In between newsletters, look on our Regional Pony Club website for updates and results. (Go to the national website at www.canadianponyclub.org and connect to the region’s website from there.) Remember if you have information for the website(via your DC) or the newsletter, please contact me, Margie Johnson, Regional Communications Chair, at 673-2543 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 I hope you will take the time to go through this newsletter and take note of all that is going on. Of course not everything can go in a newsletter, so please check out the CPC website and the NS Region website too. You may be surprised at all the things you can download, the activities you can do and the information you can find.
I want to take this time to congratulate some of our members: And I would like to welcome two new branches: Hants County Pony Club and Friendly Breezes PC. If you want to know where these clubs are based check out the map on our website! I am also very pleased to acknowledge that our Region now has its very own Rules & Regulations. Check the website; everyone should be familiar with these. In 2005 Canada is hosting the Interpacific Exchange. This cultural exchange event happens every other year. In 2003 Jackie Allen from Annapolis PC was chosen to represent Canada on the team that went to Australia. The members who are chosen for this exchange will be B level and up, active members who have taken part in a lot of PC activities over the year, have experience in Rally, Eventing (at least Training level) and lots of Show Jumping experience. Did you know that we also have a new insurance company this year? Intercity Insurance has become our Canadian Pony Club insurance company. It was a condition of our insurance that all Pony Club members also be members of NSEF. If you have any questions about insurance be sure to contact your DC or you can email: insurance @canadianponyclub.org Safety is an important part of the CPC program. Working safely around horses and stables, safety in riding and equipment are topics that all members, parents, organizers, volunteers and instructors should be conscious of at all times. My safety topic for this newsletter is going to be “Turnout”.You will see the term “Turnout” appear in all the Testing Levels and in the rules for the different Disciplines. Turnout refers to the “appearance” of the horse, rider and tack, but it is so much more than just how you look. Turnout is also about safety, respect and pride. Tack – your tack should be appropriate for the activity you are doing, fit your horse well, be in good repair and condition. So members, parents …… check your tack for weak stitching especially on girths, stirrup leathers, reins etc. Go over all your tack and check for rusty buckles, leather that is worn thin, etc. Keep your tack clean and conditioned , not only for the comfort of your horse but for your safety. Leather that is dry and/or cracked is in danger of breaking. Horse- turnout for the horse means a well groomed, trimmed horse in good health. Always pay close attention to your horse’s health and ensure that his feet and teeth are attended to regularly.
Rider – Riders should be properly dressed, neat and tidy. All riders are required to wear ASTM/SEI approved helmets and proper footwear with heels (at all times when riding!!!). If you have long hair, it should be braided, or tied back and put in a hairnet . Long hair flying around is not only messy looking, but if it comes in front of your face it can obstruct your vision. Jewellery – should be removed, especially rings, earrings, etc. that can be caught on something and rip your skin should you fall off.
“ Turnout” can be formal, as in preparing for inspection for a Rally or for Testing, and it can also be about getting ready for a riding lesson! Attention to good turnout is about safety but it’s also about respect. Respect for you horse, for your instructor and for yourself. Carollyn Crewe, Regional Chair NOVA SCOTIA TETRATHLON NEWS The Nova Scotia Regional Tetrathlon Championship is on June 26/27and open to all Pony Club members. The Championship includes riding (cross country and stadium jumping). The riding phase will take place in conjunction with the Strathgartney Horse Trials in PEI on June 26. The Strathgartney event offers 4 competition levels, Entry (2 feet), Starter (2'6") Pretraining (3') and Training (3'3"). Tetrathletes at our Championship can ride at whatever level they choose. The running, shooting and swimming phases will be held in Sackville, NB on June 27. Billeting for people and horses is available. We encourage interested Pony Club members to come for the Run/Swim/Shoot, even if they are not doing the riding phase! Come and have fun! Questions? Want to register? Contact Debbie Sloan 506-538-2313 desloan@nbnet.nb.ca Some