PUB RIDES

FEATURE

A horse walked into a bar…

JANE CAMENS explores the cheery world of pub rides – with a bit of a caution on drunk riding.

Image supplied by Nash Horse Trekking.

Before you raise your glass this holiday season, drink in this cautionary note, it’s both unsafe and illegal to ride a horse if your blood alcohol level is over the legal limit for driving a motor vehicle. The most recent arrest was of a woman above the limit who rode her horse into a drive-in bottle shop in the city of Logan, near Brisbane.

Once you’ve digested that sobering information, it is my happy duty, with the holiday season upon us, to investigate ways to mix a few sensible drinks with horse riding. This is but a little tipple of the pub and vineyard rides offered around Australia.

The Morpeth Medicine Ride

The idea for this exhausting research arose out of a tale told to me by my friend Gary Poole, later extrapolated upon by his mate ‘Gibbo’ (Terry Gibson).

Back in the 1990s, Gary owned the River Royal Inn in Morpeth, a pub near the town of Maitland in the Hunter Region of New South Wales. In Gibbo’s memory, on the bar, Gary kept a nine-gallon barrel of “fairly ordinary” wine, known as ‘The Medicine’. A band of horse-riding drinkers got the idea of doing a few rides from the Royal to a pub in the town of Gresford, a two-day ride away. It went ahead with no dramas and attracted a bunch of other people who wanted to do something similar. Thus was born the famous annual 20-kilometer Morpeth Medicine Ride, which ran from 1993 until 2003.

At its zenith, the Morpeth Medicine Ride attracted about 750 riders. Literally every sort of horse and pony would be dragged out of their paddocks to join in. Some came with horse and cart. It was a big charity fundraising event with the proceeds going to help kids with cancer. Kids from the hospital were brought along in carts and Riding for the Disabled at Raymond Terrace was involved, as were the mounted police.

Gibbo, who was an instructor for ATHRA coorganised the first events with ATHRA’s then national secretary Jackie Mann. Safety was a priority. “We probably had 30 or 40 stewards on that big ride,” Gibbo recalls. “There was definitely no drinking allowed. There were too many people. Some would turn up with their sulkies hiding bottles under a blanket, but they were confiscated.”

The ride finished with a parade down the main street of Morpeth, with horses numbering in the hundreds. Huge crowds cheered on the riders. Then everyone could retire back to Gary’s place for a shot of medicine or cleansing ale.

Wine and Horses in Perth Hills (WA)

Maryanne Phillips of Wine and Horses in Perth Hills, Western Australia, organises winery and pub trail rides along the beautiful Kep trails that follow the pipeline from Mundaring Weir 75km to Northam. These are BYO horse rides.

She has been running the rides for almost nine years. “I host rides about every six weeks, but also I’ll host others if people request one in particular. I kept hearing about horses going to waste in paddocks and women not riding due to losing their confidence, or having nowhere good to ride nearby, or just not having anyone to ride with,” she said. “I thought I’d start a few clinics and trail rides and try to put some fun back into it.”

There are a lot of pubs and wineries nearby, including the Mount Helena Tavern, Chidlow tavern, Lion Mill Winery, as well as Avonbrook Winery in Clackline. Plus, there’s the Bakers Hill Pie Shop, which is a favourite.

Above: Wine and Horses trail ride in the Perth Hills. Below: Riders enjoying a Christmas feast.

“It made sense to promote these places and it gave us somewhere to ride to,” she says. “Some of our riders tell stories about how even just floating them to the start of our ride was a challenge and something they had stressed about. I love seeing everyone’s faces after a day when they’ve stepped out of their comfort zone and challenged themselves, ridden in a group to pubs, had fun and made new friends.”

So far, they have had no incidents. “Obviously we have a duty of care with regards to alcohol and riding horses,” she says. “Most of the riders have to drive home, so that’s a factor they also consider.” Maryanne says groups are generally small, with approximately 10 horses and riders. The rides include about an hour and a half of trail riding followed by a stop at a local hotel or winery, then about another hour’s ride back. As well as covering the cost of wine tastings she supplies hay for all the horses at each stop.

“We often host themed rides, such as scavenger hunts, Christmas trail rides, and our Horses’ Birthday ride,” she says. She encourages people to dress themselves and their horses in colour themes, because, she says: “It adds to the fun.”

Every year in October for the past seven years, Wine and Horses Perth Hills has organised a

Saddling up for for a pub ride in the beautiful Lockyer Valley with Nash Horse Trekking.

charity ride to raise money for Australian Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, in Nedlands WA. The next ride is on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October, 2020. Maryanne expects that again about 60 horses and riders will ride the CY O’Connor Pipeline trail and Kep Track return to Northam. “So far we’ve raised more than $150,000 for the cause,” she says.

The ride, if started from Wooroloo, is 50 km each day. Those who choose to start from Clackline ride 25 km each of the two days, camp overnight then ride back.

“We have riders of all ages taking part,” Maryanne says. “It’s great to see different generations and families riding together.”

As the riders travel the last leg of the journey, members of the public come and cheer them on as they ride along Broome Terrace in Northam.

To find out more about this crowd, contact Maryanne at wineandhorses@bigpond.com or phone 0439 957 237.

Nash Horse Trekking pub rides

Shane Nash and his partner Carolyn Frost run Nash Horse Trekking pub rides along parts of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail in the beautiful Lockyer Valley in South East Queensland. They’ve been doing the rides for five years and can provide the horses or escort you on your own.

“We’ve never had any problem with over drinking,” Carolyn says.

Shane and Carolyn take their customers to one of the local country pubs, either in Coominya or Esk. They let riders get familiar with the horses before they set out. Most of their horses are quarter horses and stockhorses, or crosses. The ride to the Coominya pub is about two hours. There, they have lunch before mounting up again ride for about another two hours back to their property. The Esk pub ride is four-and-a half hours one way so after lunch you can take a courtesy bus back to the property.

The Coominya pub ride, with lunch, costs $150 per person. The Esk pub ride, which includes lunch and morning tea, costs $170. Drinks are not included. They do a reduced fee if you bring your own horse.

‘It’s been tough recently because of the drought,’ said Carolyn. I can’t leave Nash Horse Trekking without mentioning that they also do Full Moon Rides from December through until March. That’s definitely an option if you want to avoid the scorching heat.

This is but a little tipple of the pub and vineyard rides offered around Australia.

You can find Nash Horse Trekking on Facebook, or call Carolyn on 0413 248 898.

Hunter Valley Horses (NSW)

Finally for this brief roundup of organised opportunities mixing horses and wine, Hunter Valley Horses not only organises riding tours though some of New South Wales famous vineyards, it also, sensibly, offers carriage tours. Hence, you can mix horses and the wine experience and drink until you’re wobbly (if you must).

From a 40-minute horse-and-carriage ride with a team of heavy horses, to a full day clipclopping from one wine tasting experience to another, to a let-your-hair-down ‘Girls’ Day Out’ that includes accommodation, three or four cellar door visits, lunch at Blaxland Inn, as well as olive, olive product, cheese and chocolate tastings. Finally they offer a ‘romantic private Cinderella carriage experience’, which might rock your boat.

If, like me, you’re a get-on and ride kinda girl, the company’s trail rides meander through bushland and vineyards with views to the Broken Back Ranges.

Whatever you choose, be safe and sensible around horses this Christmas and New Year. I’m going to try a Boxing Day hunt (with chocolates not foxes) with my dear ponies and the-always-sober editor of HorseVibes. Cheers.

Taking a horse and carriage ride is a safe way to clip-clop from one tasting experience to another with Hunter Valley Horses.