CORBits

Feedback is Welcome ... Please send comments or suggestions to Bob Inglis, COR Communications Chair.

In this issue:

Goodbye - Well, Sort Of (1)

Goodbye - Well, Sort Of (2)

A report from the International Mounted Games Exchange by Jane Stephenson

A report from the International Quiz by Kyra Holmes

The 2010 Central Ontario Region Awards Banquet

The 2010 Jump Canada Hall of Fame Gala

Goodbye - Well, Sort Of (1)

by Bob Inglis

It may seem strange to start a new edition of CORBits by saying goodbye instead of hello, but this is Your Humble Editor's last edition of CORBits.  I have handed over the reins to Katie Stephenson and Kyra Holmes.  Katie will put together the stories and pictures from now on, but since she claims to blow up computers just by looking at them, she will have some help from Kyra getting from Word (or whatever) to html format.  One of them will then post the edition to the COR part of the Canadian Pony Club website (not decided who will actually do this).  I am still looking for someone to take over the press release part of the Communications Chair job.  In parting, may I say that I have had a good long run and have enjoyed every minute of it.  My decision to step down was actually prompted by the article from Katie, which follows, because it made me realize - with considerable shock - that babies born the year I took on the job as COR Communications Chair were now starting to age out of Pony Club, at least as Active Members.  It does seem like poetic justice that I then turned around and recruited Katie to take over for me.  And so we move on to the next generation.  I have every confidence that COR will be just as well served as in the past, if not better.

Some people at the awards banquet asked me if I planned to give up announcing at Pony Club shows as well.  Good heavens NO!  That would be the last thing I would give up.  At the last PPG Nationals COR hosted, one of the Alberta Dads came up to me and told me "You are having far too much fun behind that mike!"  He was right on.  Especially at PPG meets, I think I have almost as much fun as the kids.  I can't always be available, but please don't stop asking me to announce.

Goodbye - Well, Sort Of (2)

by Katie Stephenson

September 12, 2010

It has been a full 24 hours since I have gone as far as I possibly can in Pony Club, and now here I sit at the computer. A few months ago, my dad suggested that it would be nice if I sat down and wrote a little shpeel about my time in Pony Club. He thought that since I am now so old that Pony Club is going to ceremoniously kick me out on my keester, that it would be a good time to sum it all up and give Bob Inglis something for CORBITS.

Sitting here, I realize that I have covered quite a bit of ground in just 10 years. I have gone from a D1 to an HA and an FRA (that's fancy speak for the new Dressage stream of the A test). Through that particular little journey I have spent many, MANY hours locked alone in a room with nothing but books and umpteen pages of notes and diagrams for company. This may explain my propensity to talk to myself and have discussions with inanimate objects when human company is not around … and sometimes when it is.

I have taken part in every discipline that Canadian Pony Club has to offer. I have fallen in love with Dressage. I have fudged my way through Show Jumping qualifiers. I have become a reluctant but die hard Eventer, despite my cowardly ways and my love-hate relationship with stadium rings. I have coached winning PPG teams and helped, coached and groomed for Le Trec. I have traveled the country for Quiz and was even convinced to pick up an air pistol and have a try at Tetrathlon (ok, so I fired the thing twice - I don't like guns. And lets face it, no one wants to see me run).

Through my time in Pony Club I have made friends that are scattered around the globe. People from various backgrounds and various places, but who are all connected by this odd obsession we share for these four-legged equines. I can honestly say that I have captained 25 riders and grooms at D rally (all on the same team and all in one year) and came back with all of them … eventually. I have taken part in stuffing more people into a hotel room than may be allowed by fire codes and helped in getting the sea lions at West Edmonton Mall riled up with a particularly odd yet simplistic chant. I have officially sat on an executive board of something and watched while some incredibly dedicated people try their best to make Pony Club and its events work, for nothing in return other than to see a kid succeed and have fun.

One thing I didn't realize when my dad first suggested writing this, was that it is not only the end of my time in Pony Club, it is also the end of my mom and dad's time as Pony Club parents. I will still be involved in Pony Club and I am positive my parents will still be involved in one way or another. They too have made friends, and if any of you saw my dad at Le Trec this year, you know he will be back for more. But we won't be Pony Clubbers any more. Thinking back over the years, I am in awe of my mom. Her organizational skills have always astounded me, but now that I am older and have taken a stab at organizing myself … that woman is magic. And how does she get those saddle pads and breeches so clean? The thing that is truly amazing about my mom though is that no matter how much of a crazy person I become before a show or a test, she never wavers. She is always there with a cold drink, a pat for my pony, a good luck for me, and a hug for me at the end of the day. Those few things are really all I need, and sometimes (depending on how the day goes) that hug brings everything back into perspective.

What can I say about my dad? He has worn so many hats in the past decade. He is the best chauffeur I can imagine. From lessons and daily rides, driving the trailer to shows, to driving me and a couple of Pony Club friends down to Rolex, he is always the first to spark up a conversation or to start the laughs (even if they are at his expense). He went from helping my mom organize D rally for a couple of years, to being our clubs DC for the last three. However, his biggest hat has become that of fill in coach; he has become my eyes on the ground. He was a self-taught western rider in his youth. In his case, that means that he has lots of frightening stories to tell and knew how to stay on, but not much in the way of technical knowledge. But the man has horse sense, and he also has the ability to pay attention and ask questions. Either he or my mom have been at practically every lesson since I began riding. However, as my mom is actually allergic to horses (once again, I say that woman is amazing!) my dad gradually began attending more than my mom. What I never realized was that my dad was not only paying extremely close attention to those lessons, he was also quizzing the crap out of my coaches. Once I passed through that annoying teenage phase where I couldn't handle advice from my parents, I discovered that he really knew what he was talking about. He had developed an eye. He has great, very simple and straightforward advice on my jumping and he can tell me when a dressage movement is correct. Since he watches when my coaches make corrections and has listened to their explanations of why, he can provide that same coaching in between lessons. I can honestly say that I don't think I would have passed my A test without him on the ground.