really exciting news is that our region is hosting the Canadian National Pony Club Tetrathlon Championship this year (August 1 to 6) in Truro. This is a unique opportunity for Pony Club members from Nova Scotia to be involved in a National Pony Club Championship. We will host more than 40 Tetrathletes from across the country, as they run shoot, swim and ride to contest first place in this team event. You may wonder "How can I get involved?" There are several ways: 1. COMPETE: If you are 12 years or over and have had some eventing or rally experience, you may want to train further in running, swimming and shooting to try to qualify for Nationals (see Rule Summary for qualifications). You will be amazed at what regular training will do for your swimming and running times!! If you want to qualify for Nationals, you should try to attend the Regional Championship. (contact Debbie Sloan 506-538-2313 desloan@nbnet.nb.ca) Need encouragement or training tips? Contact Tetrathletes Inga (506 536 2532 ingahan@go.com) or Erin (506 538 2313 desloan@nbnet.nb.ca). 2. GROOM: We are looking for 4 volunteers to act as Grooms for this week-long event. Stable management or rally experience is useful. Grooms are essential to running the horse phase of this competition. They work hard and enjoy much of the same entertainment activities as the competitors. Look for an application form at the end of this Newsletter. (contact Jenn Healy for more information jennhealy13@hotmail.com (902-678-0243). 3. LOAN A HORSE: We are also looking to borrow 10 horses or ponies for our visiting Pony Clubbers to ride. At National Tetrathlon Championships, each horse is ridden twice, once on each of two competition days. The host Tetrathletes must bring a horse to share with an incoming athlete. Riders and horses are carefully matched for size, temperament and ability during an extensive "horse matching" period. Because we are a relatively small region, we will need to borrow some extra horses to share with visiting competitors. Horses will be very well cared for at the Central Nova Horse and Pony facility in Truro. Horses and ponies for Tetrathlon must be fit and capable of completing a Pretraining or Training cross-country and stadium jumping course. If you have a horse or pony that you think would be suitable and you are interested in loaning it to us for this National Championship, please contact Jennifer Healy (902-678-0243 jennhealy13@hotmail.com ). 4. JUMP JUDGE: Jump judges will be needed for the cross country competition on August 3 and 4 (Tuesday/Wednesday). This is a "front row seat" on the cross country competition! Never done it before? - we will train you for free! Contact Jennifer Healy (902-678-0243 jennhealy13@hotmail.com National Tetrathlon Championships 2004.
CALL FOR HORSES 5TH ANNUAL “DRESSAGE- IS-FUN” SHOW
Date: Sunday, June 6, 2004 Entry Deadline has passed. For more information, contact Brenda Swinkels (902) 386-2011 or email bswinkles@ns.sympatico.ca. This is a great spectator sport, so even if you are not riding, you can still be part of the activities by volunteering to help or watching the riders. EASTERN SHORE PONY CLUB REGIONAL QUIZ 2004 Eastern Shore Pony Club held its regional C Quiz competition on Saturday, February 28. Eight teams representing six branches attended, and a fun day was had by all. Thank you so much to the teams for bringing along volunteers, food and some very entertaining skits! A special thank you goes to the volunteers at each branch who worked on their stations, including “Bits & Bitting” from Annapolis, “Cross Country” from Colchester, “Charades” from Avon, “Bountiful Breeds” from Opportunity, and the very interesting “Harnessing” station from West Valley. Eastern Shore contributed a “Lexicon”, a “Crossword Puzzle” and the always-entertaining “Win, Lose or Draw”. With the exception of a couple of minor glitches early in the day, the event ran very smoothly, and we at Eastern Shore would like to say that we will gladly run another C Quiz next year. We were saddened by the fact that Fairwind Pony Club could not attend due to horrible road conditions in their area, but we are glad that they didn’t put themselves in any danger by attempting to come. We would like to thank Apple Saddlery for once again providing us with baseball caps to give out to our winning team and the top individuals. I would like to suggest that anyone who did receive a cap should send them a thank-you letter. Their sponsorship of our regional events is much appreciated. Following are the results of the 2004 Eastern Shore Pony Club “C” Quiz:
Individual Placings
Team Placings Eastern Shore PC RESULTS OF WEST VALLEY QUIZ, MARCH 27, 2004 This was a great day with 87 participants in total, comprised of 10 D teams and 10 C teams. Many thanks to all those who helped make this run smoothly.
