pg 164 More Big Hill Country 2009
The Cochrane Pony Club began in 1960 at the Simpson Ranch in Grand Valley. The children rode to the Ranch from as far away as Water Valley and Cochrane. They were taught equitation and jumping in an outdoor rink and jumps were erected in the ranch pastures for their cross-country course.
The instructors were Jack Simpson, Edie Rodie, Red Watson, Vivienne Ullery, Zolten Sztehlo and Ralph Rowe. There were about 20 members in that first club: Sally McDougall, Anne McKendrick, Jill Kerfoot, John and Barbara Simpson, John Scott’s boys, Sally Austin, Doug, Barb and Cathy Lawson, Lillian Bryant, Judith Broatch, Susan, Charles and Fiona Strachan, David Watson and the Gillarneau family.
During this time, the parents of these children made a red, black and whjte flag which has been used by the club ever since. The kids in this club have done very well, some even competing internationally and many passing on the skills they learned to future generations.
The members of the first Cochrane Pony Club moved on to follow other pursuits and the Pony Club also moved its location to various places in the years following. They did some spring riding in the old Cochrane Curling Rink next to St. Andrews Church and in the late spring and summer they held their meets at Bruce and Dorothy Boothby’s ranch west of Cochrane.
They met weekly and for one week in July, the Pony Club Members had a camp with intensive instruction. This week of intensive learning, riding and caring for their horses ended with a special event for the parents and grandparents to come out and acknowledge their accomplishments. The children brought their sleeping bags and gear and slept in the granary, then each day according to the schedule one of the mothers brought lunch or dinner to Boothbys to feed them. This worked well, aside from Dorothy having to console and care for the odd homesick youngster after they were taken to Cochrane to the outdoor swimming pool for a swim (shower) and fun, all thoughts of home were forgotten and things settled in fine.
The Pony Club was growing in numbers and they had Sarah Leete, Lillian Bryant and Anne Lacy as instructors. As well, Miles Smeeton, an ex-English cavalryman, had moved into the Cochrane area. He encouraged the kids, becoming involved with the club and his thoughts were that Pony Club was not just for equitation but for fun and competition. This being the case, he made lances out of sticks for the kids and taught them to tent peg by popping balloons instead of real tent pegs and lances. This led to the introduction of Prince Philip Games
These were great fun and anyone could participate as long as your horse was no taller than 14 hands (a pony). The kids had great fun making up their teams, competing with each other and also with other Pony Clubs throughout the Province. The one thing that Miles insisted upon, and it gave the Cochrane kids a bit of an advantage over some of the others, was that they had to learn to vault on their horse before they could join a team. They won many competitions because they were so well taught. Miles became the District Commissioner of the Cochrane Pony Club and always encouraged the participation of the children at the Natjonal and International Levels.
The Cochrane Pony Club members also participated in the events at the Ghost River Gymkhanas held at Beaupre and did well in their respective classes.
The Pony Club moved to Griffin land close to where the Spray Lake Recreation Centre is today. They met there for a season and then had to move again. Much discussion took place and in the mid 1970’s the club moved to the Buckley Ranch in Jumping Pound.
As this was a working cattle ranch some changes had to be made. Ian Watt asked Robert Coates to come down and design a course for elementary and “D” riders that could be upgraded easily to the higher levels. The course was located in a field across the valley from the main ranch buildings and so we had a natural grandstand on the hill near the barn where we could sit or stand and watch the riders as they tackled the great course that had been designed and built for them. Stalls were set up in the calving barn. Located west of the buildings was found a fairly flat spot that was big enough to use as a stadium for jumping. This spot was called ‘Maggie Meadow ” in honour of Mrs. Buckley as she was not a lover of horses but did look after feeding the riders and fixing the bumps. bruises and cuts that go along with the game
The next problem was a Dressage Ring which had to be flat. As the ranch is located on a side hill this proved a problem until Harvey Buckley took the men out to his feedlot and they measured the area between the cement feed bunks. Turned out it was the right size and with a little leveling with the tractor the Cochrane Pony Club had a great Dressage Ring between the feed bunks! It would not be easy for a run-a-way here!
The Pony Club met there for many years and also continued with their July Pony Club Camp. The horses were housed in the calving barn and the members slept in a large steel granary with a cement floor. It certainly was dry however it was also very noisy. The walls echoed and no one got to sleep very early because of the chatter. Many stories can be told of those nights.
The Pony Club mothers provided the meals, each bringing the food for each day and we were all able to eat in the house as they had a large kitchen table and a ping pong table set up in their covered patio. This patio was also handy for meetings and making projects that were needed throughout the years.
During this period of time there were not a lot of places for pony club members to compete against each other at the elementary and “D” level so Cochrane Pony Club decided to hold an Annual “D” Rally in August. This event became very popular and was well attended by many young riders from all over Alberta, for many years.
Cochrane Pony Club also competed in Tetrathalon and one of Cochrane’s members competed internationally in Australia. This activity consists of competing in riding, running, swimming and shooting. Competition was very fierce and we were very proud of our members through the years, who competed provincially, nationally and internationally. In 1979 the Cochrane Pony Club hosted the Alberta National Tetrathalon Championships at the Buckley Ranch. It was a beautiful day, a gorgeous location, tough competition and a lot of work for many volunteers, parents and pony clubbers.
Sometime in the 1980’s the Cochrane Pony Club moved up to Anne Lacy’s acreage north of Cochrane and met there for a few years.
The Cochrane Agricultural Society acquired land and built facilities for the Cochrane Pony Club. They now have a permanent home there and continue to learn, compete and represent Cochrane well as they have done continuously since their small start in 1960.
It takes a lot of volunteers and time in Pony Club but it is a great organization for children, their parents and the community as a whole to be able to participate in this International Organization.