More than anything else, my parents have given me two lessons that are greater than all of what I just ranted about. At the end of every ride, whether it is a test, a show, or simply a lesson, mom has always told me she is proud of me. Whether I do well or not, whether I crash and burn or come home with a red ribbon, she knows that I do the best I can on that day and I know that is all she will ever ask of me. Thanks to her, I have learned to make that the only thing I ever ask of myself. My dad's a little different. He always asks questions. When I played baseball, he would ask, "Did you get dirty?" When I took tests at school he would ask, "Did you spell your name right?" With horses, he asks, "Did you have fun?" To him, that's the only thing that has ever really mattered. Since that is the only thing that matters to him, I have learned to make sure that that is the only thing that really matters to me.

Yes, Pony Club has taken me on a long and sometimes twisty journey. Ok, I probably could have made it a little smoother for myself at some points, but where's the fun in that, right? Pony Club has seen me grow up and mature (in some ways). It has seen me go from a participant and a follower, to a volunteer and a leader. I will always enjoy the time I spent in Pony Club and I will use its lessons for the rest of my life. But I have to say, my favorite memory of Pony Club will always be from yesterday. When Gwen handed me that paper that said I had passed and once again both my parents were there to share it with me. They had earned their A's as much as I had.

International Mounted Games Exchange 2010

by Jane Stephenson

The 2010 IMGE tour was a once in a life time opportunity. I met so many interesting people and made many friends from so many places. For the Canadian team, the tour started with a four day training camp at our chaperone Alison Rainford's farm. There, we got to know each other and how we rode together. From there, we flew to Heathrow and began the tour in the Devon and Somerset counties of England.

For the first part of the tour, we stayed at Bella and Marcus Capel's farm. Everyone from the tour stayed there, we camped in tents and had a great time. We were close to the coast and one day, we went to the beach. We got to see lots of things and meet members of Pony Clubs in that area. One of the things we got to do was go to the Devon/Somerset camp, we were put into teams with the campers and played PPGs on foot with them and everyone had fun. At the North Devon County Fair, there was a demonstration of mounted games, the teams were mixed and we borrowed ponies. One of the games we had to play was sack race. However, in Great Britain all four team members have to hop in the sack at the same time!

The second part of the tour took us to Kent. Here we were split into pairs and we stayed with separate billet families. I stayed with the Minto family, with Julia Gates who was on the American team. During our stay in Kent, we visited London and saw the King's Troop, Greenwich Park which is the site of the 2012 equestrian Olympics, and the Royal Mews. We also went on the London Eye, the views are amazing. The second day in London, the entire group went for tea at the Goring Hotel. The Goring is one of the oldest family owned hotels in London and the "high" tea was very grand to say the least.

The last part of the tour was near Warwickshire, in the centre of England. There we spent two days riding, we got to practice a bit and ride different ponies. The second day was a fun competition/demonstration for the tenth anniversary of Grendon Equestrian. The last two days of the tour were spent at the Pony Club Championships, we got to look around and watch the different disciplines and shop. The competition was close the entire way, but in the end Great Britain won and Canada came fourth. The tour was a fantastic experience and I will always remember it.

Editor's Note:  COR was represented on the Canadian team not only by Jane Stephenson but also by James Cruikshanks.

International Quiz 2010

by Kyra Holmes

Hello COR! This year I was chosen to be on the AB team for Canada, along with two girls, Casey and Jill from BCLM and Emily from BCI. We were the only AB team this year at Internationals unfortunately, as the other countries could not field a team or didn't feel like coming, which was a disappointment to all of us. That being said, the USA sent up a C team which was mixed in with our two C teams and we all had lots of fun traveling together for ten days!

The first day we flew into Halifax and met up with everyone at the hotel. The AB team was being chaperoned by John and Debbie Moehring, who we lovingly called Papa John and Mama Deb the entire trip. The next day we got into our caravan of Caravan Vans (Can you say that five times fast?!) and headed over to PEI. While I loved PEI, I did not like the 17 km bridge over the water to get to it. Confederation Bridge is very lovely, but me being terrified of heights and bridges, I didn't get to see too much of it.

Now I know that everything they say about PEI is true. Yes, there is bright red dirt there. There are lots, and lots, and lots of potatoes, and we were right in the middle of the harvest, so we were constantly seeing trucks of spuds driving down the road. Everyone there is very, very nice, and everywhere you go you see gorgeous scenery of either the ocean or the fields filled with dairy cows!

