Trekkers Tribune - Wrap Up of 2018

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN HORSE TREKKERS CLUB INC.

Website: watrekkers.info Email: wahtc@iinet.net.auABN: 77 820 635 660

Trekkers TribuneWrap Up of 2018

INSIDE THIS ISSUE (click on the article you want and you will be taken directly to the top of that page)

Our Club (p1)

Member Profiles (p2)

Eagle Park Ride (p7)

Membership Renewals (p1)

Trail Riding Training Weekend (p3)

Donnybrook Easter Weekend (p11)

New Members (p2)

Naval Base Beach Ride (p5)

2018 Ride Calendar (p13)

Trekkers’ Treasures (p2)

Ride Fees (p6)

Ride Entries in Nominate (p14)

Important Links (p2)

Refund Policy for Rides (p6)

2018 Club Executive

President Tracey HawkenVice President Irene TaaffeTreasurer Margaret RoseSecretary Helen RawlinsPublication Secretary Robin LonsdaleWeb Manager Anna SheehanFacebook Administrators Debbie Pollard, Robin Lonsdale

Committee Members

Geoff Biddle Julie Baker

Robert Cooper

Trevor HayesKaren Fanderlinden Gina Looke

Margot Nelson Scott

Catherine Read

Noeline

Upcoming Club Rides

3 August Day Ride Wungong Regional Park

17-19 August Myalup Cottages

22-24 September Lewana (near Balingup)

12-14 October Bowelling

27 October Day Ride Dwellingup

Our Club

Hi Trekkers, I can’t believe it’s 2019 already!

We’ve had many rides since the last Trekkers Tribune, including a terrific Trail Ride Training weekend at Anna and Alan’s place, with around half of the attendees being new members. It was great to welcome them and their horses to the club.

In the meantime, the club has had a day ride at Naval Base Horse Beach, the March long weekend ride at Eagle Park at Herron, a day ride at Darling Downs, and Easter weekend at Donnybrook, Yabberup ride, the 2 week Murchison trek, June long weekend at Capel, July weekend at Manjimup, August weekend at Myalup and day ride at Wungong, September weekend at Bowelling, October day ride at Dwellingup and Kep Track in November. See reports on some of the rides in the following pages, or follow the links in this article.

* Special Note - when registering in Nominate, WAHTC rides are now listed under “Trail Riding” rather than “Other” when choosing your interest. New Nominate instructions are attached here.

Happy trekking!

If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2019, now is the time! The ATHRA membership fee includes the $10 annual club fee, and has remained at:

Adults - $110 Juniors - $50Social - $30 Over 80s at $60

ATHRA membership allows members to ride at any ATHRA Club in WA and only pay the ride fee.

To rejoin as a member, go to Membership Renewal

* If you are already a member, please ensure that you click on “Renewal” and do not register as a new member, or you will end up with twomembership numbers.

Cheers, Robin

New Members

A huge welcome to our new members in 2019!Ann Parkinson (Wandi)Tina Bennett (Kinross)Daryl Elphick (Brunswick)

We know you will enjoy the club just as much as we do, and we look forward to getting to know youand your horse.

Trekkers’ Treasures

Not trying to stirrup trouble, but these are the best horse jokes. If you don't think so, you won't disagree furlong once you run them pasture eyes. That's because there's no night-mare jokes here. No, not a single tail of whoa.

Important Links (click on hyperlink to go straight there)WA Horse Trekkers Club Website WAHTC Facebook ATHRA Website ATHRA Membership Renewals Nominate Entries

Member Profiles

We would love to continue to present member profiles in the Trekkers Tribune so that we can get to know each other a bit more.

If you would like to have your profile in print, please answer these Online Questions and email a photo or two of you with your horse to Robin

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Trail Riding Training Weekend (26-28 Jan at Peaceful Meadows)

What a great weekend this was at Peaceful Meadows in Serpentine, hosted by Anna and Alan Sheehan. I travelled there on Thursday afternoon and set up camp, followed by a lovely BBQ evening with Anna and Alan, with barbequed fresh vegies from their garden, including sweet potato and beetroot!

On Friday morning, all the campers turned up and got their camps and horses organised. After lunch, we had a go at various challenges that Anna had set up in her arena. These included slalom around cones, a “water” (tarp) crossing, navigating through various configurations of poles on the ground, towing a sandbag, exposing the horses to flags and noisy equipment, weaving around barrels, and manoeuvring a fitball. The horses seemed to enjoy the challenges, and both horses and riders had a good learning experience.

The challenges were followed by a practice ride to teach the new members about following a marked trail. With each of the teams going awry, let’s hope we do better on a real trail lol.

As it was a hot afternoon, a number of the riders chose to cool their horses off in the dam.

We had a social evening while watching Robin’s Reinless to Rawlinna documentary.