D Results
Individual:
C Results
FEATURE ARTICLE - by JENN HEALY Feed. Muck. Sweep. Clean. Scrub. Oil. Muck. Sweep. Brush. Shine. Ride. Brush. Muck. Sweep. Feed. Wow, it’s hard to believe that this hobby is enjoyed by so many. Any pony clubber knows that this is a typical day in a horse lover’s life. Especially, if you are spending the week at Mary Henry’s pony club camp. It is funny now looking back on my years of Pony Club, how much I have learned to appreciate these little things. This enormous responsibility of looking after the horses can account for the person I have become today. Dad always said “I’d rather her in the barn kissing her horses, than on the street corner kissing a boy.” From the very beginning of my life in the horse world, I spent all of my extra time outside on the farm. Everyday after school I would go directly upstairs, put on my riding jodhpurs, and spend my afternoon in the barn taking care of my pony. This was my outlet away from the world. Anytime I found myself upset about any aspect of my life I always found comfort in going out to the barn and visiting my pony. Often, I would sit directly in the middle of my pony “Shenny’s” hay. It was always a one way conversation, but I considered the sound of her munching her way of saying everything is going to be OK. Though I am much older now, and Shenny no longer lives at our barn, I still use this method of therapy to get away from it all. The horse world has taught me how to over come my fears. There have been many instances while I was growing up where I found myself scared of what could happen or of the unknown. Yet, after I did it, I learned that there were many things I could accomplish. Do you remember the first time you entered a jumping arena? I sure do. This is one of my first difficult tasks that I can remember being afraid of and then accomplishing. Those one foot high cross rails… my 13.2 hand pony… “Wait, you want me to do what?” At the time I felt as if Ms. Henry was asking me ride at Spruce Meadows or in the Olympics. I was so scared. It wasn’t that I didn’t think my pony could do it, it was the “what if” that was stopping me. There were about a million “what ifs” that kept running through my mind such as my pony jumping too high or me getting rocketed across the ring. Of course after a little convincing, I did what Mrs. Henry said, held on tight and steered my pony towards the jump. Once it was over I laughed at myself. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and I was proved to myself that it was something I could do! Although at the time I never would have realized it, I had just received a life lesson about accomplishing something even when I was unsure and scared. All pony clubbers know that to advance in pony club, you must go through the dreaded tests. Testing was another way that has helped me and my fellow pony clubbers become stronger people. For many, who am I kidding, for everyone, this is a very stressful time. Even though these tests have been painful at times, I can still look back at the experiences I have been through and think about it with a smile. One time, a friend of mine was taking her ‘B’ test, working on the jumping phase. It had down poured the night before, thus the footing was very wet and messy. She was almost done the test (doing very well might I add) and completing the last jump. When landing, the horse’s feet went deep into the mud, causing him to trip. As this happened, my friend was catapulted over the horses head where she did a face plant in the mud. As you can imagine, she was covered from helmet to toe. To this day, I still hear testers talking about this embarrassing testing moment. But my friend has learned to laugh about it and often brings it up herself. Another testing experience was when I had traveled to Port Williams to do my ‘D2’ on my pony, Ginger Snap Sensational. After completing the test, I bundled him up with blanket, wraps and went to load him on the trailer. He was the type of pony that hated to load and given any opportunity to get out of it, he would take it. As I was walking him to the trailer, he must have noticed that it was me leading him rather than my mother. He took that as an opportunity to take off. He lunged away from me, taking off out the drive way, down the road and continued into a neighboring field. With me in tears, my mother loaded me into the vehicle and took off down the road with the truck and trailer. About 10 kilometers down the road we found my pony amongst the clovers, happy as anything. We loaded him and headed home. Once again, another situation to learn from and laugh at. Some say a man’s best friend is his dog, but in my case, it is my horse. Looking back, I have realized that the horse world has given me amazing friendships. The Valley is small and I never had the opportunity to travel to South Africa or Ireland like some Pony Clubbers have written about in the past, however, what I have realized through my own experiences that you get to meet people, create amazing friendships within pony club whether you do it big (going around the world competing) or small (just going to local rallies and quizzes), it is the friendships that make all of these experiences important. Pony Club camp was one of the places where most of the tightest friendship bonds were built. Through playing city lights at night, sliding on the mud flats at the Sarsfields or helping each other get our tack done before Ms Henry came into check, we always had fun and were laughing. Wow, weren’t those the days. These friendships that were created over the years still exist today. Although I have been out of Pony Club for a few years, there are many reasons I make sure I still keep the organization close to my heart. I feel that I owe it to all of the volunteers and parents, who gave uncountable hours to organize various activities when I went through, to give back my own time now that I am done. They allowed me to develop amazing friendships, have wonderful memories and countless hours of learning opportunities. I have remained active within the Pony Club community, through organizing rallies (from 1 to 3 days long), working at camps and doing stable management, it can definitely keep you busy. As a member of the Pony Club, I never realized the countless hours that go into organizing all of the activities that make our organization such a fun, educational and competitive environment. Of course it is now, as a volunteer myself, that I realize the time and effort it take to run any event, be it big or small. Now that I am a school teacher as well as a coach, I always encourage my students to stand back and look at the work that goes into events and make sure they always thank the organizers. It is amazing how good it makes you feel to hear even one person say “I had a wonderful time today” or “Thanks for organizing this rally”. It makes all the time and energy put forth worth it for weeks and weeks after the event has occurred.