We stopped off at our cottages to drop off our luggage and get everyone's beds sorted out, and then headed over to Charlottetown to visit Founders Hall, the museum about the very important meeting where Confederation was created. After Founders hall off we went to have dinner. Now, being in the Maritimes, the best dinner you can have is LOBSTER! I had never actually had lobster prior to this trip, so I figured if I am going to start, I might as well start right. We had our lobster dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf, which was right on the water and is pretty famous for their lobster dinners (or so I hear). We had our very attractive plastic bibs and were ready to start cracking open some crustaceans, and it was pretty good! Fisherman's Wharf is also where I picked up the now infamous Lobster Slippers, Crusty the Crustacean and Larry the Lobster, who became the unofficial mascots of the AB team. Our entire team managed to buy a pair, so we had quite a bit of fun with those.

The next day we headed off to Meridian Farms, a Standardbred breeding and training farm. Standardbreds are the most popular breed on PEI, with a huge industry. For an island with a population of just over 130,000, they have two very large and busy standardbred tracks, so it is a pretty big deal! We got to see a few colts getting ready for the auction in a week, a group of really adorable foals, and we got to meet the farm's best pacer, who was really, really adorable.

After the farm, we continued on to the Red Shores Track to have lunch, sponsored by the PEI Minister of Agriculture. Unfortunately there was no racing happening, so we just got to enjoy the lovely scenery instead.

Continuing on with our horse theme of the day, we went to Brudenell Stables to go on a trail ride. It was a really lovely place, with gorgeous scenery and really good horses. I think they were all quite confused to have real riders on their back instead of the usual tourists! The farm was run by a Pony Club graduate so everything was looked after very well. It was a lot of fun to go as a group and experience that.

We went to the cottages and crashed that night, with some of us staying up to study in the hot tubs. Oh, what a hard life! My cabin had a hot tub and some of the American girls came over and studied with us, so we got to really talk about the differences in the two countries' Pony Clubs and the way they are run. I think both countries can learn a lot from each other, which is really good.

The third day we went on a drive to the other side of the island, to see the Bottle Houses. These houses were the creation of a local artist who had his own way of recycling! When he built them in the 70's, there was no recycling of glass bottles, so he decided to collect thousands of them and build these lovely buildings. There was a chapel, with the different coloured bottles set in the cement so that it was very, very colourful and bright when the sun streamed through. There was the Six Gabled House, which was just that, a house with six gables! And of course, since they were all liquor bottles, he built a tavern! It was pretty neat, to just imagine one man spending thousands of hours cleaning and sorting the bottles and then laying them by hand to create the massive works of art.

In the afternoon we decided that it was a fun idea to go to the beach! We drove down some red dirt road, and managed to wade our way through about two feet of dried kelp on the shore to get to the water. It was really pretty, and really relaxing to just go on the water. Papa John, being the funny trickster he is, decided to tie everyone's shoes together while they were playing in the sand! The looks of confusion on their faces were HILARIOUS!

Off we went to New Glasgow to visit a jam factory and have dinner overlooking one of the most beautiful rivers I saw on the whole trip. We got to enjoy a lovely traditional PEI music, sung by a guy from the 'Up West' side of the Island. He really pulled us into the PEI lifestyle, singing about red mud sucking off your gum boots, and people making soup with coveralls in it, and lots of other traditional folk songs.

That night we actually did a written test as a team, and played some games. These helped the Americans get used to our format, but they were all counted and the marks were applied to our final scores.

The next day we went to the Anne of Green Gables Museum, which was the house that Lucy Maud Montgomery spent a lot of time in growing up, as it was her aunt and uncle's house. We saw the room she stayed in, and some quilts she made, and a lot of signed, first edition books! We went on a little wagon ride tour of the property and got to plant and dig up some PEI Potatoes!

After that we were off to the Cows factory! Cows is the most famous ice cream company of the Maritimes, and the most delicious. They are also known for their hilarious T shirts that parody pop culture, by having pictures of cows in place of the subject, such as Harry Mooter, or moomoolemon. We got to see how they make the ice cream, how they make the famous shirts, and the best part of all, we got to taste some ice cream!

That night we drove back across the terrifying bridge and back into Nova Scotia! We got into our hotel where we would be staying for the remainder of the trip and go to 'relax' (study) for the rest of the night.

Thursday we went off to the Citadel, which is the old Fort Halifax. What a gorgeous view those soldiers had! The best view of the city and the harbour, for sure. We got to wander around the citadel and learn about the various wars that occurred in the area, and about the life there in the 1800s. Every day they shoot off a cannon at 8 am and at noon, and we were lucky enough to be there for the noon gun. It was very, very, VERY loud! We learned a lot in the schoolhouse about the education of the times, and we learned about the lifestyles of the soldiers, including a visit to the barracks where we learned about the different types of clothing they wore.

That afternoon we got to go on a whale watching tour. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any whales, but we saw a bunch of birds and some fish! It also gave us a really neat view of the port, which is the second largest in the world. There were four cruise ships in that day, along with a few container ships and a bunch of little ships. We saw Theodore the Tugboat, a very important character of my youth! We learned about lobster traps and how they work and we got to see one get pulled up on our boat, where we learned how to band lobsters and tell if they are male or female, and lots of other cool facts.

Friday was our last day as an International group before we joined in with National Quiz. We headed off to Peggy's Cove, possibly the windiest place I have ever been. We saw the lighthouse, which is the most photographed lighthouse in all of Canada, and got to play on the rocks for a long time, enjoying the salt spray on our faces. Luckily we were all good children and managed to not be swept into the ocean by rogue waves, which happens five times a year. Terrifying, most definitely.

