[Time Passes] Reflecting on the Weight of 100 Years of History of the Athletic Association Equestrian Club Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

2022/04/26

Photo: At the 100th Anniversary Ceremony

The Juku Athletic Association Equestrian Club was able to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020. This is entirely thanks to the many stakeholders who have provided guidance and support in various forms over the long span of 100 years, and it is the fruit of the efforts of our predecessors who built this history. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude.

As the Equestrian Club, established in 1920 as the 11th club of the Juku Athletic Association, reached its 100th anniversary, the Equestrian Club and its alumni organization, the Mita Equestrian Society, decided to take this opportunity to express gratitude to those who have helped us and to improve the practice and horse-rearing environments for the further development of the club. We decided to implement four projects: "Full Renovation of the Hiyoshi Riding Ground," "Expansion and Renovation of the Hiyoshi Stables," "Compilation of the 100th Anniversary Commemorative Book," and "Holding the 100th Anniversary Ceremony."

First is the "Renovation of the Riding Ground." The Equestrian Club practices at a riding ground located in a corner of the Hiyoshi Campus. Over the years, this Hiyoshi riding ground had become uneven and had poor drainage, which was affecting the horses' legs—their very lifeblood. Therefore, we decided to temporarily remove all the current soil, regrade the land, and then lay down a new three-layer soil structure designed for drainage.

In the summer of 2020, we planned to carry out the construction while the horses and club members were away from Hiyoshi for a training camp. However, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing all Athletic Association clubs to suspend activities and cancel training camps. During the construction period, the Equestrian Club members had to rent stables at an equestrian venue in Tsukui, Kanagawa Prefecture. The members were forced into a very demanding schedule, commuting daily from their homes to Tsukui while struggling with infection control measures.

Thanks to such efforts, in September 2020, the Hiyoshi Riding Ground underwent its first full renovation since its opening, and a reborn riding ground was born.

The next project was the "Expansion and Renovation of the Stables." The existing stables were built in 1984, but as horses have become larger in recent years, the stalls (horse rooms) had become cramped, and it was necessary to improve comfort from the perspective of horse welfare. Additionally, the living quarters for the stable hands and the club room on the second floor of the existing stables had become dilapidated. Therefore, we planned to expand the stalls in the existing stables, build an extension with six large stalls, and fully renovate the second floor of the existing stables.

This construction was scheduled for the summer of 2021, the year after the riding ground renovation, during the period when the horses and members would be absent. However, the fifth wave of COVID-19 struck once again. As in the previous year, the members were forced to transport the horses and commute to Tsukui, spending their summer under many restrictions for the second consecutive year.

Nevertheless, the project was completed successfully, and we were able to resume club activities in a new environment. I am confident that this will lead to the improvement of the members' spirit, technique, and physical strength, and ultimately to better competitive results.

These two construction projects were handled entirely by the Juku Office of Facilities and Property Management and proceeded under the full guidance of the Athletic Association Office. These projects were made possible by donations from many alumni and stakeholders, and I am truly grateful.

In parallel, we proceeded with the "Compilation of the 100th Anniversary Commemorative Book." To motivate the members and make the club stronger, it is essential for them to know its past history. Furthermore, I believed it was very important to firmly record our 100-year history in a tangible form so that various people outside the club could learn more about the Juku Equestrian Club.

We began the compilation based on the "75th Anniversary Commemorative Book," a masterpiece created through the great efforts of our predecessors at the time of the 75th anniversary. We incorporated plenty of episodes and visuals, researched records as much as possible, and put in great effort to make it more realistic and dynamic so that many people would want to pick it up and read it.

There were periods when interviews and data collection did not go as planned due to the pandemic, but thanks to the efforts and teamwork of everyone involved, it was successfully completed. In addition to being taken home by those who attended the 100th Anniversary Ceremony, it is being distributed to internal and external stakeholders.

The finale of the four projects was the "Holding of the 100th Anniversary Ceremony." We began planning a grand event to express gratitude to the many stakeholders who have helped us throughout our long history, and to serve as a place for Equestrian Club alumni to gather and strengthen their unity in support of the club's future.

Initially planned for March 2020, the event was postponed for a year due to the pandemic. It was rescheduled for March 5 of this year, but the sixth wave at the beginning of the year forced us to give up on serving food and drinks at the ceremony, and we made the sudden decision to hold it in a significantly scaled-down format. During this time, thanks to the efforts of the members who rushed to handle various changes, planning, and preparations, we were somehow able to hold the event at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa.

On the day of the event, the ceremony was successfully held with 254 participants, including President Itoh and other members of the Juku executive team, directors and alumni association chairs of various Athletic Association clubs, various stakeholders from the equestrian world, Mita Equestrian Society members, and club members including high school students. We were deeply moved by the President's warm words of encouragement: "I am confident that the Equestrian Club members will firmly overcome the COVID-19 pandemic."

Our 100-year history can be described as a history of overcoming disasters such as the Great Kanto Earthquake and World War II. Fighting against COVID-19 in our 100th year may be an omen for the next 100 years that people can grow more only by overcoming hardships. I expect that various difficulties await in the future, but I hope that the club members will continue to devote themselves, believing that the future will surely open up, and I pray for the further development of the Athletic Association Equestrian Club.