One of the North Island’s busiest equestrian venues has been shut down for the “foreseeable future” after a council abatement notice ordered it to cease all horse-related activity while long-running consent and regulatory issues are worked through.
Woodhill Sands is the principal equestrian training and competition venue in Auckland and hosts show jumping, show hunter, dressage, eventing, derbies, pony club events, grassroots training days and clinics.
Set on 10.5ha of land between Kumeū and Helensville, the facility boasts all-weather sand arenas as well as a premier grass arena.
Many local equestrian groups also base their events at the venue.
But no events will be held there for the “foreseeable future” after Auckland Council ordered a temporary suspension of equestrian activities yesterday.
The Woodhill Sands Trust announced the suspension on social media last night saying it had “received a formal abatement notice from Auckland Council’s regulatory division, requiring Woodhill Sands to cease all equestrian activities at the venue for the foreseeable future”.
The notice means “all equestrian activities at Woodhill Sands must pause, effective immediately”, and the pause is “required to remain in place for the foreseeable future until the resource consent conditions are met”.
“The trust is legally required to comply with this notice and is doing so in full,” it said.
“The abatement notice relates to regulatory and consent matters currently under consideration by council.
“While this is understandably frustrating for our community, this step is procedural in nature and does not reflect the quality of the venue, horse welfare, or the professionalism of users and organisers.”
The trust assured it was “actively engaging” with council and “relevant advisers” to work through the outstanding matters.
“We are using this enforced pause to prepare documentation and next steps so discussions can progress promptly once council reopens,” it said.
“Our focus remains on achieving a clear, compliant and sustainable pathway forwards for the venue.
“Unfortunately, no equestrian use of the venue can take place during this period. We ask all users, organisers and visitors to respect this requirement so the trust can demonstrate good faith compliance.
“We recognise the disappointment and disruption this causes and thank our community for their patience, understanding, and ongoing support.”
The trust promised further updates would be provided as soon as it had confirmed next steps with the council.
“Woodhill Sands is a much-loved, community-owned facility, and the trust remains fully committed to its future,” it said.
“We appreciate that this is a challenging time, and we ask that all inquiries and commentary remain respectful as we work through the process. Further communication will be shared once we are able to provide clarity.”
Supporters of the facility responded to the news with anger and frustration.
One said the shutdown was “totally ridiculous”.
“Woodhill Sands is our home, it’s the breeding ground for all walks of equestrian life, no matter what we do, where we are from, what level we compete at or what background we come from.”
“Where else will we go?” another woman wrote.
She said the “individual” behind the suspension was “robbing so many people of their place of peace, happiness and equestrian spirit”.
Trust chairwoman Phillippa Fourie told the Herald the notice was received at 12.59pm on Friday.
“As you can imagine, we were all incredibly devastated. After years of fighting, investing personal finances, and sacrificing thousands of hours for a non-profit charitable trust, it was shocking and heartbreaking,” she said.
“The Auckland Council is now closed for the Christmas break, and we note they will not be processing resource consents until 12th of January 2026 but it is unclear whether we can engage with the monitoring and compliance arm prior to this.”
Fourie said the abatement notice was issued in relation to the construction of a vehicle crossing and a sprinkler system.
“The vehicle crossing was contracted but held up by some confusion over documentation so was rebooked,” said Fourie.
“It was then further halted by the council, and it is not clear to us why it has still not been approved for commencement.
“While the sprinkler system has not been installed, we are using a flood irrigation system to ensure the dust suppression outcome that the consent condition was intended to achieve.
“The resource consent requires that Woodhill Sands install a sprinkler system on all arenas and the driveways, the cost of which is estimated to be at $500,000. The overall cost of meeting the resource consent requirements is currently estimated to be around $3 million.”
The trust has also been told “further enforcement is likely in the new year” because of access and wastewater consent conditions.
Fourie said the trust had been “working its way through the Environment Court since 2020” and the resource consent was issued in April 2025.
“Since then, the trust has been working towards the implementation of these conditions despite the significant financial hurdles,” she said.
“The trust engages with council, both the sport and recreation department, and the regulatory departments on a regular basis. We have been working with the sport and recreational team on an almost weekly basis for many years.
“We have been in communication with the regulatory department weekly since around August this year. It is only in the last couple of days that we have been made aware of possible enforcement action by the council.”
Fourie said the trust had been “systematically working through the 176 conditions” of the resource consent and many had “already been delivered”.
“We have much work planned, however, without any income we will need to reassess our ability to deliver these,” she said.
“All events and user groups and casual users no longer have access to Woodhill Sands and as a result the facility is now closed indefinitely.
“At this stage, we don’t know if or when the facility will be reopened.”
She said the closure impacted people from the grassroots to the top end of equestrian.
“We have to cancel our World Cup Final, one of the most important shows in the sport’s calendar, planned to be held from the 16th to the 18th of January 2026,” she said.
“This final dictates who will have the opportunity to represent our country on a global scale, inspiring future generations of young riders.
“For our riders, it can take the stars aligning to make it to these shows, and Woodhill Sands is a more affordable option for many riders to still be able to compete at the top end of the sport.
“It is one of the only venues in New Zealand that hosts both top riders and grassroots simultaneously.”
Council’s general manager of licensing and compliance Robert Irvine acknowledged the community interest in the matter and said he “appreciates the Woodhill Sands Trust’s co-operation”.
“We have been working with the trust for a number of years and will continue to engage with them over coming weeks, including through the summer period, to work through the matters relating to their resource consent.”