Nova Scotia Region December 2003 Newsletter

Receive your NS Pony Club Newsletter by Email: If you are interested in forwarding your email address to us, we will gladly set up an email distribution list for the newsletter mailing list. That way as soon as it’s ready, you will be one of the first to receive it, and the Region can save a little money in postage for those issues that are normally mailed. Interested??? Send your email to: Emily Dexter - mysticstar07@hotmail.com .

From the Regional Chair

The National CPC Semi Annual Meeting (SAM), was held Toronto on November 9-10th. It proved to be a very interesting meeting and a lot was accomplished.

Nova Scotia Region - Our new name better describes our area of operation. We are also in a better position to apply for provincial grants. There was a request that we form an Atlantic Region, however our position at this time is that it would place an extra burden on us due to the distance/expanse of an Atlantic Region. Tantramar remains in our region as they exist on the Regional Boundary and traditionally members come from the Amherst/Sackville/Tantramar areas.

New Membership Categories - As of January 1, 2004, Affiliate Testing Member and Affiliate Educational Member categories are available to those members from 21 to 24 years of age. The criteria was developed by the youth with the assistance of an Ad-Hoc committee and the Board was very interested and supportive of their views and comments. The requirements can be found on the CPC website . Hats off to our past Active Member Directors for accomplishing this change as these categories have been discussed and reviewed for the past 10 years.

Annual Youth Meeting - Another recommendation from the Active Member Directors is to continue the youth meeting at quiz. Many wonderful ideas came from these meetings so the Board agreed to make this an annual event. Each region will designate one of their quiz team members to attend.

Graduate Pins, 10 Year Member Pins and Volunteer Pins - Nova Scotia graduates recognized were Laura MacEachern, Fairwind; Elizabeth Crewe, Colchester; Amber Hancock, Annapolis; and Jackie Allen, Annapolis. 10 year pins were awarded to Elizabeth Crewe, Amber Hancock ,Jackie Allen, Joseph Holowinia, Tantramar; Inga Hansen, Tantramar; Lauren Johnson, Colchester; and Lindsay Steele, Annapolis. Although NS did not acknowledge any volunteers for 15 and 25 years of service, please remember to submit names to Carollyn Crewe, NS Regional Chair - 2004, in time for the AGM in April.

Active Member Directors - Our very own Emily Dexter is elected as one of two Active Member Directors. The candidates for the 2 Youth Directors were very impressive. The Board was very impressed with Emily’s dedication and involvement with her work not only on the branch level, but with her regular contribution on the regional and national levels. Michael Kurylko from Manitoba is the other Active Member Director.

Elections for your branch youth rep should be completed. Your branch youth rep should compile a list of e-mail addresses of your members to forward our Regional Youth Director.

Testing - Gwen Barnes, National Testing Chair, presented an overview of national and regional testing (SLOV & NB/PEI not included). 34 members tested C2 and 83% passed; 40 members tested B and 78% passed; 12 members tested B2 and 50% passed; 14 members wrote the A exam and 100% passed; 8 members tested HA and 50% passed and 10 members tested RA and 50% passed. A testing is very expensive and a motion was made that fees for the HA and RA tests will be $200 per test. A refund of $100 per test will be made if the candidate attends testing. The written test remains at $50, which is totally non-refundable.

Insurance - CPC requested bids from many insurance companies. To our surprise only two companies responded. After the presentations by the two insurance companies and many questions it was decided to enter into negotiations for a contract with InterCity Insurance Services. The insurance will cost approximately $28,000. All our members must join their Provincial Sports Organization, PSO. This reflects in the more favourable rate. Insurance packages will be available after January 1, 2004.

PSO Membership - Effective January 1, 2004 members must be a join NSEF or NBEF. Your DC can direct you. Information can be obtained from NSEF, nsef@sportns.ns.ca or call 902-425-5450. Tantramar members should contact NBEF, horses@nbnet.nb.ca or call 506-357-8229. All branches are to collect your PSO number. Temporarily, as of Jan.1st, members are permitted to attend Pony Club non-mounted activities only until verification of your membership is received. This will allow winter stable management to continue until memberships to the NSEF or NBEF can be obtained. This is a short term allowance and should not be used to delay joining your PSO. It is important that you recognise that your insurance with Pony Club will be considered null and void for mounted activities unless you are a member of NSEF or NBEF.

