Victorian Branch - Australian Pony Stud Book Society

It is with regret that we note the passing of Mrs Heather Ronald on Sunday July 1. She has been the Patron of the Victorian Society since 1983.

Mrs Ronald was well known as a breeder of Shetland ponies and Highland ponies carrying the Barrymoor prefix. Highland pony breeders are familiar with the bloodlines of the Highland pony stallion Glenearn Brigadier and the mare Penny Farthing imported by Mrs Ronald in 1961- the first Highland ponies to be registered with the APSB .

Mrs Ronald was first elected to the Victorian Branch Committee in 1959, and served as a Committee member for twenty three years. During that time she held the position of Branch President on two occasions in 1971 and 1975 , Vice President in 1977 and 1979, and Federal Council Delegate on eight occasions. In recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Australian Pony Stud Book Society, was made a Life Member of the Society in 1976. Mrs Ronald was also appointed to the State Judges panel in 1961 and the Federal Judges panel in 1964.

Her contributions to the APSB both at State and Federal level has been extensive and she will be sadly missed. Our sincere condolences go to her family at this difficult time.

Ann Oakford and Mrs Heather Ronald, presentation
to Mrs Ronald commemorating 20 years at Victorian Branch Patron in 2003

Passing of Reg Pedretti

It was sad news that Victorian Life Member and friend Reg Pedretti passed away on Monday, August 6 after a massive heart attack a week ago. Reg served on the Victorian committee for many years, and whilst he didn't breed a large number of ponies he was a dedicated committee member and passionate about the APSB.

Australian Pony Stud Book
Celebrating 75 Years

The article below has been taken out of the Autumn Newsletter.
Written by Marion Costello

The Australian Pony Stud Book Society has nine breeds including the Australian Pony, Shetland Pony, Welsh Pony, Dartmoor Pony, New Forest Pony, Hackney Pony, Highland Pony, Connemara Pony and Fjord Horse as well as two registers run for APSB Riding Ponies and Part-Bred Ponies. Originally, the APSB started with the Australian Pony, the Welsh Pony and the Shetland Pony. Over the past 75 years, other breeds now included have been added to the Society, making it what it is today.

In celebration of this milestone for the 75th year of the APSB, we would like to reflect on some of our Victorian committee members responsible for the development of the Branch and the Society from its early days.

Up until 1947, a central Council elected in NSW conducted all business of the Society. The Royal Agricultural Societies of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia had a representative on the Council with Mr S. A. Greaves representing Victoria.

As each state formed a Branch, they could elect their own delegate to Council. At this time, Queensland and Victoria were the only two states to have sufficient numbers to form a state branch. Together with the parent body of New South Wales, they were responsible for laying the foundation of the society.

In 1947, a Provisional Committee was formed in Victoria with Mr Louis Monod as the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. Many of those elected to this Provisional Committee had supported the Society since it's formation in 1931 and had registered ponies in Volume 1 of the Stud Book. These included Mrs Eileen Bartram (View Bank), Mr W. E. Clinton (Rob Roy), Mrs A. D. D. Maclean (Fenwick) and Mrs W. C. Greaves.

In 1951, the Provisional Branch Committee was replaced by a formal Branch Committee of twelve elected members; these being:

Mr Laidlaw was elected President and, along with Mr Roy Jolly, were elected as the first official Federal Delegates.

Many of these members served on the committee with great enthusiasm for many years and were joined by equally dedicated members to help shape the new branch. Lady Coles of Rhondda Pony Stud was elected to the Committee in 1954 and served for a six year period. On her resignation, she donated the sum of one hundred pounds towards general revenue of the Branch. This was quite a sizable amount at the time and was a very valued contribution. Roy Jolly had the honour of being elected Federal President in 1957 followed by Harry Arnold in 1961.

Mr Fred Wiltshire served on the committee for a number of years in the 1960's until his untimely death in a tragic accident. He had a strong opinion on Branch matters and was a dedicated Branch President from 1965 - 1968 and became the third Victorian Federal President for the years 1966 and 1967. He was also instrumental in organising the first Victorian Stud Pony Show in 1966. He will be remembered by Connemara breeders for importing the first Connemara ponies to Australia in 1965.

