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THE Dilmun Club is hoping to attract a sponsor or business partner to help operate its loss-making stables after setting up a working party to study its viability and make recommendations.
It is believed formal talks are already taking place between members of the 40-year-old expat club’s executive committee and ‘interested parties’.
Members were urged over the summer to offer suggestions and share their opinions on the facility after being told the club had faced ‘a substantial decline in its membership and incomes over the last three to four years’.
“The Dilmun Club is special and unique due to its character, great staff, terrific value and certain activities we offer that set us apart from the other expat clubs,” the executive committee said, revealing it was taking ‘a number of steps’ designed to protect the medium and long-term future of the club.
“One of the activities that make us special has been our horse riding stables, where members, their families and the general public can find a home for their horses, learn to ride and enjoy these fantastic animals,” the committee said in a statement.
“The stables, however, have experienced a bigger decline in its incomes than most activities of the club and also huge increases in the cost of looking after and feeding the horses.”
At the club’s last annual general meeting it was agreed that the newly-elected committee of chairman Karl Bowles, Shawki Nassaer, vice-chairman, Alec Peck, treasurer, Amanda Ferguson, secretary, Mark Gravener, sports, Mohamad AlMaskati, liaison, and Steve Keeble, entertainment, would take urgent action to understand the viability of the stables and reach a conclusion over the question marks that have hung over it for several years.
According to sources, some members suggested the stables should be axed because of the cost of running it and even the ‘smell’ caused by the animals, although the vast majority pleaded for the facility to remain in operation even if it meant a commercial concern taking over its running, or efforts made to attract a business partnership and sponsorship.
The Dilmun Club, affectionately known as The Dilly, is going through a turbulent time and it is currently running without either a general manager or stables manager, although talks are in progress to fill the latter position.
Treasurer Mr Peck said: “The role of GM is very important to the club and we are keen to make sure we get the right person for the role and that takes time, particularly as the role is much bigger than it was before.
“The GM needs to be an ambassador for the club and be able to operate in more of a business development role than was previously thought necessary.
“In the past the focus of the GM was primarily on the quality of the food and beverages but now we have staff in place who are very good at that aspect of the management of the club and we are keen to offer them the chance to continue to expand their roles and take on more responsibility. This will allow any new GM the chance to focus on the marketing and business side of the club.
“Membership fluctuates on a monthly basis as people come and go from the island but the recent overall trend has been encouraging.”
Lisa Powick, a former stables manager who helped steer the enterprise through the critical glanders crisis which severely hit the nation’s equine community, has returned to the kingdom from Australia and has been helping on the administration side.
She said: “The committee recently wrote to the membership asking for feedback on the future of the stables. There has been a reduction in the number of riders and livery owners and as a result the income of the stables has dropped. Obviously this needs to be addressed and stables staff members are working on a plan to overcome this.
“While we acknowledge that there is a lot of hard work ahead of us, we know that we can move forward and bring about the necessary changes to pull the stables around.
“We currently have a very loyal community of grooms, riders and livery owners who would like to stay at the Dilmun and we are determined to provide a happy, energetic and profitable stable for them for many years to come.”
The stables own 15 horses and ponies of which Polo, at 32, is the oldest, with a further 11 on temporary loan that ‘come and go’ depending on individual agreements. They are booked for horse riding lessons and events.
The number of livery customers varies from month-to-month and there are currently 15 horses in the stables’ care. Some of the animals have shared ownership.
As well as offering livery facilities and riding instruction for all ages and abilities, the stables organises hacks, Pony Club and children’s special events during school holidays. Many of its riders compete in local shows and show jumping events are regularly held on site.
A three-strong working party of volunteers made up of Clare Walsh, Neil Gunby and Jane Bastida have come up with proposals to safeguard the stables future.
Mr Gunby, a chemical factory manager, lives in Barbar with his wife, Lauretta, and their two children, Charlotte, 15, and Natalie, 11. Both girls learned to ride at the Dilmun Stables and are now competing against the island’s best show competitors on Magnum, their 15-year-old, 15-hand Anglo/Arab gelding.
He said: “We believe finding a business partner is the best, if only, solution. I think it was our duty to do the best we could to keep the stables up-and-running as they have been a part of the Dilmun Club scene for decades, introducing children to the joys of riding and caring for ponies and horses and it will, hopefully, continue to offer this facility to future generations.”
Sources say he and his colleagues have been ‘working tirelessly’ and their recommendations for talks with outside parties have been heeded by the committee.
Secretary Mrs Ferguson said: “I believe that everyone thinks we want to get rid of it – that is so not the case. We do not want to lose the stables; it is a huge part of the Dilmun Club culture. If there is anyone out there who can help, then please do.”
As reported in GulfWeekly, the club has invested heavily recently to upgrade its facilities in a bid to attract new members and retain existing ones.
The kingdom’s recent unrest resulted in a lot of movement in the club’s catchment area and, even to this day, the junction close-by to Saar Avenue continues to be targetted by tyre-burning protesters. Mr Peck said: “There is no doubt that we, like many others across the island, have been affected by the situation in Bahrain but as that is out of our hands we just need to concentrate on what we can control.
“And, that is to continually improve our services to members and ensure the most cost-effective running of the club. We recently invested heavily in the refurbishment and we hope to be able to confirm additional services and improvements soon.”
