About 70 friends of the Berwick and District Dressage Club met at
the Dante Restaurant in Berwick on the 18th November to celebrate and reminisce on the passing of a quarter of a century.
The club has grown into one of the most active and influential equestrian groups in the country. From humble beginnings, the club has addressed the requirements of it's members and conducted training days and competitions which have been instrumental in the development of the sport of Dressage.
The inaugural meeting of the club was held on the 2nd September 1981 at the home of Denise & Brian Roche in Upper Beaconsfield and the Office Bearers were,
President - Jane Grant,
Vice President - Denise Roche
Secretary - Rosemary Dalton
Treasurer - Brian Roche
General Committee - Beryl Hails, Marg Cant, Shirley Parry
Sadly, some of the original members of this founding group have moved to the 'big arena in the sky' and others have moved from the area and were not able to make the trip to be with us all.
As one of the earliest locals to join the club, I got swept away by the enthusiasm of the founding members and felt compelled to do my bit to make Dressage 'big' in Berwick! In particular my dear friend Marg Cant was the driving force and she convinced me that making some time in my very busy professional life was a very worthwhile cause and would help the local equestrian community.... there were big goals and ambitious plans to see Berwick the heart of the sport in Victoria, if not Australia!
When I joined the committee, the meetings were still being held at the Roche's home but soon after, the venue changed to a little self contained room out the back of the old Berwick Hotel, which has now been rebuild to a grandeur which was inconceivable in the early 80's. Our meeting room appeared to be a modified wood shed and it was cold and drafty in winter and hot in summer. It overlooked the back gravel car park and we had the occasional interruption of proceedings when loud and unruly patrons were finding their way home at closing time.
We were very grateful to the hotel owner for allowing us to meet there and I am sure that I would not be alone to recall that some happy and productive times were had by all concerned. The Committee were keen to give the members good instruction and the opportunity to be involved with 'club days'. Many of our early rallies were held at Kiddlewick - the indoor arena on the Princes Highway which has long been replaced with a housing estate. These were great days and those who took part in the morning sessions stayed on for lunch and those who rode in the afternoon, arrived early in order to have lunch and there was a wonderful sense of camaraderie and goodwill. We all learned and flourished in this positive environment. Oakwood Riding School and Astral were also venues for club days.
25 years ago the objectives seemed to be less complicated - we all just wanted to learn and enjoy our horses, our friends and the sport of Dressage. Everyone knew that we all had a 'long way to go' and there seemed to be a pleasant lack of 'politics' and 'posturing' which seems to have taken over from the simple ideals of the sport in the current competition environment.
I look at these times and feel that the all of the equestrian disciplines would benefit greatly if the 'ordinary' rider were better catered for. At State and National level we now see so much of the membership's resources directed to a very small sector who fit into the Elite Rider category and very little is done to give value to the membership commitment of the riders who take the sport seriously, but have no illusions about taking part in the sport at an 'international' level. I feel that the present day administrators could learn much by looking into the records of the early clubs such as the Berwick & District Dressage Club - a group that have made a significant contribution to the development and improvement of Dressage in Australia.
The Inaugural President Jane Grant spoke of the early days and the achievements of the club from it's early beginnings. The current President Michael Bragge, took us through the Club's more recent history and recalled many of the happy times that were shared with long term President Ed Rogers who passed away suddenly a few years ago. Michael showed some archival pictures in a slide show and there were many giggles about the changing faces of the members. Michael himself has seen a dramatic change from the shoulder length hair of his early days to the very close crop he sports today.
Brian Roche spoke of the early days and his late wife Denise's passion for a flourishing and pro-active club to foster the sport of Dressage in the district. We all remembered some happy and humorous times with early member and club instructor Beryl Hails and her daughter Phillipa was with us all to talk about her mum, Dressage and the early days of the club ... it seems like yesterday when the stories are recounted.
Michael then got on to the official part of the evening and presented the 2006 Berwick & District Dressage Club Awards, which went to:
The Beryl Hails Memorial Trophy - Rebecca Woff.
The Tackbox Horse of the Year - Preliminary/Novice - Lindford Park Don Concha ridden by Sharon Streeter
Elementary/Medium - JC Spiderman ridden by Jodie Barnes
Advanced/FEI - Jaybee Bellaire Amanda ridden by Reiner Kramer
