WEYBURN – The non-profit Weyburn Riding and Driving Club needed some major help to get their tractor repaired so they could feed their horses properly.
The riding club uses the city barns on the city’s west side to board their horses and to do some of their riding. They use an old John Deere tractor to bring out the 1,100-pound bales to feed the horses.
As club member Denise Kennedy explained, the tractor has a lot of leaks and had to have buckets placed underneath to catch the assorted liquids, plus it had no lights on it to move bales in the dark.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ Country Equipment fixed the tractor and split the bill with them, around $20,000 altogether.
“Without their generosity we could never have afforded to get their vital piece of equipment back up and running in peak form,” said Kennedy.
She noted the club was lucky to have had a spell of mild weather this winter with little snow.
“We usually can’t get the gate open on several paddocks when there is normal snow accumulation,” she added. “At least with the tractor, we can get these 1,100-pound round bales up over the fence so the horses can be fed.”
The WRDC is a non-profit organization formed in 1974 to bring together Weyburn area residents with a common interest in horses. It provides a location nearby where they can pursue equine recreation and better horsemanship.
During the summer and fall, they often hold gymkhana rides at the Weyburn exhibition grounds’ rodeo arena, or else hold rides at the city barns.
The club accepts bottle and can donations through SARCAN’s Drop and Go program, using the group phrase, “heritage barns”.