Policy Handbook Updates - The following changes were made: Instructors - All persons instructing at PC mounted lessons must have a minimum of Emergency First Aid training.

Junior Instructors - Jr. Instructors must be C2 or above and 14 years old or over. If under 18, there must be an adult supervisor present. Both adult supervisor and instructor must have Emergency First Aid training.

Branch Membership- Branch membership is open to all children who meet the minimum requirements. Membership cannot be restricted to only those children boarding at a particular facility or using a particular coach.

Official Age - That for all PC activities where age is a requirement and is not otherwise designated by national bylaws or policies the official age is the member’s age as of January 1 of the current year.

New Branch - Before a Region recognises a new branch, the Region must check with the National Office to be sure the name is available.

A Parental Code of Conduct was presented by the Active Member Directors. This will be added to the Operations Manual and will be sent out with the New Members Packages.

2003 Active Members Survey - A survey was developed by Liz and Bob Inglis, Technalysis Inc., and was sent to a random sample of 600 names of the CPC membership database. The response was 41% which by commercial standards is a huge success. Most members say they joined to learn to take care of their horse/pony, learn to ride as well as to make new friends and have fun. This document provides us with information to make changes, enhance current activities and improve areas of concern. A closer look at this document will take place in the new year and the role that we can take.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2004.

Judy Allen, Regional Chair - 2003; NS Director

2003 National PC Quiz- PEI

This year’s National Quiz was hosted by the NB/PEI Region and held in Charlottetown, PEI on Thanksgiving weekend. The team representing NS was composed of Kate Mattocks (captain) of Colchester, Emily Dexter of Colchester, Jessica Swinkels of Fairwind, Michelle Hood of Avon, and chaperone Brenda Swinkels. For everyone except Emily, this was our first time competing for the NS region at the National level, and for Emily, it was her first visit to PEI!

We traveled over by ferry and arrived at our hotel, the Rodd Royalty Inn, after supper on Friday evening. Each participant was given their goody bag, containing among other things, some edible PEI treats, horse magazines, PEI souvenirs, and the legendary PEI Dirt Shirt that each member was presented with. We also got our pictures taken in Anne of Green Gables costumes (see more below).

That night, there was a welcome ceremony, and a Trivia competition. We thought this would be horse trivia but when we received questions such as “Who is the new Governor of California?” and “Who is Ryan Phillippe married to?” we knew we were wrong. Of course, recent events in NS helped us answer the question “What was the name of the hurricane that hit NS and PEI last week?” We ended up tied for 3 rd place with 12/15 but since some teams had left before the prizes were given out, we received the 1st place’s big bag of candy for our efforts!

The next morning we walked to the Atlantic Vet College Campus. The written test began at 9:00. Following that, we split up into groups for a tour of the AVC. This was very interesting. Our group was lead by a fourth year male vet student from Nova Scotia (I’m sure some people might have found him more interesting than the tour itself!). He was very knowledgeable and was able to provide us with tour info, as well as information for people thinking of attending that college. We were shown the exam rooms, the teaching areas, the operating rooms, and we even got to see two temporary equine residents of the College.

Following lunch, it was station time. There were twelve stations including Jeopardy (the hardest), Win, Lose or Draw, Alphabet, and Famous Horses, among others. After the stations we took a bus to North Rustico, where we ate at a well-known lobster buffet-style restaurant. Most people chose lobster, and for many it was their first time eating it. Some people thought they would receive just lobster meat on their plate, and when they found a pair of lobster eyes staring back at them, there were more than a few screams!

That night, most people went to the pool to try the 105ft waterslide while the captains reviewed the written tests. I did not actually get to try out the slide throughout the weekend, but perhaps that was a good thing, as we had some injuries (bumps on the head, stubbed toes, and cut knees) because of it! The captains’ review involves scrutinizing the written tests to try to get extra points. I ended up only getting 2 points for our team, mostly due to the fact that by the time I reached Val Crowe to complain, she had already been “awarding” points for 2+ hours!

