New Zealand Riding Club PATRON
My involvement with Riding Club started 33 years ago and I am still a member of the Waimarino Riding Club. Pony Club has been a major influence on my life and farm riding in England before that. My sister and I grew up on a farm and shared a wonderful little Shetland Pony Bess, and rode everywhere on the farm with our father.
My own horse did not eventuate until about 1973 some time after arriving in New Zealand. Learning to ride correctly was a major challenge for both me and various Instructors including many of the NZPC National Instructors! Being a competitive person, competitions soon became part of my Pony Club life, including dressage, show jumping and eventing, along with local Sports Meetings. Nothing very spectacular but lots of fun, it also helped me appreciate what my Pony Club riders were up against.
The North Island Teams Event featured soon after the Waimarino Riding Club formed and I rode in 19 NITEs, 17 of them consecutively. Riding takes a back seat these days but I still have my, now 32 year old mare, Jade whom I bred and we go out on occasional light hacks in fine weather. Jade competed in 13 NITEs with me and two others with a friend.
Today I am fully retired, how did I have time to work? I worked as a Laboratory Technician in the dairy industry for many years and later for the Department of Conservation. I enjoyed many years of tramping in our National Parks and still retain an interest in the ‘Bush’.
Today apart from my ‘horsey’ activities I vegetable garden, support our local Anglican Church and make lots of jam for fundraising. My family are grown up and left home and I have a son and daughter, two grandchildren and two great grandsons. Both my children and granddaughter rode but they have moved on to other activities as well.