Author: Sandy Gorman
It is so much more than the rides. The rides are Great, though! Each month, there’s the promise of a weekend with mates, a few laughs, a drink or two. Sometimes we are the cook, mostly we are cooked for. Sometimes we may have to clean, other times we are cleaned up after. Then there’s the lawns and all the other little bits that go into making this club the getaway that is more than just horses.
This month it was the working bee. Members chipping in and using a bit of muscle to get things done. And get things done we did. There was the low hanging branches that get caught on the mower – chopped! There was the beautiful canopy lining the driveway that scratches the floats – pruned! Then there was the bloody Plane Trees that tried killing us with their throat killing bits that sent us into coughing fits – that’s commitment. There was the cypress trees along the road with low hanging branches that had their skirts pulled up by chainsaws. The mowing. The blackberry spraying. The fence repairing. The hedge trimming. The hole fixing. The track making. The obstacle building. The tractor, truck, excavator, skidsteer, four-wheeler, trailer-towing machinery that got shit done. The catering for hungry workers. The cleaning. The unity and mates that made it fun. The finished product that shines like love. This place is neater than home (well, my home at least!) And when the sun goes down after all the hard work, we’ve eaten our fill and enjoyed a well earned drink (or five).
It is so much more than just the riding. What other clubs offer a chance to rock up to a real house with real beds, stake your claim from Friday if you want to? Organise a ride on the Friday with those that make it up early then relax in front of the fireplace or outside firepit? Shower in a real shower before bed or when you wake, sort some breakfast, pack a lunch and see the local breathtaking scenery on a ride that may be anything from 15-30 k’s, depending? Come back on the Saturday afternoon and either be the chef or have dinner and dessert cooked for you? More socialising and relaxing before hitting the sack and rising in time for a cooked breakfast. The chance to head off on another ride, slower paced if required and finishing early enough to head back off in the 360 degrees of directions our members converge from. And we do travel to come here. From just up the road to 2-3 hours away. Because it’s worth it. Because there’s no other club like it. Because it’s wonderful to be part of something that has been doing their thing for the last 95 years. Because girls were allowed in (eventually). Because we are a CLUB. And we do love to ride.
