SOUTH NOTTS HUNT PONY CLUB
February 2014
President: Dr Charles Lipp
Dear Members and Parents
A HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and a very warm welcome to all our new members. I wish you all a very successful and enjoyable time, and I look forward to meeting you all at our forthcoming activities.
Thank you to all who helped and attended our very enjoyable Presentation Evening. Congratulations to all the 2013 Trophy winners, please remember to have the trophies engraved.
Again we have had a very busy and active year. Well attended rallies, tests taken and alldisciplines organising theirtraining and enteringmany membersto compete in theInter Branch, Area and Championships competitionswith very good placings. Thank you all who gave help and support.
Our congratulations go to Jamie Harby for winning the Pony Club Tetrathlon2013 Championships at Bishop Burton.
Our Summer Camp held at Southwell Racecourse was well attendedand enjoyed by Senior and Junior members. Thank you to all who make this event a very special occasion in our Pony Club year.
Our camp this year will be held at the NewarkShowground and will be supported financially by the club. All detailsto follow shortly and early booking will be essential.
We now look forward to a new and exciting year. Please check carefully all discipline programme detailsand book your places accordingly.
I look forward to seeing you all at the many activities, and wish you all a very Happy, Exciting and Safe 2014.
Best wishes
Judy
______District Commissioner: Hon. Secretary:
Mrs Judy Simpson, Alison Turner
The Chestnuts, Mill Lane, Belton View Farm,
Orston, Notts, NG13 9NE Hall Lane,
Tel: 01949 850044 Harrowby, Grantham, Lincs,
NG31 9HA Tel: 01476 561269
RALLIES AND DRESS CODE
RALLIES
We hope you have enjoyed our Winter Rally programme and, in store, we have a busy and varied Spring programme, with something for everyone.
Rallies are available to every member and all ages and abilities will be catered for. The Pony Club is about everyone learning to enjoy riding and horsemanship in a safe, fun and supportive way. Rallies form the life blood of the Pony Club and it is where all our education of members and their ponies/ horses takes place. Rallies are where the ‘tools of the trade’ are learnt and skill finely tuned. As well as educating our members, we always encourage good sportsmanship and camaraderie, in line with the Pony Club ethos, and to make friends and have fun.
We aim to give you high quality instruction and coaching and all our instructors/coaches are Pony Club accredited and/or BHS registered. At rallies we cover all discipline foundations and at our summer camp we learn about other disciplines such as horse racing, side saddle, western, driving etc as well as extending horse care knowledge and horsemanship skills whilst working towards Pony Club badges and tests.
RALLY POLICY
Our full Rally Policy is set out on our website, under the rally page.
In summary, please send the rally booking slip and cheque to:
Sarah Catley, Hawthorn House, Flintham Lane, Screveton, Nottingham NG13 8QY.
Please try and book in early as late entries can make groups difficult to balance or instructors hard to book at late notice. Please remember that whilst we will try and accommodate a preference for a particular time slot, this may not always be possible depending on the range of ages/abilities.
Please send one cheque for each rally date. Entries will close one week before the rally date and any places cancelled within 48 hours of the rally may still be charged for if the place cannot be filled. Rally times will appear on the website 3-4 days before the rally. Correct dress should be worn – please see Dress Code below.
A small plea to Parents/Carers:
If any of you are 4x4 drivers and are able to offer to help move jumps to and from rallies, would you please fill in the slip at the bottom of the Rally Calendar (on rally page) and email it back to Jean or Sarah. Help is also required setting up and clearing away jumps at the end of rallies.
COMPETITIONS AND ELIGIBILTY
Each discipline will organise their own training sessions in addition to the rallies. Details will be on our website under the relevant discipline section.
A detailed list of all Area 6 competitions for 2014 is attached to this newsletter.
We also have a Horse and Pony Care Competition (dismounted) where we compete at branch level to demonstrate knowledge of all aspects of horse/pony care. We hope this year to train and put forward a junior and senior team(s) for this Competition. It is great fun and as it is ‘on foot’, you can leave your horses at home!
For those members who wish to represent the Club at inter-branch and Area Competitions, it is a pre-requisite that you and your horse have attended a minimum of 3 working rallies since 1st July 2013, one of which must be in the current year (2014). Camp can count as one rally from last year. This stipulation is an absolute MUST for eligibility for the Area Competitions and Pony Club Championships.
We always ask members to remember that it is a great honour to be chosen to represent the Club and we ask you to conduct yourselves accordingly at Competitions.
Finally, we look forward to seeing you at our forthcoming rallies. We hope you have an enjoyable time this season and we welcome your comments and feedback. Have fun!
JEAN and SARAH
SNHPC DRESS CODE 2014
GENERAL RALLY DRESS
White long sleeved shirt with PC tie PC Sweatshirt
Cream/Black/Navy Jodhpurs or Breeches
Clean Boots (Black or Brown)
Half Chaps (same colour as boots and with no tassles) or Jodhpur Clips if no Chaps
Hats – with a plain black/navy silk and TAGGED - see below for approved standard/guidance
For girls with long hair, hair tied back and hair net
Gloves
PC Badge – on sweatshirt or polo shirt
No Jewellery - all piercings removed
Stock pins to be worn by Seniors only with stock pins horizontally
PC Navy Coat
Numnahs/Saddle Cloths – plain colour
Spurs (must be blunt without rowels) - may only be worn if you have passed your B test or with Permission of the DC (permission form on the reverse of your rally card – must be signed by the DC)
Tack clean and correctly fitted.
Body Protector optional – see below for guidance.
