THE HONOURABLE MAHLA PEARLMAN AO - PATRON
Mahla Pearlman is the former chief judge of the Land and Environment Court of NSW.  Prior to her elevation to the bench, she was a solicitor, in partnership with Sly and Weigall, a major firm in the city of Sydney.

She has had, however, a life outside the law.   In the early 70’s, she started dressage training at the Tibor Equestrian Centre at Kellyville.   Anne Honner was then in the “baby riders” class, too, and they became firm friends.  Mahla was, by force of geography, somewhat peripatetic.   She lived in Paddington, kept her horse in Turramurra, and trained at Kellyville.
Anne was always available to make this arrangement a little easier.  When Mahla had days off from her desk, she would bundle her horse into the float, and move into Anne’s house and stables.  They spent many an hour together riding all over the empty paddocks of Kellyville (alas, not empty any more) and training together on Anne’s arena.

When Karl Mikolka, at Anne’s invitation, arrived from the USA to give dressage clinics at Tibor, Anne mobilised her forces.  Mahla was yet again residing in Anne’s house.  She was required to take the earliest roster of the day, so that she could drive Mikolka, who was also staying with Anne, over to Tibor for the day’s lessons, and thus allow Anne the time to carry out some domestic chores and get the children off to school.  This was not always easy – a convivial dinner with Anne’s family the night before was not conducive to a really early start the next morning!