Be a part of Australia’s premier representative body for Trail Horse Riders.
Ride with confidence when you have an ATHRA club membership.
ATHRA provides members with great value and benefits.
• We conduct low key “Nervous Nellies” midweek rides at least once a fortnight to cater for nervous horse and rider combinations. The ride days vary according to circumstances and can be run at short notice. The Club also conducts rides on Saturday or Sunday, at least once a month, to cater for advanced riders, or those unavailable during the week. Each year the Club also hold a number of camps ranging from weekends to 10 days in duration, visiting such iconic places as the Victorian High Country and the Snowies.
• We describe our group as laid back and easy going, and cater for riders who are maybe coming back to riding, or are building skills and confidence, or maybe working with a green or inexperienced horse. We offer a range of rides to sustain members’ interest, varying the length, speed and topography according to rider skills and horse fitness etc. Most of our rides are conducted within a 1-hour radius of the Ballarat district, but we travel further afield when the opportunity arises.
As our name implies, we’re a social club and welcome members from other clubs to join us. We also partner with other clubs to run joint rides. In a normal year we average approximately 60 trail rides per year, including the NN rides during the week, Saturday & Sunday rides, and camps ranging from weekends to ten days. Club social evenings / general meetings, held every second month, are very popular. Usually held at a local pub, the usually short meetings are preceded by drinks, socialising and a meal. The social aspect of our club creates a genuine feeling of connection and belonging, making it great fun to be part of. The friendships and comradery carry over to our trail riding. There is always good-natured banter along the way and a sense of support and understanding for new or nervous riders. There is a broad range of experience, skills and abilities; older and younger riders, and horses of all shapes and sizes. We even welcome members who join us with harness horses and vehicles, where the terrain is suitable. We average about 14 riders per ride, usually about 18 on weekends, and between 8 to 12 on weekdays. Camps are more popular averaging about 30.
We have a Facebook page and we are always working on building our ride calendar and eagerly respond to requests and member suggestions for new rides and locations.
Our club has its genesis in a Facebook group which was established in 2015, “Ballarat Mid-Week Trail Riders”. This aimed at the cohort of riders who have some time available during the week, but perhaps are busy on weekends. We’re talking for example, mums with kids at school, shift workers, home workers and anyone who can fit in a ride during the week. The benefits of being an ATHRA affiliated club became apparent as more people joined the Facebook group and wanted to participate in rides. Thus, Alan Salter, our President, took the initiative to convene a meeting of interested people in October 2015 and our club was born. Ten members signed up at our first meeting, and currently the membership is in excess of 100, making us the largest Victorian Club, and we think one of the most popular. Come along and try us……
President: Alan Salter
Vice President: Ron Eddy
Secretary: Natalie Jenkin
Treasurer: Janet MacSparron
Membership Registrar: Lloyd Fletcher
President Alan Salter
Mob: 0427 357 941
Email: alg_salter@bigpond.com
Vice President: Ron Eddy
Mob: 0419 563 106
Email: lois4ron@gmail.com
Secretary: Natalie Jenkin
Mob: 0407 022 953
Email: njscholten01@gmail.com
Treasurer: Janet MacSparron
Mob: 0459 034 733
Email: janetmcsparron@gmail.com
Membership Contact: Lloyd Fletcher
Mob: 0400 668 020
Email: lcfletch@bigpond.net.au
Club Address: Membership Enquires to, 3 Kevin Court, Melton South, VIC, 3338
