After all, riding horses along St Clair Beach was banned in 1958.
More than six decades on, the photo has become well known in Otago — much to the surprise of its stars.
Alison Lindsay (77, nee Dean), Carole Evans (79, nee Dean) and Alison Jones (75, nee Fortune) got together at the site of their famous photo last night, the first time the three have been together in years.
But, they have kept in touch, and Mrs Jones said horses had played a huge part in all of their lives.
Ms Lindsay is the only one to still have a horse; the other two have traded in four legs for two wheels by getting bikes.
She said while it was illegal to ride along the beach at the time, the trio used to do it quite often.
Not content with sticking to the beach, they would also ride to shows, competitions and gymkhanas around the regions.
Mrs Evans said the beach was great to ride on as the sand was hard.
‘‘We could go quite fast.’’
The success of the photo took them all by surprise.
‘‘I was amazed. It’s become quite iconic,’’ Mrs Jones said.