The highlight of my return from the Captain’s meeting, for Brenda at least, was the presentation of the team’s picture in our Anne of Green Gables outfits. Michelle was the only one of us who looked half-normal, the rest of us looking confused or far too excited! Just ask Brenda about that and she will start laughing uncontrollably.

Sunday morning was artifacts back at the College. There were 12 tables of things to identify, with about 160 items in total for the Cs. We were split up into groups with no one from your own team in your group, which was a good way to integrate with other competitors. That afternoon, two double-decker tour buses took us on a tour to Anne’s Land, and Cavendish Beach. Although there was some speculation as to whether we were going to get there (the buses were old and slow, and stalled frequently going uphill!), the trip was definitely worth it, and gave us the chance to see some of the more popular touristy areas of PEI.

Sunday night was the formal Thanksgiving Dinner and Awards Banquet. It was held in the hotel, in a beautiful atrium. We had a full sit-down meal before the special awards and results were given out. After we had all finished eating, Karol Shipley, the National Chair, recognized PC members from across Canada for whom this was their last year in Pony Club. She also gave out 10-year memberships pins to the people that had been in Pony Club for 10 years or longer. Finally, it was time for awards. Nova Scotia did not end up getting a ribbon; we placed 10th and ribbons were given to 8th. However, the points, especially individually, were very close. Saskatchewan ended up receiving top marks for both their C and A/B teams. (You can see full results, team and individual, on the Canadian Pony Club website).

Then it was time for the North American challenge. The top 4 Canadian competitors (one from the Western, Prairie, Central, and Atlantic regions) challenged our American visitors. The NS team was proud to hear that Jessica had been named to the Canadian team, as the top Atlantic Canadian competitor. She joined with 3 other girls to easily conquer the Americans for a 1st place finish! After the banquet, Emily took over her second duty for the weekend, NS Regional Youth Rep. The Youth Reps held their annual meeting downstairs while the other competitors relaxed in their rooms, other teams’ rooms, or ran up and down the hallways.

On Monday morning, we packed up, said our good-byes and headed for the ferry. Overall, we had a brilliant weekend. The Charlottetown PC did an excellent job, and everyone will agree it was extremely well organized. Even though we didn’t do as well as some of us might have hoped we would do, it was not important. All four of us went into quiz wanting to do our personal best, and that is exactly what we did. For 3 amateurs and one 1-year veteran, we weren’t disappointed. It was the experience that we took away from it, and the great chance it to meet other people who are as crazy as we are to be in Pony Club (just joking).

Kate Mattocks
Captain, NS National Quiz Team 2003

National Tetrathlon Championships

This year the National Tetrathlon Championships were held in Duncan, British Columbia, from August 3-8. Nova Scotia sent five competitors, four senior women and a junior. Inga Hansen, Jenn Wilson, and Laura Sloan were on one team, while Anna Murray, Erin Sloan, as well as Pearl MacGregor (NB/PEI) were on another. Both teams were scrambled with another competitor from the Western Ontario Region. This year's Nationals saw approximately 40 athletes gather, representing eight different Regions from across Canada.

We arrived in Victoria after a long flight and were greeted by our hosts from BC Islands and by the sunshine and warm weather which was to stay with us throughout the competition. Our home for the week was Queen Margaret's School, a private school which has its own riding stables. Upon arrival, the teams registered and the kids renewed old acquaintances. Thanks to Jenn's fundraising efforts which resulted in new team uniforms, we were the envy of the other Regions when the teams got together for group pictures.

Competition got underway on Monday with the shoot, which was held in the large gym next to our residence. Three of our team members were in the ribbons- Inga placed 1st, and Erin 4th for the senior women and Laura was 5th for the juniors. Following the shoot we boarded the bus and headed to the Michael Lake Cross Country Course which is a beautiful, privately-owned facility. Horse orientation took the entire afternoon and while it's a variable that doesn't always work out in the competitor's favour, this year our athletes were generally pleased with their matches. We were amazed to see that the horses were stabled in outdoor paddocks under the canopy of the huge trees that grow on the west coast, another sign that we were a long way from home.