(Jennifer 'graduated' from Pony Club four years ago and is still very active within the Pony Club serving on the Regional Committee, volunteering as Rally Chair, organizing D and C rallies and guiding others as they stepped in to lend a hand; Jenn also assists with National Tetrathlon when hosted by Nova Scotia. She has also managed to complete a Bachelor of Science (Agr.) Degree from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, a Bachelor of Education (secondary) and is currently teaching Grades 9 and 12 Math at West Kings High School in the Annapolis Valley.) (Many thanks for sharing your story, Jenn!) 2004 REGIONAL FUND RAISER TICKET DRAW This year our Ticket Sale looks quite a bit different. As many of you know already, we are participating in ‘SportScape, a ready-made hassle free ticket campaign designed to raise money for sport teams, clubs and organizations throughout Nova Scotia’. This will still be our only Regional Fund raiser; all members will still be asked to support this effort. Fund raising is a fact of life for most non-profit groups. Fund raising can teach ‘life lessons’ and give organizations ‘visibility’ in the community... Make it an enjoyable team effort...everyone chips in..... If you haven’t got your tickets yet, check with your DC. YOUTH REP - KATE MATTOCKS I’d like to introduce myself to the members of Nova Scotia Pony Club. My name is Kate Mattocks, and I have been a member of Colchester for 6 years. I accepted the position of Regional Youth Rep this past winter. I’d also like to introduce the Branch Youth Reps: Erica Johnson (Colchester), Kaitlyn Kennedy (Friendly Breezes), Kaleigh Brinkhurst (Eastern Shore), Catherine Maxner & Katie Crowell (Hants County), Lindsay MacGillivary (Fairwind), Kaleigh Everett & Michelle Hood (Avon), Nicole MacHattie & Stephanie Burnie (West Valley), Ariel Roy-Sutherland & Jessica Gerrits (Annapolis) and Merilee Yuill & Krista Brouwer from Opportunity. No name from Tantramar as yet. I’d like to extend a special welcome to the members of the two new branches, Friendly Breezes and Hants County! It is also worth mentioning that our former Regional Youth Rep, Emily Dexter, is now a national “Active Member,” representing the East. Congratulations, Emily! The Youth Reps will have our first meeting on May 16th in Windsor, in coordination with the Regional Executive meeting, which makes traveling much easier for members. We will be discussing lots of current issues, such as where to display the new badges, a Youth Rep page on our Region’s/ branch web pages. Branch reps will hear from me in the weeks prior to that meeting as to the exact schedule. Regional Executive are exploring the opportunity to hire a Youth Assistant for the summer of 2004. The region would like input from the members as to what this person could/would do in the duration of this position. Ideas have included teaching at camps, clinics or lectures, writing reports and “how-to” manuals, as well as a few other ideas. I would like to encourage all members to visit the CPC website regularly ....... (http://www.canadianponyclub.org). It is really well done, and updated often. It contains some interesting news and links. From there, you can link to our Region’s page, which hopefully you are all aware of! We have a news section and a virtual trophy case, which is very neat! I can be contacted at any time by email (gowiththeflo44@hotmail.com). Please feel free to contact either myself or your own Branch Youth Rep about any issues regarding Pony Club. I look forward to an interesting year!
