Nova Scotia Region
August 2004 Newsletter

From the Editor

As you will see from the following, another excellent program was planned for our members at the Branch, Regional and National levels. As you all know, our activities are run by volunteers and it is their willingness to do this for others that keeps our program very active in Nova Scotia and across the country. Without these giving, caring (about the development of our youth) people, we would not have a full and busy program.

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??? Let your DC know....

From the Regional Chair
In the Spring newsletter I talked about the importance of good turnout. I have a new topic this time that I think will fit in with all the activities and traveling people may have been doing this summer with their horses. When you take your horse to a camp, competition, or clinic you will be keeping him(/her) in a stall away from home. Here is a bit of a checklist to help keep your horse happy, safe and healthy.
  • Before putting your horse in the stall, check it for nails (maybe the people before you were using it for a tackroom), for sharp pieces of metal ( sometimes you will see wood that has been covered with a piece of metal to stop a horse chewing. This metal can come loose and leave a dangerously sharp edge ) . How about the window – is the glass covered to prevent your horse from sticking his nose through the glass and getting cut? Check for electrical wiring that can be reached by a curious horse. Check out the floor too and that the stall door is sturdy with a good latch that your horse cannot undo. If the door is shut with a chain make sure that you do the chain up tight enough that it holds the stall door close to the wall. Otherwise, your horse could put his foot through between the door and the wall and this could lead to injury.

  • If the stalls appears safe, now make sure, if it’s not cleaned out, that you do that too. Old hay and feed can be dusty and /or moldy and you know your horse is going to be nosing around looking for dropped feed from the previous horse.

  • Give your horse a good bed to sleep on. Whatever your reason for being there you want him to be comfortable. Keep in mind that a “good bed” only stays that way if you keep it cleaned out and add new bedding. This involves more than going to the barn in the morning , feeding and cleaning out your stall. Yes, do that – and make sure you clean out the wet spot very well!!! However, how about also skipping out the stall during the day. When you give him his lunch hay , supper, put him away after a ride or whenever, take a few minutes to remove any manure from his stall. This will help control the flies , improve the air quality by keep the ammonia smell away, help prevent your horse from picking up worm larvae and makes a much nicer work environment for you and your horse. It will also save you bedding if you pick up the manure before its mixed and walked in.

  • Water – a very important nutrient for your horse. He should never be without it!! ( unless he has a medical reason??) Some riders will put two water buckets in the stall. Not only should he have water but make sure you dump out and rinse the bucket too, especially if he likes to dunk his hay or feed. CLEAN , FRESH water is essential and will encourage him to drink and this is a good thing. Every meal and every time you go in his stall and every time you pass his stall check his water bucket!!!

  • Try to keep to a routine. This is difficult as you may ride at different times each day. However your basic routine should include: early morning - water, hay , feed, muck out stall. Noon – water, hay, skip out stall. Supper – water, hay , clean out stall and feed. (some will wait until evening time to give this feed ). Evening ( about 9 to 10pm) water, night hay, skip out stall.

  • Care of your tack and equipment. This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. I don’t like to walk by a stall and see a pile of “stuff” thrown around on the ground by the stall. This can be a safety issue : Feed should be in a tightly closed container if it has to be left near the stall. This keeps loose horses, mice and flies out of the feed! Hay – unused hay should be tied up and place on a something, not directly on a floor as it absorbs moisture from the floor. This will keep your hay clean and prevent people from tripping over loose baler twine and walking on the hay. (you wouldn’t want your horse sitting or walking on your French fries so don’t walk on his dinner!!!). Have a tack box? – then keep all your stuff in it! Don’t leave it loose in front of your stall. Tack and equipment is not cheap so take care of it! It doesn’t take long to tidy up, put stuff away and sweep or rake in front of your stall.

Your horse is your partner. He trusts and depends on you for all his needs and he can’t tell you what those are, so you have to be aware and knowledgeable. It is your care that will keep him healthy, safe and happy.(People coming to look at your horse and seeing a mess in front of his stall tells people that his owner doesn’t care.)

Governor General’s Award (National CPC Award)

Our own Jackie Allen, Annapolis PC, was the recipient of this award in 2004. Shown here is Jackie accepting the award from our Regional Chair, Carollyn Crewe. Congratulations Jackie!