On Tuesday, the owners rode their horses over the cross-country and stadium courses. Owners generally ride first so that borrowers who are at a disadvantage in that they are riding unfamiliar horses, benefit from the fact that their mounts have already seen the obstacles when they ride the following day.

The 200 meter swim took place after supper and produced some very exciting results. Jenn finished 1st, Inga 2nd, Laura 5th while Anna and Erin both recorded personal best times.

Wednesday we were back at Michael Lake for the non-owners rides and again our athletes were in the ribbons. Jenn finished 4th and Erin and Laura were 5th. Erin, riding as usual without a watch, managed to finish with the optimum time in the cross-country phase but a few time penalties in the stadium round kept her out of first place. Inga and Laura had unlucky rails in stadium and Anna had some misfortune as her horse was "off" after the stadium round and she had to make a last minute switch. However, our athletes handled the inevitable ups and downs of the competition with good grace and humour.

The final phase, the 2 km run, took place on Thursday over a section of the Cowichen River Footpath. Anna placed 5th, Jenn 6th and Erin 8th. It was a beautiful setting and following the run, the kids hiked to the river for a swim.

Then it was back to the school to get dressed for the awards banquet where we again made a fashion statement as Jenn and Inga wore the Nova Scotia tartan dresses which they had made themselves. In addition to the individual ribbons, the team of Inga, Jenn and Laura placed second and Jenn was 1st overall, Inga 3rd and Laura 5th. After the banquet, the kids watched movies, ate pizza and played basketball into the wee hours of the morning.

All too soon, it was time to say good-bye. Many of the competitors have been to four or more Nationals and as the week affords plenty of time for fun and socializing, many strong friendships develop. There was much talk of meeting again next year however and we in the Nova Scotia Region are looking forward to hosting the 2004 competition in Truro during the first week of August.

As Nationals are taking place in our own Region next year, it provides a perfect opportunity to experience the discipline without the expense of cross-country travel. I would encourage anyone who thinks they might be interested to contact me for more information.

Debbie Sloan
Tetrathlon Regional Chair
506-538-2313 or desloan@nbnet.nb.ca

2003 Regional Fund Raiser Ticket Draw

The draw was made on Nov 20, 2003 at the offices of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Truro. Margie Johnson and I were there. Heidi Manicom, Food Safety Section with the Department made the draw for us.

Results :
Ted's Tack Shop - Anne Bellefontaine
Apple Saddlery - Savannah Partridge
Swagman's- Carollyn Crewe
Top Three Sellers:
Nicole MacHattie
Kathy Mattocks
Wanda Richards

Great job everyone. Our special thanks to the three businesses that were co-sponsors with our region.

Carollyn Crewe, Regional Treasurer, 2003

"Did You Know" ....

1. That every member should have a copy of the testing procedures (and read it!). Essential in understanding the procedures for test day for B, B2 and A.
2. Test Reps - Check procedure for scheduling written tests and test dates. (Our Regional Test Rep must be kept informed and you want to be sure written tests are available for the date you set. Procedures for marking can also be discussed with Johanne.
3. Testing Procedures can be downloaded off the website for free.
4. Must be a PC member for at least 6 months to qualify to test (exception may be granted to members who join at an ‘older’ age).
5. Must attend at least 60% of branch ‘meetings’ (activities) to qualify for testing.
6. Must meet minimum age requirements for each level before testing.
7. That PC has a supply house where you can order books, etc. Check the website and contact your DC.
8. That we are hosting the National Tetrathlon in 2004.
9. That the National Quiz is in BC in 2004
10. That Canada is hosting the Interpacific Exchange in 2005. In order to be considered for this you need to be B2 and up, lots of eventing and show jumping experience and you must be a very active PC member.
11. That our regional youth rep, Emily Dexter is now the National Youth Rep for Eastern Canada. Congratulations Emily!
12. That we now are looking for a new Regional Youth Rep. to sit on our Regional Board. Great experience for someone!!! Check the Youth Rep Report for more info.
13. That Canadian Pony Club has a new Badge Program in partnership with Feedrite/Riley Inc. You’ll be hearing more about this through your Branch or check out the Canadian Pony Club website. PPG

    Do you like riding, playing games and most of all having fun with your pony? If you answered YES: PPG is for you!!!

