Galston Equestrian Club has been operating as a riding club for 10 years. Where has that time gone? The opening ceremony for GEC was held at the Rural Sports Facility in August 2008. A dressage display by Mel Parbery, who at the time was a local instructor, took place that day and show jumping was held in the bottom arena. We started taking memberships in 2009. Today we are a club with 136 members.
To celebrate this anniversary, the current GEC committee hosted a dinner on 25 September at local restaurant Biviano’s, where we were joined by many long standing friends and supporters of the club. It was a great evening to reflect on many happy, shared memories over the years.
Current President Liz Jones gave a short speech on the night to thank all the people who have positively contributed to the building of a strong, successful and vibrant club. GEC was built on the hard work of many people. Notably, our current members can thank: the Marra Marra trail riding group ladies who had the initial dream of a riding club in the Galston area; Councillor Nan Horne who was our ally on Hornsby Council and who fought hard to get the Rural Sports Facility grounds; and the Steering Committee led by Barbara Anderson, John McFadden, Cherie Luck and Andrea Taylor, who did the initial club set up, including affiliation with Equestrian Australia, insurance, but most importantly, got members signed up.
Lots of committee members have generously given their time since those early days, and played a role in organising and running the busy calendar of events offered by GEC. It takes many people volunteering numerous hours to keep the club running behind the scenes, doing all manner of essential tasks. These include: sourcing prizes, ribbons and sponsors, stocking the canteen and feeding the masses, applying for grants, doing the accounts and paying the bills and instructors on time, keeping the club up to date with compliance obligations, purchasing merchandise and organising social activities including our regular information evenings, and keeping the website and facebook pages up to date.
This anniversary evening was a celebration for all those people.
GEC is an inclusive community based club. We hope you will be on the journey with us over the next 10 years.
