Past and present members of the Garah-Boomi Pony Club will get together at the end of the month to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary.
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The club was formed in 1968 when a number of Garah and Boomi people decided to start their own club instead of travelling to Moree.
A committee meeting was held to determine the most suitable places to run pony club, with the choices narrowed down to ‘Carlingford’ at Garah, owned by the Matchett family, or at the Williams family property ‘Cwmteg’ Garah.
“They decided on ‘Cwmteg’ simply for the infrastructure they already had in place and access in wet weather,” 50 year reunion head coordinator Sandy Downes said.
“The club has been there ever since. Over the years we’ve improved our infrastructure to what we’ve got today.
“The Williams family have been very, very good to us, allowing big groups of people to invade their property.”
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Originally, the camps were held in August when school was made up of three terms, however when that was changed to a four-term year, the annual Garah-Boomi Pony Club camp was moved to September.
“It’s operated every year,” Ms Downes said.
“The only year it didn’t run was in 2007, which was the year of the equine influenza outbreak.”
Although they have mini camps or riding days throughout the year, the September camp is the club’s major event for the year, drawing an average of 50 children. Many attendees are the children of past members who have since moved away, but bring their kids back to experience the camp each year.
To celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary, all past and present members are invited to a long lunch at ‘Cwmteg’ Garah at 11am on Saturday, July 28.
Three of the original members of the club – Noel Williams (who owns ‘Cwmteg’), Graham Pitman and Daphne Murray – will be attending the celebration, which will be catered by camp chef Kate Williams.
Moree mayor Katrina Humphries, who was one of the original 1968 members, will be in attendance, along with Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall.
Bruce and Strath Carrigan will be providing the entertainment, while a photo slideshow will be running throughout the event.
Past and current members are asked to bring any trophies they have for a memorabilia table.
Tickets are $40 and can be purchased from Regional Australia Bank Moree.
For more information, contact Sandy Downes on 0458 553 350 or email downesies@bigpond.com.