NOVA SCOTIA PONY CLUB REGIONAL A/B/C RALLY REPORT
The 2004 Nova Scotia Pony Club Regional A/B/C Rally was held on Sunday, July 18 at the Central Nova Horse Trials in Salmon River. We would like to sincerely thank Pam MacIntosh and the CNHP Horse Trials committee for allowing us to take part in their Horse Trials. It was a wonderfully organized event, and we truly appreciate all of your hard work and effort.

Regional Rally is one of the highlights of the Pony Club competitive season, consisting of competition in dressage, cross country jumping and stadium jumping. A “full” rally also has a stable management phase, but due to the fact that we had to combine our rally this year with an already-existing event, it was impossible to include this. Our region is quite active in Rally, and we have had members go on to compete successfully at National and International Rally Championships.

Teams representing eight branches of the Nova Scotia region competed in the event, vying for ribbons and two perpetual trophies. The competition was fierce, and spanned the Starter, Pre-training and Training divisions. Teams consisted of 3 or 4 riders, and because teams could have starter, pre-training or training riders, scores were weighted according to division to level the playing field.

I would like to thank everyone who had a hand in making A/B/C Rally happen this year, including the Central Nova Horse & Pony Horse Trials Committee, Pam MacIntosh, Carollyn Crewe, Margie Johnson, and all of the pony club parents, coaches and friends who came out to volunteer, jump-judge and help out the riders on the day. Events such as this would not be possible without your hard work, patience and dedication.

Why not plan to come to beautiful Hobby Horse Farm on Sunday, August 22 to watch our Regional D Rally, a full rally competition (including the always-competitive Stable Management phase) for our younger members. Don’t miss this chance to see our future eventing stars in action!

When the dust had settled, the results of the Nova Scotia Pony Club A/B/C Rally were as follows:

TEAM STANDINGS:
1. West Valley:
2. Tantramar
3. Annapolis
4. Hants County/West Valley
5. Colchester
6. Opportunity
7. Avon
8. Fairwind/Tantramar

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS:
Starter:
1. Carrie Hoyt (Colchester)
2. Ariel Roy-Sutherland (Annapolis)
3. Chelsea Thornton (Hants County)
4. Emily Weidhaas (West Valley)

Pre-Training:
1. Kyna McGuire (West Valley)
2. Sarah Weidhaas (West Valley)
3. Kelly Gillespie (Annapolis)
4. Jessica Best (Annapolis)
5. Erica Johnson (Colchester)
6. Hilary Foster (Hants County)

Training:
1. Inga Hansen (Tantramar)
2. Nicole MacHattie (West Valley)
3. Laura Sloan (Tantramar)
4. Ana Murray (Tantramar)
5. Krista Brouwer (Opportunity)
6. Erin Sloan (Tantramar)


LYNN HINES MEMORIAL TROPHY
AWARDED SINCE 1983
FOR TOP INDIVIDUAL COMPETITOR AT C RALLY:
Kyna McGuire (West Valley)

DONALD GRANT TROPHY
AWARDED SINCE 1960
FOR BEST INDIVIDUAL SCORE AT A/B/C PONY CLUB RALLY:
Inga Hansen (Tantramar)

For pictures of these trophies, and names of past winners, please visit out Virtual Trophy Case on the Nova Scotia page of the Canadian Pony Club website If you look closely you will see that past recipients include many of our current Pony Club instructors, examiners and volunteers! Maybe your instructor’s name is on one of them! Visit www.canadianponyclub.org .

Submitted by Pam Graves, Regional Rally Chair

RESULTS OF 5TH ANNUAL “DRESSAGE- IS-FUN” SHOW JUNE 6, 2004

Fairwind PC were very happy to host this Show this year and extend their thanks to all participants for supporting their organizational efforts. Thanks to Elizabeth Crewe, Regional Dressage Chair also.