    Objectives: PPG games give members of Pony Club a opportunity to ride, have fun and enjoy the sport, without the need of a high quality mount, while learning new skills unknowingly. PPG will help horse and rider improve balance, independence and confidence, while promoting safe, active and practical riding.

    It also supports team work, sportsmanship, riding with enthusiasm and determination And the best thing is, there is NO stable management.

    PPG is NOT only for the riders, PPG is also entertaining for the spectators. The benefits learned form these games, carryover to other activities, such as dressage, jumping and even other life experiences! These games also help improve ponies, obedience and responsiveness. Regardless, PPG is fun no matter what age or ability the ponies and riders are!!!

    Where can you go with PPG? Like other disciplines in Pony Club you can travel over your province and region for competitions. But you can also be involved in exchanges across CANADA and even other COUNTRIES!

    What’s coming up for NEXT SUMMER? Next year there is going to be a clinic May/June and also a Prince Philip Games Cup in July. So……… Getting started: Don’ waste anytime, get started today! Not letting the cold weather slow you down, here are some things to practice safely, without any equipment over the winter !

    Mounting and Dismounting:
    Line up ponies side by side and see who can dismount quickest. First start this standing still and then slowly start trying to mount and dismount with a moving horse. Eventually doing this at a trot by vaulting. Practice Starts and Stops: Play red light, green light… if pony does not stop, pony must go back to the start line.

    Leading: Practice leading at trot.

    To find out more information on PPG look at the Canadian Pony Club web page, http://www.canadianponyclub.org

    Keep your eyes open for more information on the way about PPG, games to play, how to get your pony fit, and much more!!!

    Jackie Allen, PPG Chair, NS Region

    Youth Rep - Emily Dexter

    Regional Youth Rep position is up for nominations. The term is for 2 years from 2004 – 2006. All nominations can be forwarded to me at: mysticstar07@hotmail.com . If more than one person is nominated then there will be a vote amongst the members of the Regional Committee. Regional Youth Rep is a great way to meet other pony club members from around Canada and represent the members ideas and concerns.

    Regional Youth Representatives Job Description:
    The Regional Youth Representative(s) should be selected or elected from the active membership of the region. This person is to be a full committee member with all the same rights and privileges as other committee members. There is no minimum age requirement, however to vote on any matter the Rep must have passed their 18th birthday.

    The Regional Youth Representative is responsible for bringing the ideas and concerns of the members of their region to the attention of the regional executive and National Active Members.

    Duties may include:

    • -attending and participating in branch and regional executive meetings
    • -stating the opinions, concerns and ideas of the regional membership to the regional executive to assist the region in developing meaningful and desirable programs
    • -attending or sending a representative to any national youth conferences
    • -assisting regional executive or leaders in organizing youth activities, meetings, newsletters, etc
    Any questions or comments? Email me at mysticstar07@hotmail.com

    Newsletters by email?? - I will be coordinating the list of members who would like to receive their newsletters by email rather than snail mail or the web site. If you’d like to be on this list let me know by e-mail ....mysticstar07@hotmail.com
    
    Branch Updates:
    (taken from reports submitted to the Nov. Regional Meeting)

    Opportunity PC - (Annual Report 2003). Our first meeting began with a tour to members Ostrich Farm in Londonderry. Members met every second week on Saturday afternoons until mid April. Parents as well as older members taught the stable management lectures. A Christmas Skate was held followed by a dessert social.

    Members elected two Youth Reps, Jenna Lee Reid and Robynne Murray who attended a Regional Meeting in Halifax.

    Two cheese sales and our annual fall jumper show were held as fund raisers. A first aid course was organized for members at the Brouwers home. We held an in-house quiz for our members only to introduce new members to Quiz. Written tests took place on May 6th with testing on July 12th and 17th. June began with seven members attending the ‘Dressage is Fun’show at CNHP, Truro. Summer camp was held the week of July 7th (funds from the fall Jumper Show hosted by our Club went towards the cost of camp). Six riders, two captains and four helpers attended the D Starter Rally at Hobby Horse. Seven members (four riders, a captain and 2 helpers) participated in the C Rally at CNHP. We held a fall testing on October 19th and our year ended with a banquet at the Old Barns school. Members were given certificates showing what events they attended or helped with throughout the year.