That evening we had a meet and greet with the National kids and got signed in. We took our official team pictures, lobster slippers included!

Saturday, we wrote the written test and played games. There were some really tough games this year. Charades was pretty hard, can you try getting someone to guess fleabitten grey?! We had lots of fun, but we worked for every point!

Saturday night we went to a dinner theatre where we enjoyed a musical about some teenagers on the beach in the 60's. It was filled with really cool music, and the group had a great time.

Sunday morning we did visuals, and then managed to have a few hours to crash and sleep before going to the banquet.

The banquet was fun, with the International Challenge happening on stage that night. We had to answer questions in a sort of Jeopardy style, writing our answers down and revealing them to the crowd and the judges. Lots of racing trivia was in it, which we had luckily studied.

My International team ended up third in the International part, and we placed first as an AB team. Overall I ended up sixth, so it was a really successful weekend to end the best week of my Pony Club career!

Hopefully you will get the chance to compete at International or National Quiz one year. It really is a blast, and you get to meet so many people from other parts of Canada and the United States.

Thanks to all of our chaperones and the volunteers who put in hours of work to put this together for us!

Kyra Holmes

Active Member Director East

Maple Pony Club

Year-End Awards

Dressage

Third Level

Johanna McKeen & Braveheart (Oshawa) - Avg. 61.12

First Level-A

Alexandra Sprague & Come as you Are (Kawartha) - Avg. 65.07

First Level - B

Meghan Lloyd & Cab Fare (Durham) - Avg 63.27

First Level Freestyle

Alexandra Sprague & Come as you Are (Kawartha) - Avg. 65.42

Training Level

Jennifer McKeen & Regal's Inferno (Oshawa) - Avg. 67.11

Nicole Russell-Pouliquin & Everybody Loves Raymond (Oshawa) - Avg. 65.33

Janene Howran & VerUnique (Kawartha) - Avg. 64.95

Brigid Goulem & Sans Souci (Kawartha) - Avg. 63.55

Pre-Training Level

Janel Semple & Lucky Penny (Kawartha) - Avg. 64.76

Emily Lindsay & Shatar (Rising Starr) - Avg. 63.96

Kaitlyn Henderson & Dexter (King) - Avg. 62.89

Pre-Training Freestyle

Kaitlyn Henderson & Dexter (King) - Avg. 65.25

Starter Level

Jesse Rowe & Adante (Durham) - Avg. 67.46

Cassandra Henderson & Maximus (King) - Avg. 65.405

Starter Freestyle

Cassandra Henderson & Maximus (King) - Avg. 70.5

Entry Level

Katie McCoy-Bridges & Licorice (TNY) - Avg 68.70

Lily Solomon & Tango (TNY) - Avg 67.31

Noa Butler & Driving Miss Daisy (Oshawa) - Avg 64.48

The Wes Goff Award for high point dressage went to Katie McCoy-Bridges and Licorice, of the Toronto & North York Pony Club.

Additionally, Dressage Chair Marie Howran paid tribute to the members of the Central Ontario team at the National Dressage Championships, all of whom did well.  They were:

* Meg Scott of the Victoria Pony Club, at the Starter level - first in Test 1, third in Test 2, first at the written test, third overall

* Jenna Crone of the Rising Star Pony Club, at the Pre-Training level - third in Test 1, fourth in Test 2, sixth overall

* Ali Sprague of the Kawartha Pony Club, at the Training level - third in Test 4, fourth in the written test, fourth overall

* Meaghan Lloyd of the Durham Pony Club, at First Level - tied for fourth in Test 3, fourth in the mystery test, ninth overall

* Johanna McKeen of Oshawa, at the Second Level in the Affiliate Members group (Affiliate Members are 21-25 years old as of January 1, and compete only against each other, not against the younger riders) - first in Test 3, second in Test 4, third in the mystery test, second in the written test, third overall

* Carolyn Russell-Poliquin, also of Oshawa, at the Third Level - first in the FEI Individual test, second in the Preliminary test, second in the mystery test, second in the written test, second overall.

Show Jumping

Jennifer McKeen, of Oshawa Pony Club, represented COR at the National Medal Finals, hosted by Alberta South Region, September 10-12. At a national event all riders compete on borrowed horses. Ms McKeen finished as the National Champion. CONGRATULATIONS Jenn!!

Here are the year-end placings at our regional level.

Pre-Entry A1

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
1	Olivia Gionet	Tarragon	Rising Star
2	Reilly Norman	Timbit	Rising Star
3	Lily Solomon	Tango	Toronto & North York
4	Alexandra Saltouridis	Cute as a Button	Brooklin

Pre-Entry A2

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
1	Rachel Dainard	Daisy	Brooklin
2	Nina Micanovic	Aphrodite	Brooklin
3	Grace Varley	What's Up Doc	Maple
4	Samantha Migus	Athena	Brooklin
5	Rachel Draper	Heidi	Brooklin
6	Amanda Durham	Trigger JR	Kawartha

Pre-Entry B

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
1	Jacqueline Smith	Faolin Ruadh	Maple
2	Rachel Smith	The Backstreet Kid	Kawartha
3	Sarah Meeke	Apollo	Brooklin
4	Jessie Paul-Griffin	Flubberbunny	Maple
5	Talia Rockman	Flaska's T.Jay Tuppence	Maple
6	Samantha Fletcher	Skittles	Brooklin
7	Nicole Russell-Poliquin	Everybody Loves Raymond	Oshawa

