September 9, 1957 in a tack room on the Rose Gate Pony Farm in Clinton Ill. (Home of Harry and Louise Primmer) a group of horse lovers met, with the purpose of organizing a riding club. From their dreams and ideas the DeWitt County Town & Country Riding Club was born. With the help of family and friends, they worked to reach their goal of bringing people, and horses closer together. With this in mind they organized horse shows, trail rides, parades, rodeos, riding and driving. As the club grew, it included people from Farmer City, Piatt county Trailblazers, Bloomington, and other near by towns. They met as a group and choose the clubs name. Hazel Cane designed and made the first club flag. 
   The first horse show was held November 2, 1957. The twenty-first of August 1958 the club rented five acres of ground from Joe Haskett, they later added a clubhouse. The club later purchased this land, and in 1962 enlarged the clubhouse. The clubhouse still stands, meetings and other entertainment are held in it every year. 
    A summer during the early sixties a few of the club members headed south to the Shawnee National Forest for the Nine Day Ride. The first few years of the ride. while riders were heading out for the days ride someone at camp would pack up and move the camp to a new spot at the end of the days ride. After a few years of this they pick out a spot at the One Horse Gap Lake cleaned it up and call it home for the nine days. The same spot is still being used to this date. A small pond for watering the horses, and showers. With the aid of a water pump and warm weather there are warm showers in a small shower made of sheet metal and wood. As the ride as grown in numbers through the years there is always something going on. The yearly someone will be thrown in the pond. To a quite ride taking you back in to history. The meeting of new and old friends will always take you back.   
    Through the years the club membership has grown and fallen. There is still a handful of members that have been there since the young age of their parents leading them on horses to the day of leading their own kids on horse back during the fun show games. The years of club members paying the taxes out of their own pockets. To where the club with the help of sponsorship can pay for it self. Club membership is at forty-five members and growing. Ages ranging from four years of age, to the grand age of seventy-six years. One of the clubs families reaching out to four generations of horsemanship.
     With the Fun Shows during the spring to fall season, our annual Rodeo, camping trips to our local equine parks, the yearly Nine Day Ride, Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. Our club is still standing in the little patch of ground in the woods. So please come and join the fun where new friends are always welcome. 
                            Lawrence Vinson March 12, 2004