Riverside Equestrian Centre

Liz

Elizabeth (Liz) Macarthur White

B.Ag.Eco. (UNE) AHRC/NCAS Level 1

Liz White is the Director of Riverside Equestrian Centre which was set up in 1988 with physical and financial support from her husband Andrew. Both their son Brian White and daughter, Jenny Gehrke live at Riverside with their spouses Sonya and Shane and their children Jason Gehrke and Alice and Cameron White

Background | Achievements

Liz's Background

Elizabeth (Liz) White B.Ag.Ec.(UNE) NCAS/AHRC Level I Instructor

Waking up on a horse is Liz’s earliest memory. Horses were her main companions as a child growing up as the eldest of four children on her father’s sheep and cattle property “Telarah” about 60 km north west of Armidale. Most of her early education was by correspondence with a four year period away at school from ages 11 to 15. When Liz was 12, she attended a horse training demonstration by Kel Jefferies and went home and trained an 8yo spoilt, unbroken mare, which became her mount for the next eight years. After completing her intermediate certificate, Liz went home to help on the property. This was not a happy time, so Liz again started studying by correspondence. The matriculation exams were passed in all six subjects, which enabled her to enrol in the Faculty of Agricultural Economics at UNE.. Agricultural Economics was not Liz’s first choice as she had wanted to study art in Sydney. However she enjoyed the course and even continued riding. Towards the end of her first year, she was invited to look after and ride the university horses. Liz also bought a 17hh black thoroughbred which she called Coogan. His death in November 1960 resulted in Liz giving up riding in 1961 and becoming more actively involved in university activities.

Liz met Andrew White in 1962 and they were married a year later. The next thirteen years were devoted to supporting Andrew’s career as a geologist, learning to live in suburbia, gardening, and bringing up their two children Brian and Jenny. Liz occasionally had the opportunity to ride horses and even trained (broke in) a 17hh skewbald gelding for her brother-in-law, Colin Jones in Tasmania.

Andrew and Liz stayed in Armidale for the first three years of their marriage, while Andrew completed his PhD and then moved to Melbourne, had nine months in Holland, then back to Melbourne from whence they moved to Cairns in 1970. Horses re-appeared big time in 1975 when Liz bought two part Arab ponies for Brian and Jenny and leased a horse for herself.

Brian and Jenny joined Freshwater pony club and Liz started instructing there. The well known Queensland horseman, Jack Makeham, examined Liz for her Pony club instructor’s certificate. While in Cairns, Liz also training horses and used the Jeffery method to train a four year old, unhandled mare so it was safe enough for a nervous friend to ride along Cairns streets.

In 1977, Andrew was transferred to Adelaide and the family plus the ponies, Tabby and Sham, went too. They bought a property in the Adelaide Hills half way between Hahndorf and Milor.

Liz continued re-training problem horses, and training young horses, lectured at the local TAFE in horse handling, instructed at Mt.Barker pony club, helped write a hobby farm book produced by the state Department of Agriculture and started training horses in harness for herself and for other people. Jenny and Liz also took dressage lessons and competed in dressage. Liz also started breeding Australian ponies but that proved such a high cost – low return venture that Liz trained the brood mares to be quiet riding school ponies and commenced giving riding lessons.

Andrew decided that the family should return to Queensland in 1985 and the property was put on the market. Keetings “recessions we had to have” came into effect and the Whites couldn’t sell their Hahndorf hobby farm.

In July 1986 Liz was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was very stressful for the whole family. Liz decided against the traditional treatment of at least a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy after reading piles of literature and giving radiotherapy a one week’s trial. Instead, with support from Andrew, she opted for natural therapies and large doses of vitamin C to boost her immune system combined with a positive attitude. Part of that positive attitude was the decision to set up a riding school somewhere on the outskirts of Brisbane.

Liz drew up an impossible “wish list” that took up a whole page and included three optional extras for the ideal property for a riding school. All of those wishes were met by the property we found at 3666 Moggill Rd Moggill except for the optional extras none of which were included (1) good fences, (2) a modern kitchen and Bathrooms and (3) a swimming pool. Settlement condition was even met and was arranged for the Monday following Friday settlement for the Hahndorf property. Andrew & Liz drove to Brisbane over the weekend, with two vehicles and a horse float full of horse drawn vehicle parts and the 7 horses and a huge truck full of furniture etc. arrived two days later.

