Membership forms are only just going out as we wanted to send out other information with the forms so you know you have AHRC support during this difficult time.   The committee has been busy preparing material for the DPI in order to obtain vaccines for AHRC commercial riding school horses.  The first email to the DPI was sent on the 28th September, outlining the importance of obtaining vaccine allocations for AHRC and this has been followed up by applications then reminder emails and phone calls to stress the importance of vaccinating our riding school horses.  Individual riding schools should send in their own applications naming AHRC as your industry organization. We have been assured that our vaccine allocations are imminent.

E1 is still spreading at an alarming rate.  Even though Wattle Creek Riding School and Riverside Equestrian Centre are both close to the Brookfield epicenter, to date both have managed to keep E1 off our properties.  We adhere to strict bio security measures:

• ensuring everyone who enters the property washes their hands and dips their boots in disinfectant (see DPI guidelines).
• minimizing visits by farriers and other horse services and insisting that they practice strict bio security measures when entering our property
• not allowing people with contact with other horses to enter our properties.
• not visiting produce stores without decontamination before and after a visit
• having produce supplies delivered to the property gate rather than into sheds
• change our clothes completely, shower and wash or cover our hair before and after leaving our properties even if it is only to visit the local shops. 

There are stories of grooms bringing E1 onto properties or owners bringing it in from horse/produce stores but we feel that contact with any public place is potentially dangerous.

The person in front of you at the supermarket check-out may have an infected horse or a horse which is incubating E1.  We all know that it is carried up to 8km on the wind, especially in damp weather, but people inadvertently spread it even if they don’t have direct contact with horses.  Any riding school pupil may be carrying E1.

We all need to be vigilant and do what we can to help AHRC support our members.

Elizabeth White,
Treasurer AHRC, Qld. Branch
lizwhite@telcoblue.net.au                                         

The Australian Horse Riding Centres had its early beginnings in Victoria in the 1980s.
John Anker of Wandin Valley Riding Academy visited a number of other riding centres and discussed the foundation of an organization representing the commercial sector of the equestrian leisure industry. Soon after a sister body was formed in Western Australia and one or two years later the Queensland and NSW branches were initiated.

Being one of the founder members, it was important to me that the riding schools had their own voice. All members were actually qualified EFA instructors, but the EFA, representing the competitive arm of the sport, did not really see riding schools as part of their sphere of interest at that stage. However, through our personal link with the EFA of course as many of us served on committees of both organizations there was a general cooperation.

Why create an organization for riding schools? Aren’t we all flat out running our businesses and chasing the same customer dollar? Don’t we all feel that we are doing a good job, and if it comes to it, a little better than the next place?

Our idea was, that there was strength in numbers. Together we could help each other, by developing a training system that actually suited our needs, we could improve our operations. By putting standards in place we could set ourselves above Joe Blow from the “riding school” down the road. (Everyone could actually set up and call themselves a riding school).
We could influence the government, before they would step in and put unworkable conditions on our operations. We could talk to insurance companies and tell them that there is a difference between an AHRC approved centre and one that is not.

Of course a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then. We have had an inquiry into riding schools in Queensland, resulting in a Code of Practice, an insurance crisis and now EI. But looking back, we have had these situations and AHRC has been heard at all levels. We represented the industry at the enquiry and made sure that the government requirements did not become unmanageable. We have reeled back from the insurance crisis, and due to our good record premiums have come down. Now in the EI crisis the AHRC again is working to obtain vaccinations for our horses.

Looking on from here I would like to say this: Membership is not always measurable in “bums on seats” and more income tomorrow. But sharing a common pride in our businesses, and supporting each other, comparing notes and finding solutions for similar problems, referring students to other schools if more convenient to them, shows the worlds that we are professionals in our field.

The old saying of “You get out what you put in” is as true as ever.

Marion Hartog