Pre-Entry Schooling

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
1	Emily Lindsay	Shatar	Rising Star
2	Alexandra Reynolds	Take A Second Glance	Kawartha
3	Chelsea Geer	Lightning Louie	Uxbridge-Scugog
4	Jocelyn Donaldson	Romeo	Uxbridge-Scugog

Entry

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
1	Kiara Crosbie	Big Friendly Giant	Maple
2	Dalton Wright	Whistling Jay	Durham
3	Amy Westlund	Doco's Legacy	Rising Star
4	Jessie Harvey	Kabob	Centaurus
5	Elyse Dondy	Silkawda	Maple
6	Patricia Rothenburg	Budryk	Centaurus

Starter

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
1	Rachel Scott	Peanut	Victoria
2	Kaitlyn Henderson	Dexter	King
3	Stacy Bootsma	Get Off My Cloud	Rising Star

Beginner

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
1	Rachel Scott	Diamonds from Sierra	Victoria
2	Jenna Meeser	In The Ribbons	Rising Star

Novice - Only one entry qualified for an award (first place) in the Novice Division, Samantha Lobbezoo of the Brooklin Pony Club riding Huki's Last Knight.

Prince Philip Games

At the A level, a combined Uxbridge-Scugog/Durham team won the Regional championship, went on to finish second in the Central Canada Zone competition and also in the National Championship.  The COR A Champion team included Nathan Kersten, Emily Fraser and Rachel Stewart of Uxbridge-Scugog, plus Michelle Treen and Jessica Rowe of Durham.

In the Masters competition, Uxbridge-Scugog also finished first in our Region, and then went on to win both the Central Canada Zone and the National Championship.  The members of this team were Kendra Abbey, Mori Cruikshanks, James Cruikshanks, Jesse Durward and Samantha Macdonald.

The Temiskaming Pony Club team took the honours at the B level, with a team comprising Allie Heroux, Haylee Archambault, Jordan McVittie and Angelica Brisson.  

At the C level, a combined Temiskaming/Toronto & North York team was first.  That team included Reid Archambault, Spencer Brisson, Lexi Williams and Sonia Breault fromTemiskaming, plus Lily Solomon from Toronto & North York.

And of course, as you saw earlier, Jane Stephenson of Uxbridge-Scugog was a member of Team Canada, which finished fourth in the International Mounted Games Exchange in Britain.

Rallies

D Rally

At the D level, Katie McCoy-Bridges of the Toronto & North York Pony Club was the winner riding Licorice. Second place went to another Toronto & North York rider, Lily Solomon on Tango, with Grace Varley of the Maple Pony Club third riding Trixie Belle.

Jamie May Paterson of the Centaurus Pony Club won the D1 Division on Sydney. Second place went to Olivia Gionet of the Rising Star Pony Club riding Tarragon. Third place went to another Centaurus rider, Rebecca McDowell, on Take A Chance.

In the D2 Division, Kaitlyn Henderson of the King Pony Club took the honours on Dexter, followed by Jennifer Hill, also of King, on Wellington Boots, with third place going to Kiara Crosbie of the Maple Pony Club on Big Friendly Giant. Less than half a penalty point separated these riders, from first to third.

In the Open Division, Karen Foell of the Toronto & North York Pony Club placed first on Jewel, with Emily Lindsay of the Rising Star Pony Club second on Shatar and Jocelyn Donaldson of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club third on Romeo.

This year's Stable Management Award winner was the Rising Star Pony Club (as in 2009), with Toronto & North York second and Maple third. Outstanding grooms and team captains were also recognized, with awards going to Emma Bradbury of Centaurus, Amy Westlund of Rising Star, Laura Gilligan of Toronto & North York, Shaylyn Lucas of Maple, and Emily Jonknan and Emily Banks-Ng, both of King.

ABC Rally

Central Ontario sent one rider and one groom to the ABC Rally run in Western Ontario Region.  Shaylyn Lucas of Maple and her mount Faolin Ruadh were on the second place team and also placed second individually in the Entry Division.  Our groom, Kyra Holmes, finished with a minus penalty score (!) to lead all grooms.

National Rally

Kyra Holmes also represented Central Ontario at the National Rally in BC Lower Mainland and, although she did not finish in the ribbons, reports having an enjoyable time.  She may also have become the first Central Ontario Pony Clubber to represent our region at national or international competitions held on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts in the same year.

Quiz

Kyra Holmes and Emily Boyce of the Maple Pony Club qualified to represent Central Ontario in A/B competition at the National Quiz, to be held in Nova Scotia this October. Hilary Howran of Kawartha and three Maple members, Emily White-Williams, Molly White-Williams and Jen Stoltz, qualified at the C level. At the D2 level, ribbons went to the top individual competitors, Amy Westland and Kayla Weber, both of Rising Star, and to Jennifer Boadway and Cassandra Henderson, both of Toronto & North York.

Pony Clubs also compete at a Branch level on display projects, based on a set theme - this year, "Buying a horse". First place went to the King Pony Club, with Brooklin second and Rising Star third.

As noted earlier, Kyra Holmes actually competed for Canada at the International Quiz in Halifax.