Mr Bob Owen (Owendale) served on the committee for a number of years in the 1960's and held the President's role from 1968 - 1971. He brought a lot of common sense to the meetings and was highly regarded as someone who could often find a satisfactory solution to a tricky problem.

Mrs Heather Ronald was another committee member whose commitment to the Society was respected and appreciated by her peers. She held the Branch President position from 1971 - 1973 and again from 1975 - 1976. She served a total of twenty three years on the committee and apart from Branch President, also held the positions of Vice President and Federal Delegate on eight occasions. She was awarded a Life Membership in 1976 and was made Patron of the Victorian Branch in 1983.

Alex Morgan, Reg Pedretti and Merve Pearson were three dedicated and hard working members of the committee. Each served terms as Branch President. Alex from 1973 - 1975, Reg from 1976 - 1979 and Merve from 1979 - 1980. Merve also held the position of Treasurer for seven years. These three were an innovative trio and many successful ventures can be attributed to their ideas and their willingness to put in the hard work required to make something a success.

Les Taylor joined the committee in 1960 and served for 22 years before retiring. Les was elected Branch President in 1980, leading into the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1981. He brought tremendous drive and ideas for promotion to his position as President and those who were at that Golden Jubilee Stud Show will remember it as being something really special. From field days to fundraisers, Les always came up with the goods and worked tirelessly to achieve the goals he set.

Colin Goldsmith followed Les as President in 1982. Colin held the position of Branch President for a record nine years. During his 16 years on the committee, he was also Vice President and Federal Delegate. In the society's Golden Jubilee year in 1981, the Goldsmiths travelled with their Shetlands to exhibit at every State Branch Stud Show - including Western Australia.

Colin and his wife, Maureen, who also spent some years on the Branch committee, were greatly involved in the APSB Activities Committee. This was the first of the promotional groups to be formed in Victoria and was previously named the Social Committee of the Victorian Branch as it was formed directly by the Victorian Branch Committee. Workers are always needed when running a show or some sort of function and the Goldsmith family became well known for the amount of work they put into every event, the success of many events was due to their efforts.

Bruce Hamblin was the next Branch President, taking over from Colin in 1991. Bruce was elected to the committee in 1972 and during this time he was Vice President, Branch President from 1991 - 1994 and Federal Delegate on numerous occasions. Most importantly, after a gap of 30 years, Victoria once again had a Federal President with the election of Bruce to that position in 1995 for the next two terms. Bruce was an excellent Federal President and earned the respect and admiration of his peers.

Marion Costello followed on from Bruce as President in 1994 after being elected to the committee in 1978. She held various positions through this time including Publicity Officer, Vice President, Federal Delegate and Federal Publicity Officer. Later in 2003, she became Victoria's fifth Federal President.

Stuart Ryan followed on from Marion as Branch President in 1997 after joining the committee in 1980 and holding the positions of Vice President, Treasurer and Federal Delegate for nearly a decade. Stuart was also elected as Federal Treasurer in 1992 - 1999. During that time, the Society held over $100,000 in investments. With Bruce as Federal President and Stuart as Federal Treasurer, they made a formidable and valuable team at a time when the Society had just moved to a centralised registration system in 1992. Prior to this, registrations, memberships etc, were lodged with the various State Secretaries before being forwarded to the Federal Registrar for processing. Bruce worked with Bob Bucat (Western Australia), the elected Federal President in 1992 and with Stuart to provide the expertise required at that time to deal with the associated problems including the financial uncertainty of the previous Federal Office structure. After a brief spell away from the committee, both Bruce and Stuart rejoined the committee in 2006, bringing years of valuable experience and expertise with them.

Ann Oakford took over as Branch President from Stuart in 2000 after joining the committee in 1984. Ann was also elected as Victoria's sixth Federal President in 2004 and is currently the Federal Treasurer.

