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The LOXTON HORSE RIDING CLUB AGM is coming up, and we would love to see you there!Current and potential members all welcome to join us for an evening meal and be a part of the discussion for our wonderful, relaxed little club, and our current issue, keeping the club open in this day and age with reduced numbers of horse enthusiasts, and busier working lifestyles. Due to life and circumstances, we’ve had some of our wonderful committee members need to step back in the past twelve months.
Being one of the last two riding clubs still running in the Riverland, we are keen to keep our gates open to all ages of horse people and their ridden and non-ridden horses and ponies; offering a safe place to meet friends, learn, and enjoy the wonderful world of horsemanship.
But we need more hands on deck in the form of committee members to keep on running.
A little bit about the club and what it entails to run:
~Rally Days~
We aim to run a rally day once a month for members to come along, catch up in a relaxed environment. These days are often themed on a particular aspect of horsemanship – obstacles, dressage, pole work, jumps, etc. But we also offer a safe space for new riders or green and young horses who are learning. We are a cruisy bunch and if you have an un-ridden horse or pony, or no longer ride but keep horses, and still want to take them places, you’ll fit right in. Rally days are usually headed by a different committee member or even a general club member if they are keen to teach us all something. In the past and currently we open gates at 9am on a Sunday, but we are open to suggestions on holding these days later in the day, especially now the weather has cooled down.
~Club Maintenance~
Being a property, the club does need some maintenance through the year to keep it usable and horse and people safe.
This includes: W**d-spraying arenas two to three times a year, depending on the season, a bit of ride on lawn mowing, whipper-snipping, and slashing of the main riding area. Slashing is currently done a couple of times a year by our very helpful neighbour who also helps us get water to our grounds. General maintenance such as giving the bathrooms a sweep out and clean when the spiders get too friendly, or before events, keeping the clubrooms clean, and throwing any fallen branches on the burn pile.
Mightier tasks such as re-piping and tanking our current water supply to be more self-sufficient, and yard upgrades are on our current to do list.
Having the time around work for all our current committee members and even past members makes maintenance of the grounds between rally days our biggest obstacle.
~Slack Hack~
The LHRC was the first horse club in South Australia to hold an annual Slack Hack; a casual horse “show” which acted as a friendly competitive weekend without all the bells and whistles and stress of a full-blown horse show event. The biggest rules: Have fun, have a go, and no plaiting! It was originally a great pre-event leading up to the Loxton Show, but now is run as a get together for horse friends both locally and afar and a safe space for kids and new riders or new horses to get their feet wet with some low key, fun showing events in an encouraging environment. We still have ribbons and trophies, and the famed Stockman’s Challenge is no easy feat, but it is a cruisy weekend. Covid19 saw the club and the Slack Hack not run for two consecutive years, and unfortunately it has hurt numbers in the past two years, despite all who attend loving the event each September. We cannot hold the Slack Hack without the dedication of our committee, extra volunteer help including judges, and our great sponsors throughout the years.
~The Grounds~
We are lucky to have spacious grounds with secure yards for horses and ponies, toilets and showers, kitchen in our club rooms, a round yard, an arena and our large oval where we hold our rallies, slack hack, and any other events. In the scrub, there is a cross country course which doubles as a safe trail riding area.
~Fundraising~
A couple times throughout the year we participate in events to help raise funds for the club to go towards insurance, upkeep, getting Slack Hack off the ground, and other fees to keep running on a financial side.
~Committee~
The LHRC Committee needs to have four active members on the board to run. At current we have five committee members including a Secretary, and Treasurer. Currently we have two club members as acting President and Vice President, but they are only doing so until the AGM to keep us running. We are seeking members to take on these active roles in the committee or swap roles around with those electing to remain on the committee. The positions are to keep the club as a formal club, but we all help one another out.
If you are keen to help us keep our little club going or looking to become a part of a laid-back horse club, and even take on a committee role, we would love to hear from you or see you at the AGM.
LHRC AGM: 6PM on the 2nd of July at the Berri Hotel.
They do good meals if you want to grab a bite to eat.
Please if you are looking to attend, let us know by June 30th so we book enough seats.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Berri Hotel, Riverview Drive,Berri,SA,Australia, Barmera