    Annapolis PC - (Activities - 2003) We had two members agree to act as Co-Youth Reps. Jessica Gerrits and Ariel Roy-Sutherland have taken this position together.

    Our club filed two grant applications, one for a summer student and one for funding assistance to purchase a dressage ring. We were denied funding for both projects, however, we did assist Region in their application for the same funding for the dressage ring, which they received.

    We continued to have monthly general meetings, often held ringside on a weekly lesson night which were well attended. We prepared monthly calendars which were given to each member as well as being posted in the barn. These calendars provided weekly lesson schedules and grouping information as well as provided the dates for all CPC events and local Horse Trial shows.

    Our club purchased long sleeved T-shirts in gold with black ANNAPOLIS lettering down the sleeve. Members could buy these and wear them at club activities, regional competitions and they could also be worn for cross-country shirts.

    We also arranged for a St. John’s Ambulance Standard First Aid Course with CPR level C. This was well attended with those taking part paying their own registration fees. A number of parents took this course as well as one of our club instructors.

    Stable Management: The year started with our winter stable management beginning in February. Julia Young held these lessons at her home bi-weekly. These lessons were split into groups according to their appropriate levels. Julia had a schedule of lessons drawn up for each group with assigned homework/readings to be done in preparation for each session. We really felt that having the stable management lessons completed in the winter/spring season alleviated some of the demands on an already busy summer. We also had a lungeing clinic with Susan Fraser for the higher level members. A West Nile Virus information session was held in March with local veterinarian Mark Smith. Plans are already underway for the 2004 Stable Management sessions to begin early in January and Badges are all set for the start of the new badge program – we can’t wait!

    Riding Program: Riding lessons for club members began again in mid June and continued until the end of August for the C/B group and until testing in September for the D’s. This early start gave club members an opportunity to meet other Pony Club members and get to know the others in their individual riding groups before camp. Our club instructors this year were again Julia Young and Susan Fraser. Alex Beaton also did a cross country clinic with our girls and covered Susan’s lessons while she was away. We also offered additional lessons for teams competing in regional events. These are always well attended and very helpful.

    Camp: Our camp was held July 6-11 at Medford Meadows. Parent and camper participation was at an all-time high. This year we brought campers in on Sunday night and held an orientation for both parents and members which provided camp schedule, where things were located and property rules. We hired Jessica Gerrits a C2 member of our club to be Camp Assistant which proved to be a lot of work for her and a big help to everyone! Parent volunteer shifts were increased to 3 parents per shift with a barn supervisor, kitchen supervisor and a first aider. Stable management lessons were not a part of camp but tack and stalls were judged daily. Campers stayed in tents or tent trailers and each “house” was a team. Each team gave themselves a name and team members competed together, bunked together and generally helped one another during camp. The purpose of this was to promote team spirit and cooperation and worked very well. We added “challenges” to camp which were tests of skills and speed where teams competed with one another. We also implemented a stall deposit to promote clean-up after camp. All deposits were returned. Camp is always a learning experience and changes every year, but all agree that this was probably one of the “best” camps ever!!

    Testing: Written tests were done in June. Amber Hancock successfully completed her written portion of her A test. We had 2 B candidates with Lindsay Steele passing this level. Jessica Gerrits was successful in her written phase. This regional testing was held at Sarsfield’s in Medford. We also held a C testing at Medford Meadowns and a D testing at Clay Hill Farm in Sheffield Mills.

    Regional Events: Dressage is Fun was very well attended by our club with 15 participants. Our Quadrille Team was excellent and our three Pas-de-deux teams came in first and tied for second. We had an open house at Clay Hill Farms on June 21st which was open to the public and families and showcased some of our team’s music rides from Dressage is Fun. D Rally in July was a learning experience with our assisting with flagging the cross-country course, providing timers for cross country and stadium and the general training of the cross-country judges -- all of this two days after the completion of our camp! We placed first in stable management, 2nd in riding and 1st overall. We had top helper and top captain too! Great job everyone!!