CNHP STARTER INDIVIDUAL
1ST Lisa Weatherbee
2nd Erin Groves
3rd Pam MacIntosh

CNHP PRETRAINING INDIVIDUAL
1st Lisa Weatherbee
2nd Pam MacIntosh

PC STARTER INDIVIDUAL
1ST Orla Murphy-Friendly Breezes
2nd Kaitlyn Kennedy-Friendly Breezes
2nd Laura Jacquard- West Valley
3rd Catherine Partridge-Fairwind
4th Andrea Hamilton-Colchester
5th Bryan Rice-West Valley
6th Amy Buckland Nicks-Friendly Breezes

PC PRETRAINING INDIVIDUAL
1ST Emma Geldart-Colchester
2nd Emma Eisses-Opportunity
3rd Haley MacDonald-Fairwind
4th Jordanne Goodwin-Tantamar
5th Marlee Lacourciere-Colchester
6th Catherine Partridge-Fairwind

PC TRAINING TEST 3
1ST Merilee Yuill-Opportunity
2nd Caitlin Swinkels-Fairwind
3rd Jessica Swinkels-Fairwind
4th Marlee Lacourciere-Colchester
5th Krista Brouwer-Opportuntiy
6th Merilee Yuill-Opportunity

PC TRAINING TEST 4
1st Merilee Yuill-Opportunity
2nd Krista Brouwer-Opportunity
2rd Merilee Yuill-Opportunity
3th Amanda Leslie-Colchester
4th Jessica Swinkels-Fairwind

PRETRAINING FREESTYLE
1ST Emma Geldart-Colchester
2nd Nikita Blaauwendraat-Opportunity
3rd Carissa Blaauwendraat-Wheeler - Opportunity

TRAINING FREESTYLE
1ST Amanda Leslie-Colchester

COSTUME FREESTYLE
1ST Emma Geldart-Colchester
2nd Emma Eisses-Opportunity

PAS-DE-DEUX
1st Krista Brouwer/Merilee Yuill- Opportunity

-Brenda Swinkels, Fairwind PC

Prince Philip Cup ~ July 25, 2004

It was a quiet morning when I arrived at Central Nova at 6:30 a.m. Only a few horse trailers and tents set up. Not a noise came from the tents or barns where the riders and ponies rest for the big day of games. I thought “it is the calm before the storm”. I started to unload my truck full of props and prizes for the day. For no reason I knew, I already had butterflies in my stomach.

The show information went up and then the props and with the line making underway, ponies started to arrive, trailer after trailer and the storm began to roll in. A large stock trailer that arrived, pony after pony after pony came off that trailer, there must have been about 10 ponies on there. I didn’t know when they were going to stop coming off. All the ponies at the Cup were so cute, some very small (11hh), some larger and a wonderful variety of colors. Some teams even decorated their ponies in team colors. There was one team that attached streamers to the top of their ponies tails in the team colors. The same colored streamers were also attached to the riders shirts. Around their mounts nose band and brow band they wrapped ribbon in the same team colors. They had put sparkly gel on their ponies haunches, each mount with a different design. This was very unique and made the team stand out, but I do believe they borrowed the idea from a good friend

All together we had about 35 riders and ponies. This was much larger then I expected. The PPG program started at 8:45 a.m. with a meeting with all the volunteers who were going to be line judges, starters, and secretaries; a job that must be filled to make the day go on. At 9:00AM on schedule, we had a meeting with all the competitors, coaches and parents explaining how the day was going to run and to answer any last minute questions. By 9:30AM we were ready to tack up and begin the games at 10:00AM.

The first game started 15 min late. No worries, it was only 15 minutes and everyone knows that horse shows don’t always run on time! We then ran through three heats of each game. The first game of the day was bending poles, then the 3 mug race, the Canadian race, and ball and cone race. Even after starting 15 min behind we ended on time at 12 p.m. for lunch, back on schedule. The ponies were untacked and put away to rest up for the afternoon games.