Annapolis Pony Club - After a quiet start to 2004, things are gearing up for the new season. Stable management lessons are proceeding along nicely and attendance is good. We had a team of four participate in the ES Quiz on February 28th and team member Jessica Gerrits placed first individual. Julia Young attended this quiz as chaperone for our team and as ‘quiz station master’ providing a challenging station on Bits and Bitting. We had a large group of 16 attend Badge Weekend, March 13/14. We have a large number of members interested in attending the next two quizzes. Interest in Quiz has been growing over the last couple of years in our club as club members mature a little and settle into what Pony Club is all about. Plans are still in the preliminary stages for testing and camp this year. Camp is going to be a new experience this year as we will be changing venues. We see this change as eliminating some problems such as trailering so many horses with so few trailers, but this change will present new challenges for the camp committee as well. However, we are confident that by the time camp rolls around everything will run as smoothly and efficiently as it has in the past. We have a new test rep this year who is just getting her feet wet, but she has good support and I am sure she will make out fine. We currently have three members planning to test for their B and one affiliated member who is preparing to test for her RA/HA designation. There has been much discussion about the setting of dates for the D Rally which our club has decided to host this year. The location will again be Hobby Horse Farm. We hope that we are up to the challenge of hosting an event with the diversity of cross country, dressage, show jumping and stable management. Thus far the big challenge has been trying to firm up a date! Carolyn Harvie, DC Tantramar Pony Club -Tantramar Pony Club Members have been busy with stable management. They have had 3 meetings since our last regional meeting. Our branch is working at organizing the novice Id quiz on May 1st as well as our Annual Spring Show on May 23rd. Lori Hall, Secretary Fairwind Pony Club - The lecture topics for February included Conditioning, Riding and road safety with local RCMP officer, Niki Borden as guest speaker and a session on tack cleaning with younger members. The March 7 lecture topic was Rider Fitness with guest speaker Tara Sutherland, Sport Therapist from St. FXU. Due to a few days of inclement weather prior to, and freezing rain on the morning of February 28, our Quiz team did not make it to the Eastern Shore Quiz. We had seven members from Fairwind travelling to Badge Weekend hosted by Opportunity. We attended the C/D quiz in Middleton hosted by West Valley (one C team and 2 D level members). Brenda Swinkels, DC Hants County Pony Club - We held lectures for all our groups over the winter.. We had an executive meeting on subjects such as fundraising, PPG Clinic, Quizzes, logos and colors for the club. We had guest speakers for a lecture and all the members enjoyed that lecture. On February 28th, 2004, we held a PPG clinic with Sara MacMillan. We had 15 entries - a real success. The kids had a ball, we laughed and learned new things. We had a C group and a D group go to the quiz at West Valley. We are planning to have a bake and tack sale at Realty Feed. We are trying to put together a parents night out with a silent auction on items that we can receive from donations. We had lectures during March, April now into May. We are planning to test in June for D levels and July for the C2 levels. Manon D’Auteuil, DC Opportunity Pony Club - The club has only had 2 meetings since early February. We lost a meeting due to the blizzard. Preparations for the Badge Weekend., March 13-14 occupied some of our time. We hope everyone had a great time. Our winter cheese fund raiser successfully brought in funds for our members to attend the Badge Weekend free-of-charge. New member, Private Name sold the most cheese, earning a OPC saddle pad as well as a $20.00 gift certificate from Wayne’s Harness Shop in Bible Hill. Our club will be represented by two youth reps., they are Merilee Yuill and Krista Brouwer. A tentative date has been set for written testing, May 4/04. Janet Eisses, DC Friendly Breezes Pony Club - Our new Pony Club sprang into action in January 2004, with seven members meeting every second weekend at the Friendly Breezes Stables under the guidance of Pam Bower. We now have medical armbands and Pony Club Manuals Level D. One of the first activities was a major stable tidy up and organization. Members are reminding each other and all riders at the stable to keep things neat, and have set up a ‘penalty’ jar to discourage sloppy behaviour. Fundraising events have begun, starting with a regular refundable bottle drop off at the stable. Families can leave their refundables there, and Pony Club members will