Even an Olympic silver medallist enjoys a day out at her old (and recently re-started) Pony Club. Sonja Johnson took her ‘ponies’ (including EA Elite Squad listed Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison aka Ben Pony) to Many Peaks Pony Club recently where they competed at all levels for large and small riders ..........
Audrey and Mo (Belfast Mojito), Alexa and Ben (Parkiarrup Illicit Liaison). Just cause you'e being prepared for the Olympics doesn’t mean you can't pose for photos with little people!
Fun, Friends, Families and Fires These blogs we all do tend to be about the rich, the famous and /or the big flash events. In the process we tend to forget the grass roots riders and events; the kids on well, but scruffy, ponies just out for fun and who are “oh so excited” to get a ribbon of any description.
Bec Blythe - organiser extraordinaire
In about the second edition of Equestrian Life there was an article on pony clubs and the people behind them. One of the featured people was Rebecca (Bec) Blythe who had restarted Many Peaks Pony Club in Western Australia. Now readers of An Eventful Life will have heard of this club as it is where my pony club career started. Bec is a great friend of mine who, with her husband Jeff, have a cattle farm about 15 km from Parkiarrup (our home farm). They have, with a group of helpers, taken over the old rodeo grounds and turned it into what must be the least pretentious pony club in existence. We are talking the sort of club with a tyre swinging from a tree for the non-riding kids!
An essential piece of equipment - the tyre swing
For the club’s first excursion into running VERY unofficial competitions they hosted a show jumping day. Classes ranged from 30cm to 1.20m and were sponsored by Greg Johnson of Europa Saddlery, with prizes going to 6th in each class (if the class had that many starters). You should have seen the looks on the kids’ faces as they rode out with all their “loot”.
Ribbon Time = Grin Time
There was great support for the event with competitors coming from as far away as Katanning and Kojonup which are both a little over 2 hours away. Mostly the competitors were from farming back grounds. This was particularly useful when, part way through the day, we all realized there was a fire just starting up in the reserve near Blyth’s farm! Of course around here the farmers are the fire brigade and the fast attack fire truck was in the shed right at the grounds. Bec stopped briefly from being course designer/ sponsor getter/ grounds man/ ring master and mother to poor Bianca and became fire control officer. I suspect that when Brett Ladyman left Katanning to bring his daughter down he hadn’t planned on going fire fighting, but that’s the country, so off he went!
Audrey and Mojo - the last time he competed, he won the CIC*** at Lakes & Craters!
As for my day, I think the most fun bit was when Rebecca Bell who, with her husband Simon, owns my wonderful 3* ride Belfast Mojito (Mojo) arrived with their four kids to watch Mojo. The two eldest kids had chucked in some riding clothes but no horses. On arrival they thought it would be fun to join in so ten year old Audrey jumped up on Mojo. They jumped the 30cm, and then got a 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the 60cm. What a smile! Fortunately she couldn’t read the terror on my face as I knew he hadn’t jumped since Lakes and Craters 3DE at Camperdown. Mojo however displayed his wonderful stock horse temperament and was a perfect angel before winning the 1.20 with me.
Audrey and Mojo
Meanwhile eight year old Lexi rode Edward, my 5yo 1* horse (who hadn’t jumped since probably September) in the 30cm class. I will admit that new working pupil John Hunter ran with her but Edward was a gem and it was smiles all around.
Lexi Bell, John Hunter and Parkiarrup Edward
At the end of the day those of us that had won bottles of wine from Montgomery’s Hill vineyard sat around and shared them. The fire fighters returned from putting out the fire and we scraped an exhausted Bec up of the ground, assured her the day was a great success but felt that it was probably wiser to leave it a couple of days before we asked her what date it would be running in 2013. Cheers Sonja
Sonja and young Gibby Bell