During lunch while setting up the photo center, across the ring I could hear laughing and merriment, sounded like everyone was having a good time. About 10 min into lunch music and singing was heard. A group of Pony Club members had cracked open the karaoke . I must say I didn’t know we might have the next Canadian Idol on our hands! Good singing girls! (

During the lunch break there was a Ball Toss to raise funds for NS PPG. During a ball toss, you buy a ball, then at lunch from the outside of the ring you try to get it in the bucket which is in the middle of the ring. The person with the ball the closest or in the bucket wins the prize. This year the prize was 50/50. After watching everyone throw the balls I was glad that we all rode ponies/horses and didn’t play baseball! HAHAHA. Brian Rice of West Valley Pony Club won the 50/50 which was a womping $45!!! I am sure he will buy something nice for his pony. Since I am writing about fund raising I would like to thank to OPC for running the canteen and donating the profit to NS PPG. Any donations are always appreciated.

Well the games continued after lunch. We started up the afternoon with playing the Hi-Lo race, and moved onto stepping stones, five flag and the Pony Club race. As a spectator you could see the riders learned after playing the morning games that slow and steady wins the race. Everyone started to slow down and be a little more accurate, rather then worrying about being the fastest. The afternoon games finished a half hour early so we moved the awards to 3:30. By 4:00 everyone had packed’r in and were ready to head home.

The results were as follows:

“A” DIVISION

1ST PLACE
Annapolis “A”
Sydney Goodfellow
Brittany Parker
Dezaray Balcom-Winkelman
Claire MacDougall
Damita Hansen

2ND PLACE
Opportunity 1 “A”
Tracy Brouwer
Sarah Locke
Emma Eisses
Megan Johnson
Jessica Shaddick

3RD PLACE
Colchester “A”
Amanda Johnson
Megan Annand
Andrea Hamilton
Emma Geldart
Shelby Gatti

4TH PLACE
Opportunity 2 “A”
Danielle Crowe
Alana Slack
Rachel Duston
Vicky Weatherbee
Julia Locke

“B” DIVISION

1ST PLACE
West Valley “B”
Amy Spurr
Emily Messinger
Bryan Rice
Jessica Bowlby
Rachel Humphrey

2ND PLACE
Annapolis “B”
Kori Lightfoot
Rebecca Ongo
Luta Hansen
Jillian Hatcher
Heather Doran

3RD PLACE
Opportunity “B”
Jenna MacDonald
Chelsea Penney
Bethany Shaddick
Natasha Hill
Angel Pinkney

Overall the day went well. We only had one rider fall off and the very smart mount stayed in the correct lane so there was no penalty given. There was lots of cheering from the sidelines, which was nice to see.

A big thanks to all the people who sponsored this event.
- The Allen family for the major sponsor and donating the Cup for the A division
- Swagmans Tack Shop of Berwick NS for the wonderful prizes
- Apple Saddlery for donating hats
- Berwick Recreation Department for lending their line maker
- Lafarge for lending pylons
- Town of Truro for lending pylons
- Alissa Cue of the West Valley Pony Club for donating lime

I would also like to thank everyone for participating in the Cup. I hope you all went home with more then you expected, new ideas for your clubs, enthusiasm to get more riders out next year, with a big smile on your face, and excited for next year’s cup.

See you at the 2005 PPG Cup and hope the rest of your summer is as successful as you all were at the cup.

Jackie Allen
NS PPG Chair

NOVA SCOTIA TETRATHLON NEWS

Here are the Regional Tet Championship results:

Riding June 26 (Strathgartney Horse Trials)
Senior Women:
1st: Inga Hansen
2nd: Anna Murray
3rd: Jenn Wilson

Junior Women:
1st: Samantha Allen (Charlottetown)
2nd: Laura Sloan
3rd: Pearl MacGregor (Charlottetown)

Run June 27 Beech Hill Park
Senior Women:
1st: Jenn Wilson
2nd: Anna Murray
3rd: Erin Sloan

Junior Women:
1st: Pearl MacGregor
2nd: Lara Sloan
3rd: Samantha Allen

Shoot June 27 Port Elgin Exhibition Building
Senior Women:
1st: Erin Sloan
2nd: Jenn Wilson
3rd: Inga Hansen

Junior Women:
1st: Pearl MacGregor
2nd: Laura Sloan
3rd: Samantha Allen

Swim June 27 Riverview High
Senior Women:
1st: Jenn Wilson
2nd: Inga Hansen
3rd: Anna Murray

Junior Women:
1st: Laura Sloan
2nd: Pearl MacGregor
3rd: Samantha Allen

Overall
Senior Women:
1st: Jenn Wilson 4158 points
2nd: Inga Hansen 3952 points
3rd: Erin Sloan 3756 points

Junior Women
1st: Laura Sloan 3978 points
2nd Pearl MacGregor 3936 points
3rd Samantha Allen 3325 points

CPC NATIONAL TETRATHLON NEWS

As many of you know, the National Tetrathlon was hosted by our region this year in the Truro area. Everything ran very smoothly right down to the fine details. Quite a number of our regional volunteers were involved in organizing this under the leadership of Gay Hansen who is also the National tetrathlon Chair.