    C Rally was held over two days on August 2 & 3. Our team had an enjoyable weekend and placed 2nd in Stable Management. Quiz: Our club participated in one quiz this past winter in Truro with 10 members in attendance. Our Novice team placed first overall with all team members placing as individuals. Rachel Foote placed first over all. Our D team placed 6th. We had planned to send a team to the Quiz in Windsor on February 23rd, but were stormed out. D Challenge was another event with great attendance from our club. 10 members rode that day. We had three teams two D1 teams and a D team. Our D team placed 1st overall. Our D1 team placed 2nd and our D1 team placed 5th. Great job girls!! Special thanks to Brianna Morine, Sydney Goodfellow and Nicole Harvie as well as our great coach Julia Young for all of their assistance in Windsor. As we all know, Show Jumping and Dressage Championships were cancelled due to poor participation.

    Fund Raising: We did our canteen at Hobby Horse again this year as well as hosting our bi-annual dinner/auction in September. This was a huge success with over 190 tickets being sold and a profit of over $7800. A breakfast was also held at the Superstore on November 15th which required very little effort on behalf of the club as Superstore staff provided most everything, however we only earned approx. $113. On the same day, we were asked to cook/serve & wash at the Federation of Agric. Dinner in Berwick. It was a lot of work, and a huge learning experience but a quick money maker at $1200 for the club. We are also currently selling bat houses for $10 each with $5 from each sale going to our funds. Our aggressive fund raising campaign allows us to subsidize our camp and lesson fees in order to keep our activities financially viable for all members. Our fund raising efforts have allowed us to contribute $1730 in sponsorship money towards Jackie’s expenses on the Canadian InterPacific Team.

    Avon PC - Over the past few months we have been rather busy catching up on organizing the club and its activities. The most recent event that many of you attended was the D-Challenge, and we thank all that participated in the event. I believe all had a wonderful time and it was a great turn out! I did send an e-mail around to the DCs requesting some feed back. Each year we do a number of activities and it’s nice to know if we can improve in those activities that we hold as a club. We are missing a D trophy, so if you were the last recipient we need to move it on to the next winning team.

    We have some new executive members coming on board; Julia Cecchetto is the new Assistant DC. During the month of November we are continuing our lessons on Saturday and Sundays, while Friday nights is reserved for lectures. The members are broken up into groups and sent to their designated barns to work through their workbooks. Jane Abott, Meg Thomas, and Racheal Beddingfield have joined us providing instruction in both the lessons and lectures.

    We held our annual meeting and talked about the challenges the club faces each year and the goals/objectives we would like to accomplish. It seems in the past few years the cost of things has gone up as many of you know. We took a different approach this year and offered to the members a choice whether to pay the membership and sign up for two volunteer events or pay the membership plus $100.00 dollars and they could be exempt from having to fund raise. We have not perfected this system, but some parents have taken us up on it and very much like the idea, as some people can contribute more time than others to the club.

    We are now in the planning phase for 2004 and we have committed to hosting the C Rally. Christmas is around the corner and we will wind down lessons and lectures the first week in December and then enjoy a Christmas Party in early December. If you have an opportunity to read our annual branch report it is a much more in depth report of the events over the last year of the Avon Pony Club. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

    Chris Sanford
    District Commissioner

    Eastern Shore PC - (Branch Report) - This year was a good year for our club as we had a few more parents willing to take an active roll in our club. We had successful fund raising and have used the extra funds to subsidize monthly clinics with Sheila Pickerel. We had the good fortune of having access to an indoor riding arena that will allow us to run clinics all year long. This year the club did not support as many functions as we have in the past due to the fact that many of our mounts were only 3 yrs old but we definitely hope to support them all in 2004. We had a wonderful camp this summer at Hobby Horse Farm and wish to thank Leslie Wade and Alex Beaton for their support of our club. Testing was a success this year with a special mention to Chelsea Smith for passing her B.

    I will be resigning as DC for the club as I am finding that I simply do not have the ability to take on the role for another year. The club will be well represented by Robert Chisholm whom you will all meet next regional meeting.