After discussion about the May trek and hobbling horses, on Saturday morning, Kellygave a demonstration of how she was taught to train her horse to hobble.

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Trail Riding Training Weekend (cont)

Saturday morning was spent practicing trekking techniques.

This was followed by a trail ride through Serpentine, riding along the railway line, and finishing with a ride along the bridle trails that run between the properties.

A “Trails, Tips and Tack” session took place during the afternoon, with many great tips being shared amongst members.

Sunday morning was play time! We packed up camp and headed in convoy to the Equestrian Playground in Baldivis. Lisa showed us the course, and then we split up and had a go at the various obstacles in hand. Once we were confident in hand, we saddled up and did the same obstacles ridden. It certainly helped to have done them in hand first. Everyone had a great time, and I’m sure both horses and riders benefitted from facing and conquering these challenges.

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Naval Base Beach Ride - 23 Feb

Unlike a normal Perth summer’s day, the day for the beach ride started overcast but yet still warm. In Serpentine, where Brana and I started out from at about 8 am, there was a stiff North Westerly blowing and my hopes for a lovely day at the beach were diminishing.

Brana and I got to Naval Base Beach early to meet everyone there as they arrived and the small group of about 8 all arrived by just after 9 am. We wandered down to the beach and I discovered that it was not as bad down there as I thought it would be as there was very little swell and the breeze at the beach was much less than at home. The cloud cover remained but this made it less hot and bright.

We all straight away went into the water and some of us, holding our breaths as we waded deeper in the cold water, hopped (or rather floated up) on our horses to enjoy a leisurely walk in the water down the beach. It was a relatively slow walk away from the floats but once we turned around the horses were keener to get back.

Once we returned it was time to let the horses relax and enjoy a swim or a float, some even enjoying a splash too. Some of the people there had never let their horses try this and it was a new experience that they got to enjoy as they watched their horses enjoy the chance to take the weight off their back end and float. It is obvious the horses enjoyed this as they almost moan and grunt as it happens. Some horses and owners also enjoyed a swim.

Then it was time to let them have a roll on the sand and just relax and enjoy their time at the beach, a time I think enjoyed as much by the humans as horses.

Anna Sheehan

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Ride Fees

Members riding and non-riding - use “Nominate” to register for the ride and pay fees. www.nominate.com.au.

In Nominate: Where is your horse kept? On the nominate entry, “Property Identification Codes” (PICs) must be entered, or if you don’t have a PIC, enter the full address where your horse is KEPT. If you agist, this will NOT be your home address.

Members who act as ride organisers and are not riding, are required to pay the ride fees through Nominate, as a non rider.

Non-member Volunteers - Any person who is not a member and acts as a volunteer helper for the ride is required to have approval from the ride organiser and trail boss. A ride volunteer form must be completed and returned 1 week prior to the ride and the ride register signed at the event. No fee payable for the approved ride only.

Non MembersIf you wish to come as a Day Rider you must:

� Fill out the Day Membership online form and pay Day Membership to ATHRA ($15/day) in www.athra.com.au under the Membership tab, then click on Day Membership.

� A Day Member registration certificate will be emailed to the Day Member once the application process is completed and the fee paid (in order to participate as a Day Member, an individual must produce their Day Member registration certificate to the club, sign the Ride Attendance Register and have an ATHRA member sponsor.)

� Then go to “Nominate” and pay the Ride Fee for the days you are riding. Only two “Day Memberships” are allowed per year.

� If you don’t know anyone prior to the ride to act as your sponsor, contact the ride organiser and this will be arranged.

� Should a Day Member apply for full ATHRA membership within seven (7) days of the date on the Day Member registration certificate, their full ATHRA membership fee shall be discounted by the amount of the Day Member fee paid.

Day Member Sponsors

A Day Member is sponsored and accompanied at all times on the ride by the sponsor, who must be an ATHRA member. The sponsor must make the Day Member welcome and aware of ATHRA’s current Ride Rules and the other requirements of the Code of Conduct and may only sponsor one rider per ride. The sponsor’s participation in this procedure is an acknowledgement of responsibility for the conduct of the Day Member.

REFUND POLICY FOR RIDES

Rider / non-rider entry fees:

If a participant wishes to withdraw at any time before or during the ride, no refunds will be made for ride entry fees (currently at $10 for members or $15/day for “Day Member” entries), after payment is made, either by Nominate or the club.

If a Day Member doesn't attend, the $15/day paid to ATHRA may be refundable on application directly to ATHRA.

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Eagle Park Ride (3-5 March at Herron)

A big thank you to Geoff and Jan for opening up their home and property, providing a spectacular venue, dream horse facilities and hospitality like no other. Geoff, Rob and I had the pleasure of seeing the planning stages of the trail ride finally come together. Rob’s enthusiasm with the chainsaw was appreciated and rightfully now has a leg of the trail know as Cooper’s Freeway!