HATS
Must be worn at all times when mounted and be PCtagged by Jean or Judy
Hats must have :- the CE mark and a quality symbol, either the BSI Kitemark, the SAI Global Symbol or the official Snell label with symbol:
· PAS 015; 1998, 2010 or 2011 Or BS EN 1384 :1996 Or BS En 1384:1997
· the Australian Standard and CE/SAI Global; AS/NZS 3838 1998 OR AS/NZS 3838 2003
· Snell E2001 and the official snell label and number.
For XC riding, Tetrathlon, Eventing and Hunter Trials (where fences are over 80cm), INCLUDING at tests, training and rallies, a jockey skull cap WITH NO FIXED PEAK must be worn. It is strongly recommended that a jockey skull cap is worn even for lower fences.
BODY PROTECTORS
We recommend Level 3 Conventional Body Protectors. They are designed to provide a level of protection that is considered appropriate for normal riding including competition and working with horses.
If a rider chooses to wear an air jacket it must only be used in addition to a normal body protector. In the event of a fall, it must be fully deflated or removed before continuing. After which the conventional body protector will give protection. Air jackets must not be worn under a jacket (coat or show jacket) and number bibs should be loosely fitting or with elasticated fastenings.
SHOW JUMPING RALLIES
As above and Body Protectoris advised but not compulsory
CROSS COUNTRY RALLIES
As above but Body Protector and completed and signed Medical Arm Band are COMPULSORY. Long sleeves MUST be worn.
COMPETITION DRESS CODE
The SNHPC do like to maintain high standards (horsemanship and suitable attire) and the following is ALWAYS expected when you represent the Club at inter- club and other Competitions:
Horse/Pony
o Clean & well groomed
o Clean and correctly fitted tack
o Plain brow band (no embroidery/jewels)
o Mane plaited. Tail plaited or pulled and brushed
o Plain numnah/saddle cloths; Brown, White, Dark Blue, Black with no piping on edges or writing/embroidery
Rider
o Hacking/Tweed Jacket
o White long sleeved shirt
o Pony Club badge on left lapel (with relevant felt pinned underneath, if applicable)
o Pony Club tie for juniors and Pony Club tie or stock for Seniors
o Riding gloves
o Plain beige or white jodhpurs/breeches
o Jodhpur boots and chaps or jodhpur boots with clips for juniors. The same or long boots for Seniors
o Girls require hair nets/long hair tied back
o No jewellery (earrings/necklaces etc) – all piercings removed
o Body protector optional
For Cross Country/ODE/Tetrathlon Competitions, XC Colours/ long sleeved rugby shirts with matching silk may be worn and Body Protector and Medical Arm Band are COMPULSORY.
If you have any queries or questions regarding the appropriate dress, please contact Jean Hopkinson () or Sarah Catley ().
TESTS
In addition to our badges, we aim to train members through the Pony Club system of tests. The test training is structured and progressive and will be taken at recommended ages; younger members starting at their ‘E Test’ right the way though to senior members working toward the more advanced B and A Tests. The top tier of tests is held in very high regard in the professional equine world. We also aim to train our older members to instruct and encourage participation in the Young Leader Award scheme and to pass coaching qualifications. These members are then able to give some of their time and expertise back into the Club. A large proportion of our instructors and coaches have come through the Pony Club test system themselves, some from this branch, including Jean and Kirsty.
We shall be shortly putting together a schedule of tests for riders at a range of levels from young/novice through to advanced.
Please have a look at the test page on the SNHPC website which shows which test is suitable for the riders’ age/ability and let Jean or Suzanne know if you wish to take a test so that we can include you and set up the appropriate training sessions. It is likely that for tests from C to B you will need to commit to a complete run of 3-6 training sessions including some dismounted ones to enable the rider to do sufficient training to be at the right level.
We will be doing E, D and D plus training at camp for the younger riders.
Should anyone wish to do their B plus training, you will need to be aiming for open level at dressage, eventing and show jumping so extra training may need to be put on for this with specific instructors.
If interested please email Suzanne Green or Jean Hopkinson indicating riders name and the appropriate test level. Once we have sufficient numbers we'll get some sessions set up.
Suzanne Green -07899 962029
DRESSAGE
Team Manager: Denise Ellis - 01949 851278, mobile 07866 778566
Email :
For those members who are new to Dressage and would like to have a go we have summarized the general principles below.
What Is Dressage? - Dressage is about showing the judge that you can get your pony to do what you want him to do, when you want him to do it. You and your pony have to follow a set of instructions laid out in the dressage test. A judge marks the test. They give you a mark out of ten for how well you carry out each instruction. At the end of the test the marks are added up and the winner is the horse and rider with the highest score.
When you are riding at home and getting the pony to do the things that you want him to do you are already practising the basics of dressage. To improve you and your pony, you might want to have lessons with an instructor. This includes the lessons that you have at a rally, where you will get help with your riding which will make the pony behave better.
As you and your pony get better and your confidence grows you may want to take part in a competition. If you cannot remember your dressage test, don’t worry as someone can read the test out loud to you (apart from Area Competitions and Championships). With lots of practice and competition experience you may get to compete at National Pony Club Dressage competitions.
All of the Pony Club disciplines can benefit from Dressage training, which seeks the harmonious development of the physique and ability of the horse. As a result it can make the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible, but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.
Rallies :
We have a number of flatwork / dressage rallies coming up with Laura Jarvis so do come along and have a go. Please check the rally page for further details and send all entry slips and payments to Sarah Catley.
Saturday 1st March – Junior & Novice Dressage Rally with Laura Jarvis at Trent Valley