There are many others who have played an important part in the growth of the Victorian Branch and the Society since it's early days; never looking for recognition, just enthusiastic about the APSB, the breeds and how best to promote them. Yvonne Williams was and still is a familiar face at all branch functions, always ready to offer help going right back to the first Stud Pony Show at Akoonah Park at Berwick in 1966. Yvonne was first elected to the committee in the early 1970's and then again many years later when she took on the position of Publicity Officer for 1993 - 2003.

Geoff Mashiter and Wendy James were two enthusiastic New Forest supporters on the committee for many years. They both worked diligently for the Society and Geoff will be remembered for his time as part of the "arena gang" at the Victorian Stud Show and for his knowledge of meeting procedure - correct protocol was important for Geoff and he didn't let us get away with much at meetings.

The Victorian Branch has been a great achiever over the past fifty nine years. It would not have been an easy task all those years ago to get the Branch up and running and financially viable, but the dedication of the committees through the years made success possible. There has always been great rivalry between the state branches, and out of this, Victoria has done well.

Presentation evening at the 1981 Golden Jubilee Victorian Stud Show. Former Victorian Branch Committee Members (L to R) the late Roy Jolly (Narada Pony Stud), the late Mrs Eileen Bartram (View Bank Pony Stud), the late Harry Arnold (Lyndale Pony Stud) and Mr Reg Pedretti. All four members were presented with Life Memberships of the Society.

Stuart Ryan and Bruce Hamblin, Victorian Branch Committee members. Photo taken at the 1995 Federal Council meeting at Sydney Showgrounds after inspecting several Fjord horses prior to the breed joining the APSB.




