Western District Pony Club reinvigorated after hiatus

Twelve riders had the honour of being the first equestrians to attend the rallies that will be held on the first Sunday of each month.

Horse and rider favourites such as bending and egg and spoon races were held to celebrate the pony club's new beginnings.

The new home of the club is at the Hexham Recreation Reserve, north-west of Mortlake.

Club secretary Julie Houlihan said it was exciting to bring the club back to life.

"This is a new chapter for the Western District Pony Club," Mrs Houlihan said.

The pony club went into hiatus before the COVID-19 pandemic, but has now started up again.

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The club has a storied history and started in 1950 at Mortlake. Western District was the first pony club in the region to be established with the Pony Club organisation.

At that stage there was no Pony Club Australia organisation and the club was affiliated with Pony Club England.

Since then, the club has always been affiliated and in that time it moved from Mortlake to Chatsworth, before a hiatus.

It started up again in Winslow in 2002.

"When the pony club started members included many well-known names of the Western District," Mrs Houlihan said.

She said most of the new riders were aged under 10 and it was a welcoming, family-oriented club.

"It is so heartwarming to see many riders who were members from years past are now bringing their children and grandchildren," she said.

"We had a great relaxed day for our first rally.

"It's all about teaching children about horsemanship and how to look after and care for your pony.

"This is a brilliant skill with lessons that can be applied to many other aspects of life."

She said new members had come from across the region.

"We have a real focus on our younger riders at the moment, but we certainly welcome riders of any age to come and have a try at our rallies," Mrs Houlihan said.

"We have a wealth of knowledge from our experienced horse parents who will be instructing at rallies - people like champion eventer Sophie Kelly and showjumping stalwart Gary Kermond."

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