Congratulations to our NS Women’s Team of Jennifer Wilson, Inga Hansen, Laura Sloan, and Tiffany Blaauwendratt who placed first; and to our NS/PEI Team of Erin Sloan, Anna Murray, Pearl MacGregor and Samantha Allen who placed fifth; and to our NS/AB/BC Islands Team of Keltie MacDonald, Madelaine Trider, Kira Iskra and Shelby Masse who placed ninth. We hope you all made new friendships, learned a little, and had a great experience.

Check out the CPC website for full team details and results.

Nova Scotia Pony Club Regional D Rally 2004

The D Rally held August 22nd at Hobby Horse Farm hosted by the Annapolis Pony Club was a great success. Five teams participated. Weather also chose to co-operate. Thanks to all volunteers, participants and to parents for supporting the Rally. Rally’s are another great Pony Club learning experience.

Individual Riding
1. Amber Luddington (West Valley)
2. Nicole Harvie (Annapolis)
3. Carolyn MacDonald (Eastern Shore)
4. Jennifer McCurdy (Eastern Shore)
5. Rachel Lightfoot (Annapolis)
6. Laura Jacquard (West Valley)

Team Stable Management
1. Annapolis
2. Fairwind
3. West Valley
4. Opportunity
5. Eastern Shore

Team Riding
1. West Valley
2. Annapolis
3. Fairwind
4. Eastern Shore
5. Opportunity

Team Overall
1. West Valley
2. Annapolis
3. Fairwind
4. Eastern Shore
5. Opportunity

Top Helper
Kori Lightfoot, Annapolis

Top Captain
Kaylie Brinkhurst, Eastern Shore

Carolyn Harvie, Annapolis PC &
Pam Graves, Regional Rally Chair

STADIUM JUMPING AND DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Unfortunately this Pony Club Championship competition had to be cancelled again this year because of a lack of entries. Special thanks to Colchester Pony Club for agreeing to host and for all the work that went into organizing in the hopes we could provide an excellent environment for yet another PC event.

2004 REGIONAL FUND RAISER TICKET SALE

SportNS SportScape Tickets - Our one regional fundraiser is over for 2004. As agreed at our spring meeting, each club was responsible for selling tickets based on 2 books per member. This was a change from previous years of selling Tack Shop Certificate tickets and from the feedback received these tickets were easier to sell. Each ticket sold for $2 and $.50 of this went to SportNS. Total sales amounted to $4140 with $1035 going to SportNS for a net amount of $3,105. Thank you to all for chipping in and selling tickets .

Carollyn Crewe

REGIONAL YOUTH REP - KATE MATTOCKS

On May 15th, 2004, the youth reps held their first meeting of the year in Windsor, NS. Present were: Kate Mattocks (Regional YR), Lindsey MacGillivary (Fairwind), Merilee Yuill (Opportunity), Emma Eisses (also from Opportunity), Nicole MacHattie (West Valley), Kaitlyn Kennedy (Friendly Breezes), Erica Johnson (Colchester), Erin Sloan (Tantramar), and Jessica Gerrits (Annapolis). This was a great group; we worked well together and lots of ideas were generated.

This picture of the Youth Reps was taken after the Regional Exec Meeting.
L-R: Erin Sloan, Lindsey MacGillivray, Erica Johnson, Nicole MacHattie, Merilee Yuill and Kate Mattocks.

The following are some of the highlights from the minutes:

Badges: Most clubs said that the badges were more popular with the younger members, with the exception of Opportunity who said they had lots of older members interested. Opportunity hosted the badge weekend in March and everyone agreed that it was a great idea. We would like to thank Opportunity for all their hard work that went into putting that together. We also talked about how to display the badges. Erin brought “badge banners” that Gay Hansen had made, and they were widely liked! Other ways that were suggested were saddle pads, and the club jackets (either on the back or sleeves).

