Oakwood Riding School
Heath Ryan, the patron of Oakwood Riding School, officially opened it at “The Meadows” on Friday, February 9th 2007. Heath declared Oakwood open and said that “through all the difficult times, Oakwood still exists which can only have been due to the foresight of many, hard work and passion of many.”
The closure of the riding school was inevitable after Miss Kay Irving retired. Three public meetings were held by Miss K’s clients after her retirement. This led to the creation of a non-profit organization that would establish a new riding school. The most important goal was to give people the chance to learn how to ride a horse.
The Waverley School horses were purchased, along with saddlery, by a new committee. In December 1957, the committee decided to buy an 80-acre dairy property at the corner of Pound Road (Narre Warren) and Cranbourne Road (Cranbourne Road). In honor of the Irving sisters, it was named Oakwood Riding School.
The riding school was a success and in 1959 one of Australia’s first indoor riding arenas had been built. In the early days of Australian Dressage competitions were held in arenas 20×40 meters (meters) in size. The Oakwood indoor adopted this standard.
Over the next 40-years, Oakwood made many improvements to meet the needs of its clients. The riding school was transformed into a center for exceptional riding instruction. People like Malcolm Barnes and Anton Nissan shaped Oakwood’s direction. They also influenced the skills and knowledge that many others who were part the “Oakwood family”.
Oakwood Riding School was established in the 1970s under Malcolm Barnes’ guidance. It formalized the education of many young riders who were trained at the riding school as working students. Many of these young people, some of them not so young, took the opportunity to get into horses. They lived in the dormitory, learning horse care, riding, and horse management. This was long before the NCAS system, which now allows people to get into the industry. Oakwood witnessed and experienced the impact Malcolm Barnes had on the growing interest in equestrian sport, in particular in the Olympic disciplines. He prepared the horses and riders for the showring. He also created many innovative riding rules and established them. This helped create a learning environment for both horses and people.
Oakwood was built around lunging lessons, and this is still the case. As it is today, no new riding students were able to book lessons without first completing a lunging course. This will allow them to be assessed and make any necessary adjustments. Private riding lessons could only be booked for those who were deemed capable of controlling and riding horses correctly.
Oakwood added a sand outdoor arena to its facilities to accommodate the growing number of competitions.
The Riding School was brought to its knees by severe drought, rising feed costs, and an insurance crisis. Oakwood closed its doors for the first time since almost 50 years. The spirit of camaraderie which drove the group to the meetings back in 1957 continued to thrive, and many friends of Oakwood gathered at the Beaconsfield Hotel for consideration of Oakwood’s future viability. The group agreed that they would develop a plan to have the riding school reopened and maintained if necessary. This could only be achieved through careful management and sustainable strategies.
These supporters formed a new committee and did a lot of work to ensure that the school reopened. It was evident that the remaining 36 acres of the original 80 acres were not sufficient to support a riding school. Also, the aging improvements required significant money to bring Oakwood up-to-date with today’s commercial standards. It was decided to sell the Cranbourne Road, Narre Warren site and to relocate to a larger property. The proceeds from the sale would be used to finance the purchase of a larger landholding, on which a new facility might be constructed.
The Meadows, a 100-acre dairy farm in Clyde North, was purchased in 2005. Oakwood was reopened in just eleven months. Its huge building includes a 70×35 metre outdoor arena, 15 stables, tack room, feed room and a club room.
Oakwood was faced with another crisis in 2011 due to the re-zoning in Clyde North of land and subsequent VicRoads plans to run Thompsons Road through the middle property. This effectively split the property in half. The Committee, the City Council Members and friends of Oakwood School launched a vigorous campaign to condemn the plans. Tonnes of correspondence was sent to the relevant Governmental agencies. Terry Mulder, Minister for Roads in 2012 advised that current plans would be withdrawn and that new plans would be made to minimize the impact on Oakwood and its land.
It now has a cross-country course, additional agistee sheds and paddocks, and a 20×60 metre outdoor arena with rubberized surface.
A second roof was recently installed over the adjoining outdoor arena, effectively doubling the under-cover riding surface.
Oakwood Riding School can still be taught riding and horsemanship thanks to Michael Bragge’s dedicated Committee of Management and the dedication of its staff. They also provide a hard hat, a school horse, and quiet, well-educated school horses.
One member of the Committee stated, “All you need in order to be a successful rider are dedication, passion, and lessons at Oakwood Riding School.”
Oakwood Riding School is located near the “Tree Removal Melbourne”.
Tree Removal Melbourne – All Tree Cutting & Other Services
Tree Removal Melbourne Offers Tree Services, Stump Grinding, Emergency Tree Removal Experts In Melbourne!
Please check below Google Maps.
Tree Removal Melbourne is your most affordable tree removal & trimming company in Melbourne, Victoria and surrounding suburbs. We save home owners time & money without sacrificing any amount of quality to our services and ethics. Give us a call. We’re here to save the day.
Melbourne Tree Removal Guys
26 Fleetwood Dr
Narre Warren VIC 3805
https://treeremoval-melbourne.com.au
- Find us on Google Map