A Visit from a Life Member and a Ride through Tallarook Forest
We were delighted see Frank, one of our life members, pop in this weekend. Frank dropped in to say hello and see how we were getting on. He stayed for a while chatting with members. He liked what he saw … the clubhouse and grounds were looking the best they have in years. Peter has been working hard getting some historical photos up on the walls, so it was great that Frank could look back and remember friends he had known and ridden with over the years.
How lucky are we to be situated so close to the Yarra Valley, Whittlesea, Yea & Broadford, only 90 minutes from Melbourne and central to other parts of Victoria. Frank was able to pop in on his way back from Broadford and Prue came across and just opted in for the Club Ride on Sunday.
After Frank left we settled down to a lovely dinner of roasted spuds, pumpkin, yummy eye fillet steaks and salads. It was a beautiful balmy evening so we had an early dinner outside enjoying the cool breeze . We chatted and laughed until the late hours and discussed many things, one of which was the benefit of trail riding for everyone regardless of riding style. Pony Clubbers especially benefit from getting out and riding on trails to boost confidence and ability. The consensus was that trail riding is a non-stressful way to learn how to deal with obstacles … nature’s handy mount course. We are lucky to have an excellent chief instructor within our membership who is keen to run a clinic soon for riders looking to venture out on the trails more or to learn and gain confidence.
The Club members who stayed over woke early on Saturday morning to a bacon & egg breakfast at 8am. After breakfast everyone packed up their horse floats and ventured off to the Tallarook State Park. The main riding destination was the Trawool Reservoir that once fed the Seymour pipeline with drinking water.
Tallarook State Park
We saddled up, mounted our horses and rode along some nice sandy tracks for 11 kilometres. The temperature was about 30 degrees, but the shade from the tree canopy and breeze kept us comfortable.
On arrival at the Trawool Reservoir we were met by Sally who kindly brought along a BBQ and cooked lunch for us. It was lovely, resting for hour or so in the most beautiful surroundings. The horses enjoyed the water and rest as well.
- After lunch we road along by the old creek leading to the Reservoir for about three kilometres in pristine, beautiful bush until we came across a 100m high hill which took us 3/4 of an hour to climb. After the climb the sandy tracks took us back to our floats, which finished off another perfect day’s riding.