			Passing of Mrs Heather Ronald - Patron of Victoria It is with regret that we note the passing of Mrs Heather Ronald on Sunday July 1. She has been the Patron of the Victorian Society since 1983. Mrs Ronald was well known as a breeder of Shetland ponies and Highland ponies carrying the Barrymoor prefix. Highland pony breeders are familiar with the bloodlines of the Highland pony stallion Glenearn Brigadier and the mare Penny Farthing imported by Mrs Ronald in 1961- the first Highland ponies to be registered with the APSB . Mrs Ronald was first elected to the Victorian Branch Committee in 1959, and served as a Committee member for twenty three years. During that time she held the position of Branch President on two occasions in 1971 and 1975 , Vice President in 1977 and 1979, and Federal Council Delegate on eight occasions. In recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Australian Pony Stud Book Society, was made a Life Member of the Society in 1976. Mrs Ronald was also appointed to the State Judges panel in 1961 and the Federal Judges panel in 1964. Her contributions to the APSB both at State and Federal level has been extensive and she will be sadly missed. Our sincere condolences go to her family at this difficult time. Ann Oakford and Mrs Heather Ronald, presentation to Mrs Ronald commemorating 20 years at Victorian Branch Patron in 2003 Passing of Reg Pedretti It was sad news that Victorian Life Member and friend Reg Pedretti passed away on Monday, August 6 after a massive heart attack a week ago. Reg served on the Victorian committee for many years, and whilst he didn't breed a large number of ponies he was a dedicated committee member and passionate about the APSB. Australian Pony Stud Book Celebrating 75 Years The article below has been taken out of the Autumn Newsletter. Written by Marion Costello The Australian Pony Stud Book Society has nine breeds including the Australian Pony, Shetland Pony, Welsh Pony, Dartmoor Pony, New Forest Pony, Hackney Pony, Highland Pony, Connemara Pony and Fjord Horse as well as two registers run for APSB Riding Ponies and Part-Bred Ponies. Originally, the APSB started with the Australian Pony, the Welsh Pony and the Shetland Pony. Over the past 75 years, other breeds now included have been added to the Society, making it what it is today. In celebration of this milestone for the 75th year of the APSB, we would like to reflect on some of our Victorian committee members responsible for the development of the Branch and the Society from its early days. Up until 1947, a central Council elected in NSW conducted all business of the Society. The Royal Agricultural Societies of Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia had a representative on the Council with Mr S. A. Greaves representing Victoria. As each state formed a Branch, they could elect their own delegate to Council. At this time, Queensland and Victoria were the only two states to have sufficient numbers to form a state branch. Together with the parent body of New South Wales, they were responsible for laying the foundation of the society. In 1947, a Provisional Committee was formed in Victoria with Mr Louis Monod as the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. Many of those elected to this Provisional Committee had supported the Society since it's formation in 1931 and had registered ponies in Volume 1 of the Stud Book. These included Mrs Eileen Bartram (View Bank), Mr W. E. Clinton (Rob Roy), Mrs A. D. D. Maclean (Fenwick) and Mrs W. C. Greaves. In 1951, the Provisional Branch Committee was replaced by a formal Branch Committee of twelve elected members; these being: Mr Roy Jolly (Narada) Mr A. A. Laidlaw Mr Dick Bills (Yarra Lea) Mr Mac Clinton (Rob Roy) Mr Bill Buckleigh (Green Valley) Mr Harry Arnold (Lyndale) Mr Tom Pallister Mr W. C. Greaves Mr E. Allan Mrs A. D. D. Maclean (Fenwick) Mrs Eileen Bartram (View Bank) Mrs Diana Creswick (Nattai) Mr Laidlaw was elected President and, along with Mr Roy Jolly, were elected as the first official Federal Delegates. Many of these members served on the committee with great enthusiasm for many years and were joined by equally dedicated members to help shape the new branch. Lady Coles of Rhondda Pony Stud was elected to the Committee in 1954 and served for a six year period. On her resignation, she donated the sum of one hundred pounds towards general revenue of the Branch. This was quite a sizable amount at the time and was a very valued contribution. Roy Jolly had the honour of being elected Federal President in 1957 followed by Harry Arnold in 1961. Mr Fred Wiltshire served on the committee for a number of years in the 1960's until his untimely death in a tragic accident. He had a strong opinion on Branch matters and was a dedicated Branch President from 1965 - 1968 and became the third Victorian Federal President for the years 1966 and 1967. He was also instrumental in organising the first Victorian Stud Pony Show in 1966. He will be remembered by Connemara breeders for importing the first Connemara ponies to Australia in 1965. Mr Bob Owen (Owendale) served on the committee for a number of years in the 1960's and held the President's role from 1968 - 1971. He brought a lot of common sense to the meetings and was highly regarded as someone who could often find a satisfactory solution to a tricky problem. Mrs Heather Ronald was another committee member whose commitment to the Society was respected and appreciated by her peers. She held the Branch President position from 1971 - 1973 and again from 1975 - 1976. She served a total of twenty three years on the committee and apart from Branch President, also held the positions of Vice President and Federal Delegate on eight occasions. She was awarded a Life Membership in 1976 and was made Patron of the Victorian Branch in 1983. Alex Morgan, Reg Pedretti and Merve Pearson were three dedicated and hard working members of the committee. Each served terms as Branch President. Alex