Le Trec

o D: 1st – Durham/TNY (Kierra Barber, Brianna Wright, Lily Solomon)

       2nd – Millridge (Jared Williams, Cole Woodfine, Shalom Leger)

o D1: 1st – Durham (Meaghan Lloyd, Kaisha Barber)

         2nd – Durham (Jessi Rowe, Dalton Wright)

         3rd – Kawartha (Solstice Pecile, Janel Semple)

         4th – Maple/Durham (Grace Varley, Stephanie Barrie)

o D2: 1st – Ellen Thomas (Arete de Chene)

         2nd – McKenna Tinney (Arete de Chene)

         3rd – Laura McKeown (Arete de Chene)

         4th – Kaitlyn Henderson (King)

o C: 1st – Ali Sprague (Kawartha)

o Adult: 1st – Lesley McCoy

            2nd – Karen Foell

            3rd – Michelle Cruikshank

            4th – Mike Stephenson

            5th – Gregory Brown

           6th – Cathy Fracalanza

           7th – Christine Pride-McLaughline

           8th – Sue Foell

Royal China Memorial Award

This year the award went to Licorice, who has served several members of the McCoy family.  Here is the winning nomination.

My story begins about 11 years ago. We had two pony-crazy six year old girls, my daughter Meghan and my niece Julia, who had been riding on and off for about three years. We were finding they were a little stuck in their progress however, as they were nervous to canter and jump. The search for the ideal pony to help build up their confidence began. We wanted to find something steady and forgiving yet not a plug or stubborn. After twelve long months of looking we finally found the newest member of our family.

Licorice is a black 12.1/2hh mare, with a kissable snip; well, we think that is what it is for, much to her chagrin. She was twelve years old when we got her. Within in a short time she bonded with the girls and her honest nature helped them overcome the canter hurdle. Once that was out of the way there was no stopping them. Licorice steadily did everything that was asked of her, with enough energy to teach them a few things but with a sound enough mind to be oh so SAFE!

Meghan started with dressage on her and then quickly switched to jumping. She competed in the short stirrup division on the Central East Trillium circuit. Unfortunately she eventually outgrew her and we were faced with finding our pony a new home. As we found out this is easier said than done as our family could not face the idea of her being sold. After much thought (and tears), we decided we couldn't sell her. We wanted her to be useful so she went to live at a riding school to teach numerous new children how to ride. She was the favorite in the school, the kids liked that she easily moved off their leg without taking off and that she would jump anything they aimed her at.

In 2005 we joined the Toronto & North York pony club. It wasn't long before we brought Licorice back from the school to try using her for PPG's. Turns out this was a passion for Licorice, she started out at the B level showing no fear and steadily letting Meghan get a feel for all of the games. As Meghan moved up to the A level Licorice showed us how she had more to offer and was one of the faster ponies out there even though she was smaller than many of them at that level. That year they were regional, zone and national champions!

Other than games we also found that she would truck through water and over cross country jumps with ease. Licorice was instrumental in helping the kids get a feel for everything that Pony Club has to offer. She even stood for hours while they learned to braid and clip.

The following year my five year old niece Katie started to ride and Licorice in her usual fashion went through the motions of bringing yet another little one along, looking after her while still having more speed and challenges to offer the more advanced riders.

It wasn't long before Licorice was competing in the C, A & Masters level of games being the "go to" pony that everyone wanted to use. She happily goes in the C level games, never breaking into a canter while Katie perfects her skills, yet goes out into the higher levels and shows way more enthusiasm as she canters and gallops all of the races.

This (her 22nd ) year has been one of her busiest. Licorice competed in PPG's again in the C and Masters divisions making it to zones again; she easily went from doing games one day to steadily going around the show ring the next as Katie tried her hand at showing dressage. She finished off the year as Entry level champion at the finals and took Katie to her first rally where she was D champion!

As if it wasn't enough that she has brought three children in my family along, this year I decided to re-live my youth and started to ride again. Of course being a PPGer in the past I had to try my hand at games again. We competed in a few Mounted Games pairs meets and she readily showed me the ropes, sometimes I'm sure wondering why she had to wait so long for me to complete a task that takes the kids no time at all. We travelled to the U.S. a couple of times to compete in games and I also rode her in LeTrec this year; we had such a fun time!

She loves her kids and will try anything they ask her. Typical pony she will also eat anything they are eating as well, especially watermelon and when Katie is eating rice crispy squares she MUST give her some. We can't help but spoil her as she has a special place in all of our hearts and she deserves every bit of it!

She has a long resume and has taught all of us so much. I could go on forever; she is truly a wonderful pony that we cherish. As we try to look for a larger pony I am unable to fathom how we could possibly find another pony that could come close to her. She has truly taught the girls how to ride, have fun and easily worked her way into our hearts, and the hearts of most that have the pleasure of riding her. She is honest, versatile and willing to do whatever we throw at her.

Many people know how hard it is to find the all round pony that is a teacher and friend, I am so thankful that we found Licorice!

Respectfully submitted by Lesley McCoy

Welsh Pony and Cob High Point Award Program

Howran Hills Farm, on behalf of The Welsh Pony and Cob Association of Ontario, annually sponsors an open high point award for the Central Ontario Region of Pony Club. The open high point award is intended to encourage those who exhibit registered Purebred or Halfbred Welsh ponies or Cobs in any sanctioned Central Ontario Pony Club horse show or specified event.

The competitor need not be the Champion to earn points. Simply participating is rewarded with points toward this year-end recognition.

The Welsh Pony and Cob Association of Ontario wants to recognize Welsh ponies and cobs who are competing in Pony Club and who often go on to serve many generations of members.

