Rawsonville Pony Club will be able to purchase a utility buggy and sand arena grader thanks to a $20,176 grant secured by Member for the Dubbo electorate Dugald Saunders.
Mr Saunders announced the club had successfully applied for funding through the Community Building Partnerships program, and said the new equipment will come in handy.
“Rawsonville Pony Club has a small but committed membership base, and plenty of riders in that part of the electorate have started competing with their horses there,” Mr Saunders said.
“The families that are involved get in and work very hard to make the club as good as it possibly can be, and this program is aimed at giving some assistance to these wonderful community-based organisations.
“The club needed some help to ensure it has a safe arena to compete on, and I’m proud that I could help it secure the funding that will make that happen, and reduce some of the workload the current members have.”
Rawsonville Pony Club president Leanne White said she was excited when she received confirmation of the successful application.
“For a long time now we’ve had one of the ladies from the club bring harrows down to the arena, and we have to manually hook them up to a vehicle and prepare it that way,” Ms White said. “With this funding, we will be able to leave the machinery at the club, and when we are there we can run over the arena to remove weeds and loosen the surface. It will be a great asset for our club and help us keep it in great condition.”
It is wonderful to hear that the Rawsonville Pony Club has received a grant as pony clubs provide great training in safe horsemanship by volunteers.
Hi as the Foundation President of the Rawsonville Pony Club Im proud of the achievements of the Club, the riders and families who have continued to keep the Pony Club going forward and updating the grounds and equipment’
A big thank you to the State and Federal Governments and the local members of Parliament through the years who have supported the Club and ensured the local Rawsonville area including the adjoining areas of Terramungamine, Coolbaggie , Minore, Minore Falls, Dickygundy, Dulla Dulla and Burrabadine plus visitors from outside the immediate area have enjoyed the experience of attended and having children , grand children ride at Rawsonville and represent the District at Sydney Royal Show, and numerous Major Shows and Pony Club Carnivals, Cross Country and Dressage events.
Rawsonville Pony Club was formed to give the 40 plus children in the local area at the time a chance to ride horses in a group and family day out, to teach the riders and some parents too how to look after their horses and equipment , what to feed , how to look after feet, teeth, coat etc.
We were fortunate to have expert Vet, Farrier, and Riding Instructors who were able to teach the riders the fundamentals of fun day at Pony Club.
As a result of this foundation work many riders went on to become great competitors for the Club but importantly that was always a place for the riders who just wanted to ride for fun with the other kids from around the area at Pony Club sundays.
Unfortunately as i write this message I learnt of the death of Peter Duffy who with Elaine Bootle and myself discussed the idea outside the historic Dickygundi Inn and decided to call the public meeting to form the Pony Club, Peter took the position of Honourary Solicitor to oversee the Original Constitution and Elaine was elected Secretary and I was elected President and a great hard working contingent of loacls people from areas above cut rails from trees at back of dickygundy to restore the fencing around the old Rawsonville Carnival Grounds fixed up the old timber and tin sheds and toilets.
The Rawsonville Pony Club members and friends and riders should be proud that hardworking people through the years have continued to build the facilities and to provide young people and families a opportunity of enjoying a modern outdoor sporting arena in their local district.’.