regularly return the bottles, keeping the funds for the Pony Club. We have raised $59.40 so far. After one delay for bad weather, our second fund raiser took place the weekend of February 28th to 29th. This was a hot chocolate and snack sale at the stables which earned about $108. We are planning to pack groceries at SuperValue in April for a third activity. Leslie Buckland-Nicks (Branch Secretary) Avon Pony Club - We have completed our lectures; lessons are underway in the Pony Club Barn. We have had many members already move into the barn to start getting their horses and ponies into shape. Many members are there permanently for the next two months taking advantage of the indoor riding during the week at their leisure and the lessons on the weekend. Sarah Giovanetti completed her written portion of her A test which we all want to congratulate her on as this is a big achievement. Avon came in third at the C quiz which is great as they worked very hard studying for the quiz, congratulations to all that participated in that. The next two months will be busy ones for all the members between lessons, lectures, March Break camp and training shows. We have quite a few new members which is great as they bring new ideas to the club. We have also seen a number of older members return to the club to help out and participate in the program which is great. We have started to work on the badge program also, which has been very successful with our younger kids (they really enjoy it). Chris Sanford, DC West Valley Pony Club - Stable management is progressing every other weekend. Our membership has stabilized at 38 members. We sent a team to the Eastern Shore Quiz, they had fun. We have members going to Badge Weekend. We are starting riding lessons since the snow is gone (since everyone has to trailer). We are looking into Tetrathalon and PPG to add to our activities. Every month we also have parents meetings, this helps our new parents understand how things work. We hosted a D/C Regional Quiz in Middleton. West Valley Camp is in Lawrencetown at the Exhibition Grounds July 4-7. Our horseshow fund raiser, open to the public, is June 27, also at the Exhibition grounds. Teresa Speelman, DC Colchester Pony Club - Stable management lectures were held through the winter into spring on Friday nights, weather permitting. We had a few cancellations due to snow. D levels worked on their breeds badge and presented their projects on Feb. 27th. They all did a great job. C levels attended a blankets and bandaging day at Bello-Crest Farm on Feb.7th and worked on that badge. A C quiz practice was held Feb. 27th. A parents meeting was held Feb. 25th and committees started to work on the Hunter Show, Camp and Dressage & Show Jumping. Feb. 28th, Ten C Members attended the Eastern Shore Quiz. All enjoyed a well run and entertaining quiz. Teams placed 2nd and 6th. Cheryl Johnson, DC Eastern Shore - We have been busy on the Eastern Shore, and I don’t just mean shovelling snow! We’ve had three well attended lectures, a successful fund raiser and lots of e-mails and phone calls back and forth between interested parents. We hosted a C quiz which went really well. Clubs from West Valley, Avon, 2 ½ from Colchester, Opportunity and 1 ½ from our own Eastern Shore, 32 pony clubbers in all. Thanks to everyone who participated, the parents and volunteers for driving and helping out with stations and of course our own gang from ESPC who put on a pretty good show. The girls who participated from our club had a great time and really enjoyed getting together in the same place with their counterparts from across the province. They were all pretty impressive, especially some of the skits! Thanks again for the support. We sent a group of 7 or 8 to the Badge Weekend and more to West Valley for their Quiz. Our dressage clinic scheduled for February 22 was cancelled due to weather. Hopefully, we can re-schedule but things are getting blocked. We hope to have Sheila Pickerell back for a hunter clinic.. The last one was also cancelled due to weather. Robert Chisholm, DC Nova Scotia Pony Club 2004 Activities Calendar
Put these dates on your calendar.....
The application form for Tetrathlon grooms is not suitable for a web page so it is available as a separate download (pdf document) so you can print it out. To get it, click here. |
Individual:
I chose to share these memories of my growing up in the horse world because they have taught me a lot about who I am and who I want to become. Because of my horse and pony club I have learned to the importance of dedication, overcoming fears, support, friendships, and many other values necessary to be successful in today’s world. This is why I feel it is important to stay involved even as I get older. Because I want to give back to the organization and others, what it provided me with while I was growing up.
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