General News
18 April, 2024
Pony club to mark 60th birthday
The Maryborough & District Horse and Pony Club are gearing up for their 60th anniversary, to be held in three week’s time. Formed in 1964 by five prominent members — Angela and Clarrie King, Cyril Martin, and Bill and Dot Leech, the club was...
The Maryborough & District Horse and Pony Club are gearing up for their 60th anniversary, to be held in three week’s time.
Formed in 1964 by five prominent members — Angela and Clarrie King, Cyril Martin, and Bill and Dot Leech, the club was formed out of a desire to establish a Pony Club in Maryborough, with the current facilities located on Johnson Street.
The celebrations will be held at the club’s next rally, to be held on Sunday, May 5 from 1 pm at 15 Johnson Street.
Afternoon tea will be held, followed by speeches, rider demonstrations, cake cutting and the sharing of memories, which will include the release of a book commemorating the 60 years of the club.
The event comes amidst a surge of popularity for the club, who are enjoying record membership levels.
Pony Club president Pat Hedger says she is still trying to get former members to the club to celebrate the momentous occasion.
“We’re trying to get as many people to come that have been involved over the years, when it first started in 1964. There were a lot of families that started back then. Their families are still around the town, and we have contacted a lot of people,” she said.
“We are having a normal rally in the morning, and we have invited people, with the invitations sent out to as many people as we’ve been able to get a hold of.
“From 1 pm, we’ll start the celebrations, doing some rider demonstrations who have been practising musical rides and games, a troupe line, where the club members will get on and do what they used to do years ago. We’re hoping all members will be involved in that.”
Ms Hedger says the opportunity to create the book to celebrate the Pony Club has allowed the younger members to see the history of the club, and how rules and regulations have changed throughout the years.
“With the book, we’ve been trying to catch up as many memories from families that we want to catch up with,” she said.
“We have a subcommittee and we’re putting the book together with lots of photos and lots of memories from people who have put things forward, and had emails from past members who are going in the book.
“We’re hoping to have it printed soon, and the plan is people who we haven’t caught up with, we hope to catch up with them on the day, and then we can add pages to the books, and people will want to buy them on the day to look at, and then finish it off with the 60th celebration at the end of the book with people’s memories.
“Club members will be able to see the difference between what it was like when they rode to now.
“Back in the day, there weren’t so many rules and regulations with saddlery, they didn’t have to have helmets and many people wore bareback.
“With Pony Club Association of Victoria (PCAV), there’s a lot of regulations with rulings, such as helmets, riding boots, club uniforms, and we have old photos back when the club first started, where kids are riding without helmets on.
“We have a Facebook page, and when people go back and look at the photos, they can’t believe how riders could ride with no helmets, whereas now, you can’t get on a horse unless you have a helmet.”
Ms Hedger says it’s been a tireless pursuit to gain interest for the club’s anniversary, and says it is important to keep the early history of the club alive so that the club can be preserved long into the future.
“We are trying to keep the names of Bill Leech and Cyril Martin alive virtually, as they started something that, 60 years later, we’re continuing on with,” she said.
“If we don’t put the history down on paper, then down the track, you are losing your history, and it’s like all clubs, if they lose their history and don’t have people to keep talking about things that were done back in the day, no-one knows.
“That’s what we’re trying to bring forward with the kids that are there now.
“We’ve been working on this for 12 months, wanting to get it right.
“Every time we go to Pony Club, we bring it up at our lunchtime talk, that it’s coming up to our 60th anniversary, and the kids and the parents are wanting to get involved.
“The kids are starting to know the history of the club, because of our Facebook page, and are asking questions because of it.”
Ms Hedger says the opportunity to join Pony Club provides a unique opportunity to be part of a wide-ranging club and be able to do so at any age.
“Our four to 77 age group is one that not many clubs have in terms of an age group,” she said.
“There’s a lot of people who have been here for three generations, which is a big thing. Mum and dad have been there, the kids are coming, and then the grandkids, and it’s amazing.
“The thing is, you do have football and netball, but pony club is different, as you have horses to look after.
“The horse is a big part of the rider’s lives, as they have to learn to look after them and care for them. It gives them an education of knowing how to do that.
“They have to do things like making sure they are well-fed, feet and teeth, there’s a lot of things involved, not just going to Pony Club once a month and drag a horse across the paddock.
“We educate parents and the children how to look after their horse, which is great because kids come and don’t know much, but after a few years they know a bit more, and they want to keep learning.”
Ms Hedger plays a big part in the history of the Pony Club, having spent 23 years at the club across two different stints.
“I joined Pony Club back in 1987 and was there until 2000 with my son, and there was a lot of people back in that era, and I’ve been back for the last 10 years with my granddaughter, which makes 23 years for me,” she said.
“Things have changed so much, and there’s a lot of families from back in the 80s and 90s I still keep in contact with, and they always ask what’s happening at Pony Club.
“It’s like a big family, once people have been in the club, they continue to want to know what’s going on in the club.
“The friendships that kids and parents make lingers on over a lifetime.”
The RSVP cutoff date for the anniversary is on April 28, and they can be made at maryborough ponyclub@hotmail.com
For enquiries about the Pony Club’s 60th year anniversary, you can contact Pat Hedger on 0487 478 158 or Linda Gerring on 0447 007 326.