It is hard to imagine nowadays a group of folks forming a club in which they saddle up the horses and go for a leisurely ride to exotic locations, such as Tyrol or Woodruff Canyon, for a “steak fry”. But, that is exactly what the Carlin Riding Club was all about in the beginning. The group was formed in April of 1948 for “residents of this community interested in riding”. YEE HAW!
Founding members consisted of both men and women and the group held monthly dinner meetings either in the basement (also called the “parlor”) of the old Catholic Church on Main Street or in the homes of members. The riding group for outings usually had anywhere from 10 to 15 participants.
But, dinner meetings and rides were not the only things the Riding Club got up to. In 1954, they sponsored a local Carlin beauty queen from the Silver State Parade to appear on TV in Salt Lake City, and in 1955 they purchased a jukebox for the new youth center (located in the City Club building on Main Street).
In 1956, Frank Batt donated a piece of land on the north end of Carlin and Vernon Scott donated a house for it so the Carlin Riding Club would have a clubhouse. For many, many years the Riding Club would host the annual Turkey Shoot in the building in order to raise funds for the clubhouse expenses. Betty Pearson joined the Club with her husband in 1961 and said that in later years, owning a horse or riding were not requirements to join the club. Sadly, the Carlin Riding Club faded away, the clubhouse was sold, and there are few left who were once members.
