Forbes Sorting and Penning proved that community and competition go hand in hand at its major weekend event, where top riders, local members and first-time participants came together for a good cause.

Both elite competitors and sponsors who'd never sat on a horse before entered the arena at the Multipurpose Equestrian Centre as the club raised vital funds for CanAssist Forbes and launched a new season.

It was a huge weekend with plenty for the club to celebrate, Forbes Sorting and Penning secretary Melissa West said.

But the heart of the weekend was the sponsor and celebrity ride, which captured the essence of the community in this sport.

It's the sponsors whose support makes it possible for the club to offer the sort of prize money that draws competitors to our town, so they were invited to try it out for themselves.

West has been involved in Forbes Sorting and Penning since its inception in 2018 and can attest to the fact the sport is a great community and a lot of fun.

They all came together for Saturday's sponsor sort: riders making experienced horses available for the sponsors to ride, national champions partnering with our local celebrities as their gate riders.

Crowds filled the stands to cheer on local business representatives and community members as they took to the ring - some for the very first time - to raise money for CanAssist Forbes.

Every steer through the gate raised a cheer from the stands.

"The way they got behind all the local sponsored riders, it was so good, so fantastic," West said.

Among those taking part was Gabe Miller-McMillan, who described herself as an “extreme amateur” when it came to horse riding. “It was a real community event,” she said.

“Everyone supported one another to go in and do something we weren’t necessarily comfortable with.”

While her father Kevin Miller works with cattle every day, Gabe said the event was well outside her comfort zone - but also great fun.

Kim Muffet, riding on behalf of his son Dougall’s AP Bakery, hadn’t been on a horse in 40 years - and the last time, he’d been tipped off. This time, though, he stayed on and successfully sorted five cattle in his run, describing the experience as "amazing".

"It was great fun," Kim said.

It was also a great showcase of the Multipurpose Equestrian Centre, he added.

Both thanked the club for all the organisation and the work they put in to preparing such a great night.

The celebrity riders had 120 seconds - rather than the competitors' 60 - but their achievements were impressive with all sorting some cattle and some sorting 10 head in their time.

They were paired with some of the sport's top riders who gave their time to manage the gate, with thanks extended to David Nell, Ben Lawrence, Cody Barwick, Dawn Barwick, Clancy Henderson, Lily Henderson, Lonnie Henderson, Bec Kennedy.

Amazing horses were carefully chosen to look after the riders too, West saying "hat's off" to Lectro, Sonny, Coco, Roanie, Biddy, Billy, Henry, Boori, Nugget, Cruchi and Remmi and thanks to their owners.

The event was a fundraiser for Forbes CanAssist and people dug deep to support the cause, Forbes Sorting and Penning opening the bidding by committing $5 a head sorted by the celebrity riders.

Audience members also dug deep to donate per cow sorted, and even for staying on the horse.

Special mention goes out to the RSNCA - Ranch Sorting National Championships Australia for donating $500 to this wonderful cause.