The next item on the agenda was the NS Regional website and whether a youth page could be incorporated into it. We discussed the website a bit, and agreed that it could use a youth page. This youth page could include surveys, contact information for each youth rep, updates, and agendas for the meeting. Nicole suggested that it would save a lot of e-mailing if things went up on the website for people to check. Merilee suggested that old tests be available online to members who want to use them to study for written tests. Members also expressed interest in working on the Branch websites.

We then discussed an idea that was brought to the youth reps’ attention by Judy Allen. This idea was to collect unusual artifacts, take pictures of them, and come up with a collection of pictures of artifacts that could be used to study for quiz. We all thought this was a great idea. A digital camera or scanner would be necessary though. Nicole mentioned that Apple Saddlery has a really good online catalog that could possibly be used.

The last item that came up was C Rally. A few members expressed concern that holding rally within a Horse Trials event was less emphasis on the Canadian Pony Club program. Everyone felt that Stable Management was an integral part of rally, and that it is much harder to incorporate the SM with an event. Everyone felt that 3-day rallies were the best, but we know that they are not always feasible every year due to costs, organization work, volunteers, and availability of locations.

We ended the meeting and many members moved over to the O’Brien Building to join the Regional Executive meeting that was in progress. During this meeting, a motion was made on behalf of the youth reps that Gay’s badge banners be accepted as a way of displaying the badges. There was also much discussion about the retroactive badges.

It was a very successful first meeting. I would encourage all youth reps, and anyone else who is interested, to attend our next meeting, which will take place sometime in the fall.

Here’s wishing everyone a sunny, successful, and safe summer (or what’s left of it)!

BRANCH UPDATES
(Taken from reports submitted to Regional Meeting)

Annapolis Pony Club -
Stable Management Lessons finished up on May 8th and we had one member write her B Test. Our D/C written tests were written on May 26th and we had 18 tests set for that night.

We have a really eager group of members this year, wanting to have the opportunity to do a little bit of everything. We had a full Novice and a full D team participate in the Quiz in Tantramar on May 1 and we had a handful of members who also stayed overnight to take in the Tetrathalon Clinic on Sunday. Two of our members hauled to Fall River on April 25th to take in the PPG clinic and thoroughly enjoyed their afternoon. We had a fair number of members in the clinic at Sarsfield’s and hope to get the ball rolling in our club. We had a huge response to the Dressage is Fun Day in Truro (20 members wishing to attend), however, due to the overwhelming response from all over the region, space filled up quickly and there wasn’t room for our club en masse. So, we decided to do the next best thing and have our own Dressage is Fun show for our members at Julia Young’s barn instead.

Our riding lesson program began the first week in June with approx. 9 groups of riders riding from two separate locations. This is a slight increase in groups from last year, but our membership of 28 is up from last year as well.

Our camp was July 5-9 and we are planning for the D Rally at Hobby Horse Farm on August 22nd.

A great 2004 season planned indeed.

Carolyn Harvie, DC

Colchester Pony Club -
March 13 & 14, five D and two C members attended the Badge Weekend hosted by Opportunity Pony Club and earned their TET, Handy Horseman and Natural Horsemanship Badges. All enjoyed an entertaining and informative weekend.

March 27th, 5 C members participated in the West Valley Quiz, placing 3rd. 10 D Members started part one of their Apple Saddlery Badge. April 2 & 8 the stable management lectures were finished and reviews done for written tests. April 16, written tests were held with three passing their D & D1, one D1, six D2, three C1, & four C2. April 17th, and ten D members completed their Apple Saddlery Badge.

Six members entered the Dressage Is Fun Show. We had a great turn out for our Primary Hunter Show June 27 at CNHP grounds in Salmon River. Thanks to everyone who were able to support this. Camp was held July 12-15th at CNHP with testing on the 16th. A 50/50 Draw was held at the Truro Raceway by some of our D Members and parents raising $167.50.

