A three-day horse trial event is expected to attract hundreds of people to Middlemarch next year.
The Springston Trophy will be held from October 3-5 and teams are expected to arrive in the district two to three days earlier to prepare.
Taieri District Pony Club trophy event co-ordinator Anne Beattie said about 30 teams of six were expected to attend, as well as coaches, managers, parents and helpers.
''It'll mean a big influx of people and money to Middlemarch.''
It was considered to be the biggest pony club event to be held in the southern hemisphere and was the South Island teams' premier event, she said.
Riders would compete in dressage, cross-country and show jumping at Middlemarch Showgrounds and Lindsay Carruthers' property nearby.
Preparation was well under way and a new cross-country course was being designed by Taupo designer Robbie McLean.
''It'll be a good challenging course,'' Mrs Beattie said.
The new course had been made possible thanks to a $25,000 donation from the Highcliff Trust, she said.
The number of people attending meant all accommodation options were being investigated.
Some riders would have their own accommodation in horse trucks and floats, but many would require somewhere to stay, Mrs Beattie said.
Organisers were looking for anyone with a woolshed, homestay or any other options for participants and paddocks for their horses, she said.
The trophy was last hosted in Otago in 2005, at Riverside in Outram.
