome community and a Facebook group which is run by a group of highly organised woman."
A NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman said people are encouraged to have alternative plans if their main option isn't available or if the route to that location is cut off by fire.
A post on ACT and Surrounds Equine Fire Rescue Facebook group said the showgrounds available for early relocation were Braidwood, Bungendore, Queanbeyan, Yass, Taralga and Goulburn.
"At this stage some showgrounds are available for early relocation, we will add to this list when advised. Should a fire start, more areas are likely to become available," the post said.
