Despite its remote location, Katherine Horse and Pony Club is thriving! Image supplied.
At the crossroads of the outback and the tropics in the Northern Territory, the Katherine Horse and Pony Club is thriving. With a team dedicated to delivering a welcoming and inclusive experience, the club is committed to fostering community spirit and involvement – and it has big plans for the future.
KHPC’s numbers have risen to around 100 members, with ages ranging from tiny tots to riders in their 80s. Image supplied.
Over 300 kilometres southeast of Darwin, a small Pony Club sits nestled along the winding Katherine River. One of only five Pony Clubs in the NT, the Katherine Horse and Pony Club (KHPC) is a central hub of the wider Katherine community for residents of all ages and genders.
“We have a range of both male and female riders,” club president Pam Stanley says. “Riders are from the Katherine region, mostly the rural area around Katherine; however, over the years we have had members from stations attend rallies and events, some having a four to five-hour one-way trip in.”
In recent years, the club’s numbers have risen to around 100 members, with ages ranging from tiny tots to riders in their 80s. Over its almost 60 years of operation, the club has welcomed generation after generation of riders. Many who started riding with the club as children are now attending alongside their own children.
“Club membership
numbers are currently
higher than ever.”
Founded in 1967 and affiliated in the mid-1970s, the club has grown and developed a hefty cache of disciplines over the years, including dressage, show jumping, polocrosse, campdrafting, mounted games, horse ball, and even archery. “We focus our rallies on a variety of disciplines,” Pam shares. “Each year we bring something a little different to showcase the different disciplines.”
FRESH FACES
While club membership numbers are currently higher than ever, only a few years ago numbers dropped to just 30 members, with participation throughout the year at an all-time low –particularly with female riders.
To boost numbers and involvement, the committee devised a scheme to invite specialist coaches to share their expertise in rallies targeted at their specific disciplines. “We have a fantastic committee that works tirelessly all year on grants, rallies, and competitions, and on making sure the club is inclusive and welcoming,” Pam says.
Nicole Mutimer, pictured here competing with horse Jack at Katherine Show, has coached at KHPC. Image by Grand Effects Photography.
“They have developed
friendships and come
together as a club.”
Through the hard work of the rally committee, including 2023 vice-president and current treasurer Dior Fletcher, their dynamic rally program was brought to life. Last year saw 10 rallies take place, with guest coaches including Equestrian Australia Level 1 Coach Nicole Mutimer, Extreme Cowboy Association Level 1 Coach Cindy McIntyre, and multi-championship winning campdrafter Kim Harries, among many others. In the first year of the program’s implementation alone, club membership skyrocketed from 30 members to over 70 and is continuing to rise.
Alongside the yearly rally program, the KHPC hosts gymkhanas, competitions and clinics, and their members often travel to attend other Pony Club events. Their annual two-day gymkhana in June 2025 saw a plethora of riders line up to compete over five disciplines, and October’s Halloween-themed gymkhana attracted riders and horses dressed in their spooky best for mounted games competitions.
Club favourite events including the campdraft-focused weekend and Katherine River ride-out attracted major participation with around 50 members nominating, while mid-year also saw seven KHPC members make the journey to Darwin to learn from international mounted games coach Dan Foster.
KHPC Treasurer, Dior Fletcher. Image supplied.
October’s Halloween-themed gymkhana was popular with members. Image supplied.
“We have had several riders
that have competed both
nationally and internationally…”
At the 2025 Pony Club Australia National Championships, KHPC rider Bonnie Stanley competed as part of the NT’s mounted games team. “The club is very supportive of riders travelling nationally,” Pam says. “Over the years we have had several riders that have competed both nationally and internationally in mounted games, as well as nationally at interschools in dressage and show jumping. It is a fantastic opportunity for our riders, and for showing our younger riders in the club what is available out there in the way of competitions and something for them to look forward to.”
Unlike many of their more southern Pony Club counterparts, coordinating and managing rallies and competitions requires extra careful consideration and planning due to the tropical climate. “The heat does make it harder to schedule rallies and events,” Pam explains.
“We usually start around March each year, depending on the rain, and our last event is held at the end of October as a night gymkhana under lights to avoid the heat. It is still quite hot and humid in March and most of the horses are only just coming back into work after spelling over the wet season, so our earlier rallies are scaled back to around 45 minutes and usually only two riding sessions, while the rallies in May, June, and July go to an hour and are usually three riding sessions per rally, as it’s a lot cooler then.”
Coordinating and managing rallies and competitions requires extra careful consideration and planning due to the tropical climate – however KHPC now how to keep cool!
COMMUNITY TIES
Thanks to the hard work of the volunteer committee, the KHPC was the recipient of both a federal Play Our Way Grant and a Northern Territory Community Benefit Fund Grant last year. According to Pam, these grants have been vital to the club’s continuing development and upgrades. “They are very important to the club and for developing the facilities,” she says.
The Play Our Way Grant is funding the construction of a new undercover arena at the club’s grounds at Yarramin Park, providing riders with a space to train and compete no matter the weather or time of year, while the Community Benefit Fund Grant allowed for the installation of wallaby-proof fencing around the club grounds.
“We are grateful for the opportunity these grants give us to develop the club grounds,” Pam shares. “We have a development plan we have been working on for the past few years to provide fantastic grounds for the current riders, and also for the riders coming in the future.”
The recent renovations come in the wake of a slew of major upgrades that took place in 2022 – including a new dressage arena, fencing, irrigation, shade structures, bleachers, troughs, wash bays, lighting, and much more – that required the club grounds to close, leading to rallies taking place across the wider Katherine region at various venues.
While seeing the club’s new infrastructure and rally programs come to life is important to the KHPC committee, the most rewarding part of the journey is the promise and opportunities that they are providing for their members that will continue to serve riders well into the future – both in the arena and outside of it.
“Pony Club is not just about developing riders’ skills, but also the opportunities it creates for the children,” Pam says. “They have developed friendships and come together as a club. I’ve watched over the years as some of the quieter kids develop their social skills and feel comfortable and supported to contribute and ask questions of coaches. We’ve had parent members report back that Pony Club and riding confidence has had positive implications at school for children with learning difficulties. We’ve had kids still on led line at the beginning of the year to riding independently by the end.
“It’s so rewarding watching the riders support each other, and seeing younger and older riders mixing together and forming friendships, cheering each other on; not just in the wins, but also the encouragement when riders are having a difficult time.”
KHPC offers members the chance to participate in a wide range of different disciplines – and they have plenty of fun in the process.
“It’s so rewarding
watching the riders
support each other.”
FUTURE FOCUSED
With the KHPC now on a break over the wet season, Pam reveals the committee is already hard at work planning this year’s programs and improvements. “Our plans for the short and long term are to continue to improve the facilities at the grounds, increase our member numbers, work on developing coaches within the club, and most importantly continue to develop our riders’ skills and leadership through the Pony Club syllabus.”
The Katherine Horse and Pony Club has been a vital organisation for the region’s residents that has brought together riders of all ages and backgrounds, and the committee is wholly dedicated to ensuring it remains that way well into the future. “Katherine is a small community, so having an excellent venue and facilities and specialised coaches coming in from the NT as well as interstate is a fantastic opportunity for our small community.” EQ
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