ROCKY HILLS HISTORY
Special thanks to Iris and Dave Easton who did such a good job of chronicling the era
and were willing to share their treasured family photo album so this page could be built.
The year was 1977, and Mac McGillivray's Heavy Horse Team, Bob & Charlie
captured a double win at the Coliseum pulls, at Exibition Place, Toronto.
Bill McCaskie put on an amazing Rodeo and Gymkahana, and it seemed
horses were
always in the news in Bancroft that year - and people were excited!
The January 26th headline of the Bancroft Times read 'Horse Lovers to Organize'
- the article - "Bancroft
and Area will soon
have
realized a dream of every horse
lover in the
vicinity
- the
formation
of a horseman's club."
Public interest in
an organized horse club for the town
was high, and the area's horse lovers
responded enthusiastically to the article.
The inaugural meeting was held at
the Orange Hall
in Bancroft (now Mr. Video) on February 4th, at 8:00 pm.
Almost 40 horse
lovers attended the meeting, where it was decided by an
'enthusiastic crowd'
that the club was to be developed as 'A family affair'
with 'fun and thrills
of horsemanship and the organizing of an enthusiastic
calendar of events'. The club became a reality, & the rest, as they say, is history!
The new executive got right to work. According to then treasurer Evelyn Harris,
February 28th was considered the first day of business for the new club. The first
week
of March, many of the new members met for a sleigh ride at Mac McGillivray's.
The ladies,
provided food, and everyone had quite a time enjoying the two teams, with
Mac's champs, complete with sleigh bells, entertaining the crowd all afternoon.
The board immediately began a monthly newsletter, to keep the membership informed.
But the club still did not have a name, so everyone met at Art Graf's March 19, 1977.
This was a VERY important meeting, and 34 people showed up at
the Graf's farm
for a lively debate on a name. Because of the interest
of many of the area's teamsters, a
decision was made that it be a 'horse club' rather than
a 'riding club'. The following week,
the headlines in the Bancroft
paper read 'BRAND NEW NAME!" and the new moniker
was announced. Rocky Hills Horse Club was soon a permanent
fixture in the news!
The new executive didn't waste any time in organizing. In the early years,
the meetings
were combined with the club events, and were well attended. The Club's very first clinic
was in early April, and given by Bancroft's veterinarian, Dalton Maxwell, on the finer points
of conditioning
your horse, in preparation for the very first Club Trail Ride, on April 23rd.
Bev Baldock hosted the club meeting and conditioning clinic at her home, and provided
food and support. There were brushes and halters and a bucket of conditioner, door prizes
donated by the Maxwell's and other generous souls. In fact, many people
happily donated
their time, food, money and door prizes, to boost the club and energize the membership.
The very first board consisted of several positions - Henry Ellenberger was president,
Vice
President was Lorne Bandy, Evelyn Harris the treasurer, & Norma Gillespie the secretary.
There were several who helped out on an advisory committee - Art Graf, Richard Strohoffer,
and others lent a hand to make things happen and help with making events go smoothly.
The board was very serious about getting things together for their membership, so
Norma Gillespie visited Quarterama that spring, and chatted with two important
horsemen -
Wayne Waite
of the Hastings County Riders (Stirling) and Ted Thompson,
who represented the
horsemen of
the Barry's Bay area. Norma was thrilled when these
highly
respected horsemen offered to help the club in any way that they could!
By June 15th,1977 - their second trail ride
and a meeting was held, to decide on jackets,
crest,
and
club colors (which became blue and white). The very first Rocky Hills
logo seems
to have disappeared
into the past - a new logo was re-designed
by member
Laurie Wood
in 1992, and was the club's insignia until this year, when Penny Nicol gave it a modern look.
Horse Teams came out to many of the rides in those early years. Norma Gillespie
was very safety conscious and posted a notice in the paper to remind club members
not to bring mares in heat to the rides, as there would be several stallions participating!
The events were very well attended by the membership, and seemed boisterous and fun!
Thanks to these, and many other motivated individuals, our local horsemen and women had
a reason to gather their families, and it was very affordable! In 1977, a family membership
was only
$10.00, a junior membership was $3.00 and a single membership was $5.00!
(and eggs cost .69c a dozen and 'Saturday Night Fever' was in theatres for a mere $2.25!)
The first year went by in a flash, and by 1978, organizers had hosted clinics in
showmanship,
organized trips to Picov's in Toronto for clinics from experts, and
rented the Apsley arena in order to have a good riding ring to train their horses.
The club grew steadily, with some of the first shows held
in a small field outside
town
on Hwy 28 (now the UAP Auto Parts store) A May showmanship clinic with
a trainer brought in from Peterborough
cost only 50c per person ! Corn Roasts,
Trail Rides, Christmas parties, gymkhana practice, organized
riding lessons,
training sessions, a few fun shows & clinics were on the roster for that second year.