Cheryl Johnson, DC

Tantramar Pony Club -
The Tantramar Pony club has been very busy since the last Regional meeting. Four of our members attended the Badge Weekend hosted by Opportunity. The girls all enjoyed themselves, thanks to Opportunity for a job well done! Two members attended the D/C quiz hosted by West Valley.

Our D and C members had several stable management sessions since the first of March. We also had our members wishing to test this year write their tests.

By far the most exciting event for Tantramar was our Novice/D Quiz held on May 1st. We had a total of 61 members attending from seven branches. We were happy to see so many children from the branches attending. The event ran smoothly. We enjoyed ourselves and had a lot of positive feedback . I would like to thank Zena Rice and her mother for stepping up and helping us clean up. I would also like to thank the parent volunteers who helped - without them it would not have run so smoothly.

We held our Spring Show on May 23 and organized spring riding lessons.

Lori Hall, Secretary

Fairwind Pony Club -
Since last report, seven members participated in a fun-filled Badge Weekend, March 13 & 14 hosted by Opportunity Pony Club. Thanks to all at Opportunity Pony Club. Club members have been also working on badges throughout the winter and spring under the guidance of Mary Partridge, Ann Cameron and Laura MacEachern.

Also, the club sent one “C “ Team and one “D” member to West Valley Quiz. The members placed very well during the competition. Our “C” Team of Jessica Swinkles, Caitlyn Swinkels, Alana Robertson and Caitlyn Doyle placed first overall. Jessica and Alana were top place “C” individuals. Our “D”member, Sam Haley was part of the second place overall “D” team, a scramble team of Tantramar/Fairwind. Sam was also top place “D” individual. Congratulations everyone. Thank you to West Valley for hosting a very organized event.

During April, our club organized a First Aid course held on April 17 & 18. A total of nine parents, members and coaches took the 2-day standard St. John Ambulance First Aid Course. All successfully passed and are certified. Also, during April, Claire Reeves, our test rep. attended the testers workshop in Windsor on April 24.

On May 1, 2 teams of “D” members participated in the Tantramar Quiz. Teams placed second and fourth overall, with Caitlyn Doyle and Lindsay MacGillivary tying for first place individually. Thanks to Tantramar Pony Club.

The 5th Annual Regional Dressage is Fun Show which we hosted in Truro was a huge success. There was an unbelievable response to the show, but unfortunately, many riders had to be turned away because of time and stabling. There were enough interested that we could have easily filled two days, maybe planning this as a two day event would ensure that as many who want to do this event are able.

Our club members had a bottle drive on May 15th to raise funds for the club.

The long weekend in May a clinic was held at Fairwind Farm. Many of the members will attend the two day clinic with Mary Lew Murray.

Brenda Swinkels, DC

Hants County Pony Club -
Since the last regional meeting we kept busy with lectures for all levels. We had all our members write their written test and everyone has passed the level they were trying. We tested D1 Level on May 24. All D2, C, and C2 are doing their riding tests at a later date this summer since we have to go away for that portion.

We hosted the PPG Clinic in April at Fall River Stable. We had a good turn out and the kids had a lot of fun that day.

We had a bake and tack sale May 2nd . We had a lot of used tack to sell. We had a good turnout that day considering the weather was not that great.

We are going to start lectures again in the fall. During the summer we are hoping to have a C Team out for Rallies, fun fun. We sold tickets for the region and for the Branch as well; a little more money will help.

Manon D’Auteuil, DC

Friendly Breezes Pony Club -
Pony Club Members participated in their first Quiz on May 1st hosted by the Tantramar Pony Club. We had two teams consisting of all our members, who worked hard preparing for the D Level event. Catherine Druhan received 3rd place and Kaitlyn Kennedy, Orla Murphy and Amy-Buckland Nicks tied for 5th place in the individual level. For the team competition , our teams placed first and third. They all agreed they learned a great deal and had a lot of fun at the same time.

We held a D2 level testing in June & July. For fund raising, packing groceries at Super Valu resulted in about $500 so was considered very worthwhile. Our next fund raising activity was the “Big Race” held on May 24th, when bets were placed on our Pony Club ‘Racers’ who will compete on horseback through a series of obstacles.