    Kathleen Buell
    DC ESPC  

    Fairwind PC - On October 19th we had our sign-up meeting for 2004. Jessica Swinkels gave a short presentation on her trip to Charlottetown as part of the NS Quiz team. Lindsay MacGillivray was chose to be the Branch Youth Rep for 2004. Fundraising plans were discussed. A bottle drive is planned as well as a raffle on a Christmas basket at the Mall. Lectures began on November 1st and will continue monthly through the winter. Two parents volunteered in heading up the Badge Program. Our Christmas Party is planned for December 7th at Fairwind Farm with a musical ride, pony rides, refreshments, Claire Reeves Tack Shop - Horse Cents and homemade horsey items.

    Brenda Swinkels, DC

    Hants County Pony Club - We are all very excited to announce that we are going ahead with our new Pony Club branch based out of Briarwood Farm in Mount Uniacke We had a great turn-out to our inaugural meeting held at Briarwood on Sunday the 16th with 18 potential members!

    We will be starting our regular meetings in January, with weekly Stable Management lectures and access to Briarwood’s riding lesson program. The kids are enthusiastic about earning their badges and being tested as soon as possible. Our first test (written) is planned for the end of January. Judy Covert has generously offered the use of Briarwood Farm’s indoor arena to host the PPG clinic in May.

    We look forward to having a great 2004!

    Karen Gillighan, Testing Rep
    (for Manon D’Auteuil, DC)

    Colchester PC - (Branch Report - 02/03) - Registration was on Nov 3/02 with our AGM on November 13th. Parents and older members organized and presented lectures for the different levels. A Christmas Party was held on Dec. 6th with horsey games including artifacts and a horsey craft.

    We co-hosted a Regional D Quiz with Fairwind PC and had a great turn out. We had two C teams attend the Regional C/B Quiz in Windsor. Emily Dexter and Kate Mattocks qualified and participated on the NS National Quiz team. A lunging and long lining clinic was organized at Fairwind Farm with Marylew Murray. Written tests were done in early May. In early June, Colchester members participated in the ‘Dressage is Fun’ Show. We had two members participate in the D Rally; camp was held July 14-17th with almost all members in attendance, unfortunately we had two members out with broken arms from horse accidents. Emily Dexter, Lauren Johnson and Kate Mattocks instructed the younger members with Andy Wadowski instructing the older riders. Jumping instruction was given by Jill Redden.

    On July 18th Testing was held for D & C members. On July 20th many of our parents and members participated in and helped to run the Central Nova Horse Trials event. Four of our members participated in the Pony Club Starter Division, as well as one in Jr. Pre-Training and Sr. starter. This was a great warm up for C Rally. We had 12 members participate in the C/B Rally at Central Nova Horse & Pony with many of our parents were involved in running the Rally. On October 18th, five of our members participated in the D Challenge.

    Thanks to all who helped provide branch and regional activities to make this year an active and educational one.

    Cheryl Johnson, DC

    West Valley - This year our membership almost doubled. To accommodate the new members, we divided the stable management into two groups, new members and previous pony clubbers. This helped both the parents and the children adapt. For riding lessons we had three beginner groups, and five advanced groups.

    We sent one team to the C/B Quiz in Windsor, and one team to the D Quiz in Truro and several C’s as well.

    Written testing was done in June. Riding lessons started in June and ran all summer. Alex Beaton was our chief instructor and our b and C2 taught the e and D levels. Testing was done in July.

    For fundraising, we had a horse show. This was a great success and will be repeated again this year. We also held a roast turkey dinner. Not only was this a great fundraiser, but a great social for our parents and everyone got well acquainted.

    Summer Camp was held at Lawrencetown Exhibition Grounds. Four days of riding lessons, stable management, trips to the lake, good homemade meals, sleeping in tents and cleaning tack till late at night; The teams were groups of 5 children from E’s to C2/B’s.

    We sent a team to D Rally, C/B Rally and D Challenge. The children were disappointed by the cancellation of the Dressage and SJ competition. We hope to participate in the ‘Dressage is Fun’ next year and to interest members in Tetrathlon and PPG. The members want to organize something local next summer for the beginner level riders.

    Towards the end of the year we had a pot luck dinner. Photo albums were popular with the children. Plans are underway for a Christmas Party.

    West Valley PC