Day 1. The Water crossing at Island Point was a great kick off to the weekend with a 15km ride led by Rob our trail leader and Geoff as drag (queen). This was a nice steady pace with a variety of terrain from gravel, sand and bitumen to water. There was the usual jostling of horse and riders to find their spot in the pack and settle into the trail, with our trusted trail boss Anna donning the red hat to keep us in line. We had several rally points to keep the group in visual contact of each other, ensuring all riders’ safety and comfort. The entry to the Estuary was a little slow to start but after a little encouragement, the horses proceeded in to the water nicely, as horse and riders gained confidence as a group.

They say photos tell a thousand words and there are some amazing photos graciously shared by riders on The Western Australian Horse Trekkers Facebook group, but the sound and coolness of the water on a hot day plus the energy of a group heading to shore was something that could only be experienced by being there. The loud sound of the horses thrashing through the water in unison plus the elevated energy level of horse and rider could be felt as you could see a small tsunami being created and propelled forward as we headed back to Island Point shoreline. This was truly amazing and an experience I am personally grateful to have had.

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Eagle Park Ride (cont)

Our lunch at Island point with chefs Graham and Maurni was a refreshing treat, water and horse nose bags were delivered by Jeff (Hobo) to our trusty steeds and ourselves, while we were enjoying the beautiful scenery and taking a moment to reflect on the history of the old stock route from Island Point to Herron Point and the beginning of the 10 th Light Horse Trail, where so many horsemen and women before us may have done the same.

We set out for the trail home to Eagle Park, encountered one dog on route but well sat by Leanne when her horse shied and handled by Kelly who dismounted to calm her horse’s anxiety. Once our horses were washed down, watered and fed, we refreshed ourselves for dinner. Rumour has it; some of us took a hose down ourselves after our steeds instead of a shower! We all dined well with roast beef and pork, vegies and salad and of course the “jus” followed by a wonderful baked cheesecake and New Zealand inspired Pavlova so I am told!

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Eagle Park Ride (cont)

Day 2. This was the more challenging and longer ride of 24km designed to inspire us with views, challenge some of us in a new environment and again ride along the historic Old Railway Spur through the pine plantation. We were still almost at full numbers with a few having other commitments and not being able to partake in the day’s activity. Geoff was trail leader and Rob drag to start the day and switched positions later. Geoff had designed an interesting and innovative scavenger hunt that seemed to be fiercely contested down to the well spotted road kill by Margaret, which she very generously and enthusiastically shared between her fellow riders, securing that feather required as part of the scavenger hunt. This was a first for me and probably many that will be etched into our memories on trails for many years to come. Spirits were high and laughter and chatter, and possibly some much encouraged cheating by Geoff for the hunt took place as we meandered through the forest from Bear Corner, Shags junction, blue drum crossing to the old Lake Clifton Stone Arch for that photo opportunity. After crossing Lake Clifton Road, through the gate, we made our way along to the long stand of trees to a welcoming shady spot for lunch. Grahame, Jan and Glenda welcomed us with left over gourmet delights from our previous night festivities along with that cold “Jus” of course. Jeff (Hobo) provided the water and nosebags to horses which deserved a well earned break. Here photos were also taken to show our black faces from our dusty trails. Grateful for ample tree cover for much needed pit stop for us, amazing the feeling of a relieved bladder, anyway! Note to be made here for next time: Margaret advised that it had been customary to have siesta after lunch anything from 1 to 2 hours, to Rob’s surprise as he was having clear images of a chilled Corona with his name on it waiting for him back at Eagle Park!

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Eagle Park Ride (cont)

We were vehicle escorted for about 0.5km on Southern Estuary Road by Grahame from the front and Jeff (Hobo) to the rear for our assured safety. The hot sun was taking its toll on some, sore butts and joint pain taunted others as we finally caught a refreshing breeze on the brow of Armstrong Hills on way home. A few sandy trails in the shade of the old Tuart, Sheoak and Peppermint trees to take us home. Road crossings were always planned with two High Vis Vest wearing riders securing each end of the crossing and one to guide the body of riders to safe passage. My first time wearing the High Viz vest and radio and stopping traffic on a horse pushed me out of my comfort zone to give it a go and I must say for that brief moment of time it was just like the scene in the movie (where I suddenly had extra special powers) “Bruce Almighty” with Jim Carrey “I’ve Got The Power” lol!