from 1973 - 1975, Reg from 1976 - 1979 and Merve from 1979 - 1980. Merve also held the position of Treasurer for seven years. These three were an innovative trio and many successful ventures can be attributed to their ideas and their willingness to put in the hard work required to make something a success. Les Taylor joined the committee in 1960 and served for 22 years before retiring. Les was elected Branch President in 1980, leading into the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 1981. He brought tremendous drive and ideas for promotion to his position as President and those who were at that Golden Jubilee Stud Show will remember it as being something really special. From field days to fundraisers, Les always came up with the goods and worked tirelessly to achieve the goals he set. Colin Goldsmith followed Les as President in 1982. Colin held the position of Branch President for a record nine years. During his 16 years on the committee, he was also Vice President and Federal Delegate. In the society's Golden Jubilee year in 1981, the Goldsmiths travelled with their Shetlands to exhibit at every State Branch Stud Show - including Western Australia. Colin and his wife, Maureen, who also spent some years on the Branch committee, were greatly involved in the APSB Activities Committee. This was the first of the promotional groups to be formed in Victoria and was previously named the Social Committee of the Victorian Branch as it was formed directly by the Victorian Branch Committee. Workers are always needed when running a show or some sort of function and the Goldsmith family became well known for the amount of work they put into every event, the success of many events was due to their efforts. Bruce Hamblin was the next Branch President, taking over from Colin in 1991. Bruce was elected to the committee in 1972 and during this time he was Vice President, Branch President from 1991 - 1994 and Federal Delegate on numerous occasions. Most importantly, after a gap of 30 years, Victoria once again had a Federal President with the election of Bruce to that position in 1995 for the next two terms. Bruce was an excellent Federal President and earned the respect and admiration of his peers. Marion Costello followed on from Bruce as President in 1994 after being elected to the committee in 1978. She held various positions through this time including Publicity Officer, Vice President, Federal Delegate and Federal Publicity Officer. Later in 2003, she became Victoria's fifth Federal President. Stuart Ryan followed on from Marion as Branch President in 1997 after joining the committee in 1980 and holding the positions of Vice President, Treasurer and Federal Delegate for nearly a decade. Stuart was also elected as Federal Treasurer in 1992 - 1999. During that time, the Society held over $100,000 in investments. With Bruce as Federal President and Stuart as Federal Treasurer, they made a formidable and valuable team at a time when the Society had just moved to a centralised registration system in 1992. Prior to this, registrations, memberships etc, were lodged with the various State Secretaries before being forwarded to the Federal Registrar for processing. Bruce worked with Bob Bucat (Western Australia), the elected Federal President in 1992 and with Stuart to provide the expertise required at that time to deal with the associated problems including the financial uncertainty of the previous Federal Office structure. After a brief spell away from the committee, both Bruce and Stuart rejoined the committee in 2006, bringing years of valuable experience and expertise with them. Ann Oakford took over as Branch President from Stuart in 2000 after joining the committee in 1984. Ann was also elected as Victoria's sixth Federal President in 2004 and is currently the Federal Treasurer. There are many others who have played an important part in the growth of the Victorian Branch and the Society since it's early days; never looking for recognition, just enthusiastic about the APSB, the breeds and how best to promote them. Yvonne Williams was and still is a familiar face at all branch functions, always ready to offer help going right back to the first Stud Pony Show at Akoonah Park at Berwick in 1966. Yvonne was first elected to the committee in the early 1970's and then again many years later when she took on the position of Publicity Officer for 1993 - 2003. Geoff Mashiter and Wendy James were two enthusiastic New Forest supporters on the committee for many years. They both worked diligently for the Society and Geoff will be remembered for his time as part of the "arena gang" at the Victorian Stud Show and for his knowledge of meeting procedure - correct protocol was important for Geoff and he didn't let us get away with much at meetings. The Victorian Branch has been a great achiever over the past fifty nine years. It would not have been an easy task all those years ago to get the Branch up and running and financially viable, but the dedication of the committees through the years made success possible. There has always been great rivalry between the state branches, and out of this, Victoria has done well. Mac Clinton - Roy Stud Lady Creswick and Pauline Owen, Melbourne Royal 1978 Presentation evening at the 1981 Golden Jubilee Victorian Stud Show. Former Victorian Branch Committee Members (L to R) the late Roy Jolly (Narada Pony Stud), the late Mrs Eileen Bartram (View Bank Pony Stud), the late Harry Arnold (Lyndale Pony Stud) and Mr Reg Pedretti. All four members were presented with Life Memberships of the Society. Stuart Ryan and Bruce Hamblin, Victorian Branch Committee members. Photo taken at the 1995 Federal Council meeting at Sydney Showgrounds after inspecting several Fjord horses prior to the breed joining the APSB.

Passing of Mrs Heather Ronald - Patron of Victoria

Passing of Reg Pedretti

Australian Pony Stud Book Celebrating 75 Years

Australian Pony Stud Book
Celebrating 75 Years