Canberra Lakes pony club was formed in 1961. This means that 2011 is Canberra Lakes 50^th year and what a great 50 years the club has seen. The club was formed with only nine members but has since grown to one of the largest clubs in our zone (zone 16) often reaching a maximum number of riding members, 70. We still ride at our original grounds next to the Yarralumla wool shed situated in the middle of Equestrian Park Canberra. Recently when we held a dinner for our clubs 50^th we learnt that when the club started a group of members with horses went on local TV to beg for the grounds and we are proud to have hold of land so close to such great facilities as well as being next door neighbours to the Governor-General. Our uniform has also had some minor changes, we can no longer source green shirts so we have changed to white and rally days are no longer ridden in competition uniforms. However our colours still include bottle green and gold.

 

Our typical rally days incorporate any numbers of activities. We teach the standard pony club disciplines. Dressage, show jumping, Eventing, Mounted games and sporting etc. We also try our hardest to introduce our members to other equestrian disciplines including western, driving, liberty and any other guest instructors with different experiences we can get out hands on.

 

As a member I have been a part of Canberra Lakes for over 10 years now. Not only is the riding and instructing great but I have found the most rewarding part of pony club to be the friendships I have formed, not only have I met my best friends at Canberra Lakes where we still ride together but I have met a number of fantastic mentoring adults I would consider family. Those who I no longer just see at pony club but spend time with outside of pony club.

 

Our club has seen many riders compete successfully at state competitions across various disciplines. Canberra Lakes has also seen riders achieve international success both in competition and training. We have also seen our instructors recieve awards for their commitment to the club including the ACTEA (ACT Equestrian Association) awards and the ACT Cheers award.