In 1978, by the end of the second year, several shows had been held at a variety of
venues, cooperatively with another area Club - the "Madawaska Valley Horse Club".
Shows were moved around the area for variety, with some held at Bill McCaskie's
"Pine Trail Stables" in Birds Creek, at Ted Thompsons "Sand Valley Ranch"
in
Palmer Rapids, and the "home" of the club was considered to be Coe Hill, where
secretary Norma Gillespie lived - she was a driving force behind the club, for sure!
In 1978, the President of the club was Norm Legate of Peterborough, the Vice
President was Dave Easton, Secretary Norma Gillespie, and treasurer Evelyn Harris
rounded out the ranks, with an advisory committee once again made up of area horse
folks,
Richard Strohoffer, Rick Peacock & Liz Paul. Things were really rocking!
In 1978, the club hosted a booth at the Farm Show in Bancroft, and
when then owner Wayne Beyers of "Byers Motors" (an AQHA judge) got
involved with the club, members seemed enthusiastic about the prospects.
By November 1978, club members held a special meeting to discuss "a suitable
location where we could build a good, serviceable arena that everyone could use
for training their horses". The writing was on the wall - Rocky Hills was growing!
In 1979/80, Bob Donovan generously offered the club the use of a large sandy chunk of
his property
in Paudash. The membership got together, and a large riding paddock
was built - and
the new home of Rocky Hills horse club
became Paudash, Ontario!
Dave Easton, Joe Paul, Norm Harris,
Henry Ellenberger, Basil Cox , Floyd Shatraw,
(and others!)
built the ring to the specs designed by Wayne Beyers. Henry Ellenberger,
a blacksmith, even forged the hinges for the big gate. There were others who pitched in to help.
Not one to want alot
of recognition, Bob Donovan says he offered the land "Because I didn't need it!"
The MNR generously offered an unused skier 'warmup shed'
and the members somehow rolled
it out of the bush, and it was installed a concession stand, where it stood until just a few years ago.
(Many a hotdog was sold from the booth, but in the end, it was impossible to keep it to code and it
was gutted and converted into the EQUALL clubhouse, where it is still used for this worthy cause)
In 1982, Bruce and Jennifer Halladay and daughter Melanie bought the house in front of
the Rocky Hills ring, and became active members of the club in 1984. The Halladays' eventually
purchased the land surrounding the house in 1998, and built their indoor arena in 1999,
where they developed and ran their popular Riding Academy alongside the Rocky Hills Club.
When he sold the property, Bob included a verbal agreement that the club could use the
ring at no cost, and the Halladays' have honoured this tradition ever since.
It's truly amazing what the original board members of the first two years accomplished!
To bring together so many, so quickly, to accomplish so much - it is inspiring!
Little
did the original organizers know their little club was going to become a permanent
fixture in the growing town of Bancroft! Families like the Dillaboughs', Marty and Joanne White,
Blaine Liedtke,
the Woods, the Eastons, Thompsons, and innumerable other very active members,
(some involved for 25+ years!) made the club thrive throughout the 80's and 90's and into the new millenium.
Evelyn Harris remained a strong force until 1994, when she finally passed the torch on. It would
be impossible to mention all those who contributed, but these generous souls ensured the survival
of the Rocky Hills Horse Club, and gave the youths of the Bancroft area a venue to ride and enjoy !
Since that time, the club has grown and changed,
but the
premise remains the same - enjoy horses,
meet new friends, and improve riding skills!
Thanks to these many fine individuals
(and their successors)
in
2007, the Club
will celebrate 30 YEARS in the Highlands!
Life in a small town means you have to make your own fun,
and the
Rocky Hills Horse Club members certainly did!
Since it's inception in 1977, Rocky Hills has grown and changed. Through the years, there's
been
growing pains, but the club has stood the test of time. A club can only survive with some enthusiasm!
So
in 2007, a brand new board of directors and fellow horse lovers are trying hard to recapture
the
enthusiastic atmosphere of those original years, and are planning a fantastic variety of activities
for the thirtieth anniversary of the club. Our goal is to peronally invite ALL of the local horse
folks to come out and enjoy the club the way it's founders intended. It is very important that the area's
riders feel welcome - and the new board is working hard to extend a personal invitation to all.
Since it's inception in 1977, Rocky Hills Horse Club
has serviced a large area surrounding Bancroft, Ontario!
There's some new (and old!) faces, some youngsters and some getting a little long in the tooth.
The new board of the Club is working hard on an adult division (kids can't have all the fun!)
The club is seeing second and third
generations of riders, and it's bound to be FUN! So if you've
been tossing around the idea of coming out, if you love horses, have a lawn ornament or two,
are interested in learning more about our new schedule, we urge you to get in touch! If you love
horses and horse sport, and want to find a way to meet new friends, then Rocky Hills is for you!
We welcome you to join our growing ranks in 2007!