Awards:

All Around High Point Purebred Welsh Pony or Cob (horse with most total points)  The purebred Welsh winner for 2010 was PPF Garnet (a.k.a. "Darnit Garnet") ridden by Michelle and Juliana Treen of the Durham Pony Club.

All Around High Point Half-Welsh Pony or Cob (horse with most total points)   The Half-Welsh winner was Wabibrook Tarragon, ridden by Olivia Gionet of the Rising Star Pony Club.

Stillwoods Farm Award

This is an award for the best job training a young and/or green horse/pony during the season.  To qualify, you must apply for the award at the start of the season with a "status report" on the current stage of your mount, and then submit a "progress report" at the end of the season.  This year's winner was Emily Boyce of the Maple Pony Club.  She was the recipient as Edwine Hugnholtz, owner and operator of Stillwoods Farm,.was impressed with the excellent work plan and progress made to bring along her five year old Irish Sport Horse called Carleigh MacDuff in order to prepare him for a career in eventing. Edwine felt that Emily best demonstrated and followed her (Edwine's) mother's philosophy regarding bringing along young horses slowlyand carefully in order to allow them time to mature towards a successful career.

Chair's Award

Here is the presentation as made by Regional Chair Sue Foell.

Each year it is the honour of our Regional Chair to select a member or members for the Annual "Chair's Award". This volunteer is recognized for their significant contribution to the Board and the Region. This year I have chosen two members of the board who are always there to support our members, the region and especially me. They are both quiet, and are usually found behind the scenes, rather than on the "centerstage". Their work is integral to the functioning of our board. Their work is always noticed, but rarely acknowledged. They are able to keep me organized and timely, which is no small feat!

It gives me great pleasure to present to you the 2011 COR Chair's Award recipients, our Regional Secretary, Debbie Baker and our Webmaster, Teri Lindsay.

Thank you both for all your great work!

Karen Meuleman Award

Karen Meuleman was a member of the Leitchcroft Pony Club who was part of a severe motor accident on her way to enter a dressage show in March 1989. This memorial award was created by the Leitchcroft Pony Club branch in memory of Karen. As the branch is now retired due to the sale of the property known as Leitchcroft Farm, the branch has given the award to the Central Ontario Region.

Recipients of the award can be of any level within Pony Club and from any branch within the Region. There is a trophy that remains with the Region with a plate with the winner's name engraved upon it. The winner is presented with a commemorative gift and an award card.

This year's winner is Kyra Holmes of the Maple Pony Club.  Her nomination form, written by Katie Stephenson, reads as follows.

The Karen Meueleman award is given to "a member who best meets the ideals of Pony Club in his/her participation in activities, sportsmanship and effort, support of others and progress in riding and horsemanship during the current year." This is a hard award to give out, because Central Ontario is full of Pony Clubbers with high participation, great sportsmanship, who put in more effort and time than can be calculated and who come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Maple's nomination for the award this year is a unique individual who, while being one of the more vertically challenged of our members, is one of the few members in COR who just gets more involved as she gets older.

Kyra Holmes may not be the tallest girl in Pony Club, but is without a doubt one of the hardest to ignore … She seems to be everywhere!!!!! This year she took on the role of Active Member Rep for the East. As one of two Active Member Representatives in Canada, Kyra travelled literally all over the country to head up youth conferences and take part in national meetings. She has spent the year sending out questions, information and updates to our members and is one of the two who takes the members' ideas and opinions forward to National. While she does not sit on COR's board, she is often to be found at the regional meetings, bringing forward updates from national, from members and generally keeping the discussions going.

As an Active Member herself, she has been a busy girl this year. She took part in regional dressage (a shock to all who know her, believe me), regional quiz and won Best Groom award at WOR/COR ABC rally. While she did not represent COR at National Show Jumping this year (she did that last year) she did represent us at National Rally. She represented COR at National Quiz and represented Canada at International Quiz. She also achieved her HB this year and took advantage of the new streaming system to achieve her FRB (the new flat ride B … again with the dressage, she must be growing up or something).

She also helped out at Maple's Greenhawk Shopping nights, which really turned into COR shopping nights. She helped organize discussions, hand outs and ran groups for subjects ranging from Bandaging and Tack to First Aid. The truth is, Kyra really is a Quiz nerd at heart and if you want to know anything about horsemanship, especially tack, she is a good first stop. She helped Maple's younger members with Horsemanship test prep as well as helping members from other clubs prepare for D-rally cross country. Speaking of D rally, she was there as one of your evil stable management judges … oh, and at some point someone handed her a stethoscope and she was the vet check after cross country. And if any of you made it down to The Horse Palace during Doors Open Toronto, you would have seen her down there, representing Pony Club to the non-horsie of the city.

I have had the pleasure of watching Kyra and her mount Heart mature over the past few years. I remember their semi-controlled chaos when Heart would not accept a bit. I have watched a number of entertaining rides where their mirroring personalities have made dressage seem more like a root canal, but I have also seen them develop into a fun and fast pair on cross country, I have been jealous of their jumper rounds for longer than I would like to admit and, like I said, she got her FRB … that's dressage!!!!

