The members of Far West Pony Club have been fundraising for a decade to build a new shed but cake stalls and local raffles have left us well short of our target. With costs considerably higher than ten years ago when we started, we are needing to raise $20000 to build a safe and secure and vermin proof structure.

Our club is situated in Ceduna on South Australia’s rugged west coast, at the start of the Great Australian Bight.

Most people think of “pony club” as rich little posh kids on expensive ponies but here it is the exact opposite. Many of our members are from low socio-economic households, they ride borrowed ponies and often just barely afford the subsidised joining fees and uniform. The older riders are mostly mounted on ex-racehorses usually given to them by local racehorse trainers which gives these horses a long and happy life after racing. This, unfortunately not the case for many racehorses.

FWPC’s shed is multi faceted. It is our club room where theory lessons are taught, lunches are prepared and shared, Club info and paperwork is stored, Christmas and birthday parties are held along with the all important committee meetings. It also is a run of the mill storage shed holding our jumps and games equipment etc, most of which has to be removed before we can use the shed for any other purpose. It’s very cramped in that old single car garage.

We hold our pony club musters twice a month but the day before each one, a member or two have to go to shed and give it a clean up. The dust builds up quickly when you live in on the edge of a desert. Dust and dirt need to be swept and shovelled out, sometime even a hose is brought in to clean it out. Then there’s the removal of the little intruders………..mice (dead and alive), lizards, spiders and even occasionally a snake needs to be dealt with.

And then we can only hope it’s not windy overnight or we might have to do it all again in the morning!

A bigger well built shed that wouldn’t have to double as a storage shed will be a wonderful luxury especially if we can keep the creepy crawlies out.

Our Club recently held the Eyre Peninsula Pony Club Zone School. Members from other clubs in our zone travelled up to 800kms to join us for a week of camping, riding, horse care lessons and socialising. It was a great time to meet new people but as our shed is so small we had to use the club rooms of the neighbouring Ceduna Race Club. We were very grateful to use this facility but to have our own club room that could be comfortable, sheltered and welcoming would be just wonderful.

We know that this new shed will be a game changer for our current members who have worked so hard to raise money towards it. And we see it as being a positive factor in bringing new members and visitors to our club and be a big draw card when we hold zone events in the future.

Photo credits EP Pet Photography

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