Hawke's Bay's Horse of the Year will receive nearly $300,000 from Hastings District Council.
In a council meeting today, councillors voted to give more financial support to what has become New Zealand's premier equestrian competition, after this year's event resulted in a loss of around $170,000.
An independent review requested by council found this was partly due to the transition from event managers Eventpro, to SMC Events last year.
Councillors voted to make a cash grant of $170,000 to Horse of the Year (Hawke's Bay) Ltd - which would provide the company with cash flow, and de-risk some of the event's cost.
Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule said the decision might not be supported by all in the community, but a one-off cost of $170,000 for an event which returned up to $12 million to the regional economy was an investment worth making.