Eagle Park was a welcome sight as it came into view, once horses were taken care of and we were amply refreshed and hydrated, we set in for the evening and enjoyed a barbecue as the sun was setting over Lake Herron and filtering through the tall jarrah trees backing on to Eagle Park. This was another great day with personal accomplishments shared by many and the safe return of horses and riders. It was time for prize giving: lots of banter and some very close competition and creative selfies along with items acquired during the scavenger hunt, with Tanya taking 1st Prize and selecting the very desirable “St Hugo” red wine and Margot taking 2nd prize selecting from the “white only range” a beautiful bottle of white wine. Anne took 3 rd prize; a rhinestone encrusted full size leather halter and Sam taking 4 th prize with a full size bling halter. It was a late night shared with drinks and stories and budding friendships.

Day 3. We still had good numbers, 13 in all, for this late start on Monday morning, much appreciated Anna. This was a shorter and lighter trail of about 12km with some trotting and cantering possibly expected. Horses looked really comfortable with each other and lead out really nicely to our trail. It was an obvious bond that had formed between horses and riders. Kate was given a little challenge with Kenny who wanted to give Lead Rider and horse Cedex a little challenge, but well handled Kate. This was the only time Rob got off his horse twice on the trail, thanks to the eagle eye of Leanne who spotted Anna’s mobile that had fallen out of her pocket during a trot on the trail. We made our way from the Quarry in the shade of the trees and around the olive plantation, along Harvey View with stunning views of the estuary and looped back around towards home. Once back at Eagle Park we all packed up and we slowly parted ways not really wanting the weekend to finish and headed home after another great trail with I am sure many trails to tell! Thank you everyone for coming and for making this event so much fun.

Catherine Read

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Donnybrook Easter Weekend Ride (30 March to 2 April)

What perfect weather we had for our Easter Weekend! Thank you to Margaret R and Morrie for pre-tripping and marking the trails with me, and to all those who attended for making it such a great weekend.

Everyone rocked up at my place on Friday morning and set up their camps and yards in my horse paddock in the shade of the trees. This was Anita’s first ride with the Trekkers, and she had lots of fun trying out all her new camping gear.

Anna was kind enough to bring Jack for Morrie, my other half, to ride. This was much appreciated Anna!

We started the weekend off with a 22km afternoon ride through the Boyanup Forest, crossing the Preston River a couple of times, and getting back to camp just on dusk for a lovely social evening. Thank you to Margaret for meeting us halfway for a water stop. You can see a video of the Day 1 ride here.

Day 2 saw us riding through orchards, with plenty of fruit on the ground for the horses’ breakfast. We crossed the Preston River again, and rode along the River Walk through Donnybrook and across the Village Green, having lunch and wine tastings at Thomson Brook Winery. We rode back along the river through Donnybrook, making it a 23km ride, and again gathered for a social evening in the light of the full moon. Click here to see a video of this day.

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Donnybrook Easter Weekend Ride (cont)

On Day 3, we crossed the South Western Hwy and explored the bush for 25km on the other side, riding alongside orchards for the first part.

Thank you to Tracey and Margaret for meeting us at our morning tea and lunch spots, bucketing water out of a deep hollow for the horses.

The last morning, we explored some more hills in the Boyanup Forest, with some lovely views on the way up.

A huge thank you to everyone who came and made this such a great weekend!

Robin Lonsdale

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2019 Ride Calendar

Date Venue Ride Coordinator

2-4 MarchLabour Day Weekend

Nannup

Robin Lonsdale/Anita Britza/Roberta Bowman

23-24 or 30-31 March Darling Downs Trail Ride Training Trevor Hayes

April Day Ride TBA TBA

19-22 AprilEaster Weekend

Donnybrook

Robin Lonsdale

May Day Ride TBA TBA

1-3 JuneWA Day Weekend

Possibly Shannon

Irene Taaffe

June Day Ride TBA TBA

July Day Ride TBA TBA

July Weekend Ride TBA TBA

16-18 August Myalup Margaret Rose

August Day Ride TBA TBA

7-8 September Eagle Park, Lake Clifton Robert Cooper/Geoff Biddle

27-30 SeptemberQueen’s Birthday Weekend

Corrigin/Bullaring

Julie Baker

October Day Ride TBA TBA

October 1-2 Week Ride

Possibly the new Warren BlackwoodStock Route Bridle Trail

Irene Taaffe

November Day Ride TBA TBA

November Weekend Ride TBA TBA

Nov/Dec AGM TBA TBA

Day Ride Ideas – Kep Track, Railway Heritage Trail, Jandakot Regional Park, Jarrahdale, Wungong Regional Park, Pickering Brook, Dwellingup, Beach

Two Day Ride Ideas – Kep Track, Railway Heritage Trail, Fettlers Crossing, Pickering Brook, Dwellingup, or at a friend’s place who owns a property that is close to bush we can ride in.

CAN YOU HOST A RIDE OR ORGANISE ONE? PLEASE LET US KNOW!!

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