Kyra is always the first to cheer. She steps up whenever asked, and often steps up before anyone has the chance to ask. She is one of the most vocal supporters of Pony Club and fellow Pony Clubbers. She is one of the few who will risk talking to me on show days, and possibly the only one with the courage to mock me on said show days. The truth is, she is always a welcome and reliable source of humour and laughter. She is an example to our younger members of what can be accomplished and where you can go if you stick with Pony Club and get involved. And we at Maple think she is an excellent candidate for the Karen Meuelman award.

Written by Katie, but submitted enthusiastically by Maple.

The picture shows Kyra being presented with the award by former Regional and National Chair Karol Shipley.

Double/Triple/Quadruple Dippers

As usual, we would like to send out a special salute to those who won awards in more than one discipline or category.  These are in no particular order of importance, just in the order I spotted them.

Kyra Holmes of Maple - It was hard not to spot Kyra first, given the write-up immediately above.  In addition to the Karen Meuleman Award, Kyra was a member of the winning AB team at National Quiz, a member of the third place team at International Quiz and sixth individually; won the Best Groom award at the Western Ontario Region ABC Rally, and represented COR at National Rally.

Lily Solomon and Tango of Toronto & North York - A member of the Champion C Division PPG team, second in Entry Level in Dressage, second in the D Division at D Rally, third in the Pre-Entry A1 Division in Show Jumping.

Emily Lindsay and Shatar of Rising Star - Schooling Champion in Show Jumping, Reserve in Pre-Training Dressage, and second in the Open Divisin at D Rally.

Nicole Russell-Poliquin and Everybody Loves Raymond of Oshawa - Reserve in Training Dressage, seventh in Pre-Entry B Show Jumping.

Kaitlyn Henderson and Dexter of King - First in the D2 Division of D Rally, Pre-Training Freestyle Champion and third in Pre-Training Dressage, Reserve in Starter Show Jumping.

Olivia Gionet and Tarragon of Rising Star - Pre-Entry A1 Show Jumping Champion, second in the D Division at D Rally, and Tarragon won the high points award in the Half-Welsh category from the Welsh Pony and Cob Association of Ontario.

Katie McCoy-Bridges and Licorice of Toronto & North York - Entry Level Champion and Wes Goff Award winner in Dressage, first in the D Division at D Rally, and Licorice won the Royal China Award.

Kiara Crosbie and Big Friendly Giant of Maple - Entry Level Champion in Show Jumping and third at the D2 level in D Rally.

Jocelyn Donaldson and Romeo of Uxbridge-Scugog - Third in the Open Division at D Rally, fourth in the Schooling Division of Show Jumping.

Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa - National Show Jumping Champion, and also Regional Training Level Champion in Dressage, on Regal's Inferno.

Grace Varley of Maple - Third in the Pre-Entry A2 Division of Show Jumping and also third in the D Division of D Rally (different horses).

Jessica Rowe and Andante of Durham - Starter Level Champion in Dressage, and a member of the Regional Champion A Level PPG team (second at the Zone and National levels).

Amy Westlund and Doco's Legacy of Rising Star - Third in the Entry Division of Show Jumping, and "Outstanding Captain/Groom" winner at D Rally.

Shaylyn Lucas and Faolin Ruadh of Maple - Member of the second place team, and second individually, at the WOR ABC Rally.

Emily Boyce of Maple - Regional Quiz and Stillwoods Farm Award.

If I have missed anyone, please let me know and I'll post a revised version.

The 2010 Jump Canada Hall of Fame Gala

On November 7, the Canadian Pony Club was inducted into the Jump Canada Hall of Fame as a Builder.  This was a tremendous honour.  We are only the third organization inducted into the Hall as a Builder, following the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the George and Dianne Tidball Thunderbird Show Park.  Among the other 2010 inductees were Cagney - Eric Lamaze's first great horse - and Jim Elder.  Heady company indeed.  As part of the induction ceremony for CPC, there was a great video in which some of our more famous alumni talked about their experiences in Pony Club and what their membership meant to them.  That list included Ian Millar, Tom Gayford, Beth Underhill, Debbie Weir, Jim Day and Jim Elder, who had even more positive things to say about Pony Club in his own acceptance speech.  

A couple of interesting tidbits from the video and from Jim Elder's acceptance speech: 

-  Beth Underhill failed her C test on the first try despite getting 99% on the written portion, because she got so nervous she put on a bandage backwards!  But she kept trying and eventually got her A.  

-  Jim Elder was a member of the Canadian Equestrian Team for 35 years (!) between eventing and show jumping, during which time Canada never finished worse than fifth in international team competition.  Wow!

Here we see Beth Underhill (left) presenting the award to the incoming National Chair, Cathy Miller.  As part of her acceptance speech, Cathy asked everyone who had ever been involved with Pony Club in some capacity to put their hands up, and Your Humble Editor estimates that at least half the 200+ people in the room raised their hands.

I cannot resist including pictures of some of the COR contingent with some of Pony Club's illustrious alumni.  Here are the three "Special K's" - from left to right, Kyra Holmes, Katie Stephenson and Karen Foell - with Jim Elder.

Your Humble Editor, his wife Liz, Cathy Miller, Kyra Holmes, Katie Stephenson and Karol Shipley got to meet Ian Millar.

The three "Special K's" again, this time with Karen Foell on the left, Kyra Holmes in the centre and Katie Stephenson at right.  Does anybody recognize the guy with them?  Okay okay, he never belonged to Pony Club but he seems to have made out okay despite this.  We all have our obstacles to overcome.

Thats all for this issue, and that's all for me.  Over to you, Katie!

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