Leslie Buckland-Nicks (Branch Secretary)

Avon Pony Club -
The members had a great time in the months of February and March in the Pony Club Barn taking lessons each weekend. We had one training show in the Pony Club Barn which many of you attended and it was a great time. Our testing went very well with the help of Jackie and Lauren who tested the kids. Everyone passed and all were very happy with the day. In the past month we have been getting our D2's ready for their upcoming test which will be in July. Many of these members have been with us for a long time and are looking forward to achieving their C Level. We have one member now who is interested in becoming a tester-in-training. ( This is nice as we have had no one really interested lately). We held our summer camp. Over the next few weeks we had had a number of things going on including the Jen Hamilton Clinic and our Windsor Spring Horse Show. The Mega Training Show went very well and, as many of you know, there was an overwhelming turn out for the one day event. We want to thank all of you who took the time out to come and participate in the shows.

Chris Sanford, DC

West Valley Pony Club -
West Valley has been very busy this spring. We had 8 members attend the Badge Weekend hosted by Opportunity over the March break. Our kids had a great time and enjoyed earning badges in crafts, Natural Horsemanship and Tetrathalon. Many thanks for such a wonderful introduction to the badge program!

We hosted a C/D Quiz in March and had 87 participants from around the province. Many thanks to all the volunteers and chaperones for making this such a great event. We had 3 riders attend the PPG Clinic in Fall River. They had a wonderful time learning the games and are busily practicing vaulting before the next clinic. Thank you, Jackie for organizing this event!

We had two teams attend the Novice/D Quiz in Tantramar May 1. This was a great opportunity to brush up on stable management and a fun quiz experience. We are proud to report that our Novice Team placed 2nd and our Novice individual, Erika Rice placed 6th. Thank you , Lori and team for a fun filled day!

Two of our members stayed for the Tetrathalon Clinic May 2nd and while the running was chilly by Confederation Bridge, the shooting was “hot”! Many thanks to Gay Hansen and Debbie Sloan for organizing this event as well as giving three of our other quiz participants a chance to try shooting the night before!

We had 3 B’s write their tests last weekend and all D’s and C’s wrote their tests on May 26th. Riding lessons went very well with 10 hours of riding per week. We held our Open Show on June 27th.We put together a PPG Team for the clinic in Canning June 12 and we had 4 members travel to Truro June 6 for Dressage Is Fun!

Camp was held in Lawrencetown with many enthusiastic young riders! We are tentatively planning a Tetrathalon Clinic in October with a riding phase including a cross country course in Greenwood. We are also looking at the possibility of hosting a Dressage is Fun Show.

Zena Rice

Opportunity PC -
The Badge weekend was a great success. Eighty-four members from the various clubs attended. Everyone worked hard, had fun and received two badges each. A choice was given to make stall signs or halters and lead lines for the Handy Horseman Badge. The second badge was either the Natural Horsemanship or the Tetrathalon Badge. Mr. Chuck Sproule gave a demonstration on some techniques of Natural Horsemanship and members watched various videos. Special thanks to Gay Hansen and the Tantramar Club for their involvement and expertise in working with those achieving Tetrathalon Badge.

We had four teams attend the West Valley Quiz. We had fifteen attend the Tantramar Quiz and eight girls participated in the Tetrathalon Clinic.

Two members wrote their B Test on May 8th. Written tests were done on May 11 with 29 members writing.

Camp was held at Central Nova Horse & Pony. We donated funds to sponsor a jump on the course at Central Nova Horse & Pony Club. Plans are underway for the 5th Annual Opportunity Jumper Show to be held at the Macmillan Show Center in Truro, Sept.11th. Mark your Calendars!!!

Janet Eisses, DC

Nova Scotia Pony Club 2004 Activities Calendar

Put these dates on your calendar.....
  • Aug 29 Redbank Combined Test Competition
  • Sept 4 Reg. PC Dressage and SJ Champ- Col-Truro
  • Sept 5 Applewood HT
  • Sept 11 Open Jumper Show - Fundraiser – Truro OPC
  • Sept 12 Hobby Horse HT
  • Oct 8/9/10 International/National PC Quiz – BC
  • Oct 23 PC D Challenge – Avon