Liz started giving riding lessons while Andrew worked on improving the facilities. Many lessons were given off the property and Liz even took two of the ponies, Kim and Tinker to other people’s properties for lessons.

Brian White had moved up to Queensland to finish his Ag.Science degree at the beginning of 1986 but Jenny decided to stay on in South Australia to finish her Ag. Science degree. Jenny’s horse, Sam, came to Moggill with the other horses and ponies but the horse Liz and Brian shared, Sydney, died of colic ten days before they departed. This was devastating for both Brian and Liz as Sydney had played an important role in Liz’s initial cancer therapy. They had joined Jenny and Sam at shows and dressage competitions and they had even won quite a few ribbons. Brian also was looking forward to having his mate in Brisbane so he could ride again.

After finishing her Ag. Science degree in South Australia, Jenny also moved to Moggill and decided to study for her EFA Instructor’s certificate and to work with Liz to build up the Riding School. She took over the more advanced riding pupils and was the one who travelled round the district giving lessons while Liz concentrated on giving lessons at Riverside.

Liz started working towards doing her EFA instructor’s certificate as well but it soon became obvious that she would have difficulty passing the riding section because her back hurt terribly at the sitting trot. In addition, Liz needed to keep the riding lessons going to meet at least part of the costs of running Riverside.

Liz was still training horses and had taken on five supposedly unhandled horses to train up as competition and riding school horses. It turned out that they were far from unhandled as a young bloke had tried to “break them in” and succeeded in terrifying them and actually killing one. The others were sent back to the owner and these were the unhandled horses which Liz bought.

A friend suggested that Liz should hold a “Horse Breaking Demonstration” and arranged for paying customers to come and watch! They certainly got their money’s worth in thrills as the horses used all struck-out at Liz when first caught and put up spectacular fights. Not what she had in mind at all as she was using a modified Jeffery Method by which the horses should have been handled and ridden without fear!

Three of those wild and dangerous horses still live at Riverside and will until the end of their days. They are Harry, Tempest and Chocks and they are all much loved and very quiet to handle and ride.

Liz lost her nerve big time during this period and started falling off horses with frightening regularity and many of these falls resulted in broken bones. However, she continued to work on training the most difficult of the three horses, Harry, because everyone else, except Brian, said he should be dogged and even Brian stopped trying to ride him after a spectacular fall.

Eventually Harry gained confidence in Liz and she even competed him successfully.

In 1994 Liz was bucked off a horse and landed very hard on her backside. This fall changed her riding for the better as she broke her sacrum joint which no-one realised, including her, had been broken in a car accident when she was 20 and set facing backwards. This was not only the reason for the painful back at trot but also the reason why she couldn’t sit trot without bouncing. With her bum permanently sticking out the back, she had to hang on with her thighs and couldn’t ride a horse forward onto the bit in the upright seat. However, she had learnt to move with the horse and horses loved her riding them except when someone was giving her a dressage lesson and insisted on a straight back and upright seat.

In the short term the second break nearly crippled Liz, as all her front ligaments, especially those going over the knees were too short and both her knees swelled up. These swollen knees were so painful that she couldn’t rise trot or even ride in a saddle so she used the time to teach herself to ride Tempest, an extremely sensitive horse, bareback. Having ridden since she was twenty without the ability to move forward from the pelvis, Liz realised the fundamental importance of this ability, together with the rider’s balanced position on the horse. in riding forward into the bit.

During the past few years Liz has been writing books and articles on riding none of which have been completed for publication to date. She has also been working on a series of watercolour illustrations for these books and some of these illustrations have been laminated and kept in our reception area for riders to look at.

Jenny and Liz have been sponsoring trainee instructors during the past few years and these instructors now give most of the lessons at Riverside under the direct supervision of Jenny Gehrke in train-the-trainer lessons or more indirectly by Liz who usually just comments on position and feel so the riders can learn the wonderful feeling of moving with their horse.

Liz still manages Riverside Equestrian Centre Pty. Ltd. and rides several times a week often with our helpers or to demonstrate a point of balance, or to show the rider how to maintain control over the horse through the use of “balancing and connecting” half halts.

Plans for the future include finishing her books on riding so these can help other riders learn how to move with, and automatically control heir horses.

Liz's Achievements

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