By Callum Ludwig
Postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions last year, the historic Upper Yarra Pony Club is finally able to host its 60th-anniversary reunion this month.
Meeting on Saturday 4 June at 2pm at Wesburn Park, everyone can catch up over afternoon tea and an evening barbeque as they reminisce on old memories with the club. For those who are coming from far and wide, they are free to camp out the night and wake up to a cooked breakfast.
District commissioner Anita Prowse said she hopes to reach more past members of the club from years gone by, as it has been quite a large part of the local community since its founding in 1961.
“We probably had the most we ever had back when I was a member, with about 125 members. We were very involved in the community, joining the Anzac March at Yarra Junction which we still do, and running an Easter parade at Warburton early in our history,” she said.
“I’ve been really impressed with the response so far, everybody certainly remembers it as being a really amazing time in their life, making friends we wouldn’t have had that have lasted forever.”
The Pony Club was started when a group of 50 horse-riding enthusiasts attended a meeting at the Alpine Hotel in 1961 and asked the Wesburn Advancement League if they could use some of the land at the racecourse, now Wesburn Park, to start the club. The racecourse stopped hosting races after 1963, but the pony club has never left since.
Ms Prowse said the Upper Yarra Pony Club family is far-reaching.
“In the early days, we had members from all over because we were one of the first groups of pony clubs that actually were formed in Victoria at that time. We had people coming from the city and everywhere else,” she said.
“There’s a lot around that are now 30 and 40 with kids now and some of these kids are even going to pony clubs themselves now.”
The club runs 11 or 12 rallies a year, as well as its upcoming Dressage Jackpot on Sunday 29 May and its horse show on Sunday 11 December.
RSVP can be provided to Ms Prowse by messaging the Facebook event titled ‘UYPC 60TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION or contacting her at 0409 953 345 and letting her know how many are attending and an estimated time of arrival.
