A horse was a surprise visitor to the stadium this week, causing plenty of interest among conference-goers using other areas of the facility.
Asked about the nature of the equestrian visit, Dunedin Venues Management Ltd chief executive David Davies said there had been more than one inquiry about hiring the stadium for events involving assorted animals.
There had been discussions, for instance, about holding the Young Farmers national championships in the roofed facility.
Having organised horse shows before, Mr Davies discovered they were as popular in New Zealand as in Europe, so considered them to be "one of those things to look at" for the stadium.
"Suddenly, we got a call from somebody looking at having a horse show here."
While that inquiry was at an early stage, it was "active".
Because of the newness of the pitch, and because it was strengthened with fibre-reinforcement "stitched" into the grass, it was decided to bring in an equestrian testing system.
He wanted to be sure the turf could stand up to the punishment, so more bookings could be added to what had been advertised as a multipurpose stadium.
"We want to push the boundaries as much as we can."
Asked about the result of the testing, Mr Davies said: "The pitch is fine ... There's nothing there that would put us off."
The next step was to find out more about the event, then perhaps carry out more testing.
