Royal Far West's Ride for Country Kids raises more than $500,000

It was the seventh time the Royal Far West event has been held.

There were 79 riders who travelled from 400 kilometres from Dubbo to Cobar, via Narromine Warren and Nyngan, in three days.

"Never has there been a more important time to raise money for country kids after drought, floods, bushfires and COVID," Royal Far West executive director of business people and culture Jacqui Emery said.

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"The need is great and growing. The fundraising target for the ride was $450,000 so we were thrilled to reach $535,000.

"All of this money will go towards our Paediatric Developmental Program, which is an assessment and diagnosis service for country kids where families visit Royal Far West in Manly for a week at a time to receive the healthcare they need."

There are currently 156 children waiting to access the program, which is designed for young people with complex developmental and mental health challenges. It includes speech and language delays, behavioural disorders, early life trauma and mental illness, autism, and attention deficit disorders.

About $3000 is needed to help every child.

Last year, 10,124 families, educators and health professionals received support from Royal Far West.

Tour de France champion Mark Renshaw was a ride ambassador this year.

"I really enjoyed cycling and supporting the riders as they spent hours on their bikes, impressively clocking up hundreds of kilometres to fundraise for country kids," he said.

"The energy in the group was amazing, and I'm grateful to have been part of it all. It was great to see the school kids and locals come up to us on the ride. Many spoke about how Royal Far West had helped them or their kids over the years and it was heart-warming to hear their stories."

Royal far West has thanked all of its sponsors who supported this year's ride, as well as every person who has donated to Royal Far West.

Donations can still be made via the Ride for Country Kids website.

Planning is already under way for the 2022 Ride for Country Kids. For more information contact communications@royalfarwest.org.au.

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