AREA 5 SHOW JUMPING …
CONGRATULATIONS to all the Flint & Denbigh members who have qualified for the championships today ( Sunday ) at the area competition held at Dyfnog.
Everyone I saw was very well turned out and a credit to our branch.
Chris Leahy has done a fantastic job organising training with Jane Gough Roberts, Lee Williams & Louise Shepherd, so THANK YOU to Chris and all the trainers for preparing all the F&D competitors so well.
The training has been going on throughout the year and takes a great deal of time & effort to organise.
I must also thank all parents, members & friends of The Branch for all your time in helping to put on this competition. A lot of you turned up on Friday evening to set up the course. I had a fantastic group of parents, members and ex pony club members that helped out on the day, to supervise car parking, arena party, practice fence stewards, commentators, score board writers and clearing away, the job list is never ending. Also Thank you to every one who helped prepare the ground before hand so that the competition could go ahead. But Thank you all as it made the day such a success.
I hope you all enjoyed the day and Good Luck to you in the Championships.
Bethan
XC Fence Judges needed please …
Area 5 Tetrathlon Saturday and Sunday16TH & 17TH July at Kelsall Hill. Can you help?? Sunday morning only and lunch provided. Contact Meg Green Megww@aol.com
Pony Club Show Sunday 21st August …
Attached is a copy of the amended schedule, please could you email this out to our members, with a note saying that the judge has been changed for the Ridden Showing and Young Handler Classes.
F&D CAMP please read …
If you intend baking cakes for camp could you please contact Michelle on mich120468@aol.com so that they do not all arrive on the same day. It would be great if a rota could be made so that home made cakes would be available freshly made daily.
Thank you …
Pony Club Events on Fixture Sheet …
Could I ask you all to book in for any events on the Fixture Sheet early. If you do intend or are hoping to attend any events arranged for August please book in now!!
These events may be cancelled if we do not have enough interest , so please help the organisers by contacting them in plenty of time. Thank you.
Car boot sale
- 31 July Sunday at Hendre, Hendrerwydd, Denbigh, Denbighshire LL16 4LL
- Tel 07863108975 or email chrissie@equest.plus.com
- £5 per car, opens at 8.30 for traders, 9am for public.
- Donations for Welsh rider fund welcome from public!
- Refreshments, pony rides and stalls available.
- Booking advised but not essential.
- Call to confirm if weather looking bad!
Fundraising Event on Friday 29th July at Cefn Village Hall/Camp Field at 1.30 pm
Fundraising Ideas & Tips for Pony Club ( kindly sent in by former member of the F&D Fran Hughes)
Fran has even written a letter you can use to send out to companies etc. Thank you Fran.
When deciding how to fundraise, think about the following:
- Your budget: whatever you do, you need to make a profit. Sometimes small things that only raise a bit of money are more worthwhile because they cost less to set up than big events.
- Remember to thank everyone after your event: volunteers, donors, guests, etc.
Publicity:
- Create good quality advertising for any events in plenty of time. Ask to put posters up Put information on the PC website.
- Word of mouth is really important – tell everyone you know about the event.
- Use social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Create a fan page for the whole challenge: add information about the cause, events, and news and photos about successes.
- Approach local media that might be interested in your fundraising activities. The more imaginative the activity, the more likely they’ll be interested. This can drum up more support. Think about the Free Press, Daily Post, Leader, Welsh Rider, etc.
- For events, send a press release to local media, with the date, venue, contact details and activity. Keep it short and snappy, with an interesting header. Make sure you send it to the right person by contacting them first. Try TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, free sheets, newsletters (church, school, college, club, and community). Let them know about any photo opportunities, before and at the event.
- Little or no set up
50:50 raffle: half of the money is the only prize, and the other half goes to charity
Swap shop: either, people bring unwanted items, pay a small donation, and can take away other people’s unwanted items. Or, sell used tack/equestrian goods, and proceeds go to charity.
£5 draw: people write their name on a £5 note which goes into a draw. The winner takes 25% of the proceeds and the rest goes to charity.
Foreign coins: ask people to donate any foreign coins which can be exchanged.
Mile of pennies: collect a mile of pennies: 84,480 pennies = £844.80. Lay them out around a circuit of some sort, preferably where they won’t be disturbed or stolen! Alternatively, you could aim to cover a large copy of the Pony Club Logo. ( You could use 10p, 20p or £1coins to cover the logo.)
Chores: offer to clean tack, groom or wash horses, muck out, walk dogs, wash cars… for friends or neighbours. Ask them to make a donation to the charity rather than pay you. offer to clean jodi boots at camp and charge.
Competitions: such as art, short stories, etc. You can advertise them through the PC website, newsletter, or through email or Facebook. People can pay to take part and have a prize for the winner. Make sure you have a judge who will not be biased!
Ideas with some set up needed:
Smarties: give out Smarties to friends and family. Ask them to fill the tube with coins once they’ve finished the chocolate, and return the full tube to you.
Champagne Challenge: get people to roll pound coins towards a champagne bottle. The closest wins the bottle and the rest go to charity. This can be done as part of a bigger event, such as a ball or Christmas party.
Guess the… number of sweets/polo mints in the jar, the name of the teddy, etc.
Cake stall: hold a cake stall or tuck shop at rallies.
Christmas cards: make cards that can be sold for Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, birthdays, etc. Sell them at PC events and via the website.
Other Ideas for Camp Fundraising Event: Book Stall, Plant Stall, Tombola, Side Shows, Face Painting, Raffle, Second Hand Tack & Riding Wear, Jewellery,
Things to consider when organising an event:
- Consider how successful it should be: there is no point spending time organising an event that no-one is interested in! You will also need to think about how many people need to attend for you to make money from it, as you may need to cancel if few people book. Figure out your costs and how much you’ll realistically make in profit
- Think about how many people you’ll need to help, and enlist volunteers in plenty of time.
- Try to get donations and offer adverts for businesses in your event brochure.
- Organise a photographer, preferably another volunteer!
- Consider the need for first aid (this will have to be paid for).
- Have a back-up plan in case of bad weather or mishaps.
- Remember: a small, well-organised event is better than a big chaotic one!
Sponsorship/donations:
Contact local or national companies for donations that can be given as prizes for raffles or auctions, or for donations towards set up costs. Make use of any contacts your parents have too.
Try local sports teams, theatres, etc. for tickets, autographed items, tours, etc.
Contact Wynnstay Farmers, Countrywide stores, etc. for any donations: small or large. Small prizes could be used for tombola, and bigger prizes can be used for raffles and auctions.
If you don’t ask, you don’t get: let as many people know as possible. Try corporate sponsors (businesses, banks, etc.) and service clubs like Rotary, Round Table, Inner Wheel, etc. Offer to give a talk about your activity/cause too
Where possible, directly ask for what you want. For example, if you want an instructor to donate an hour’s private lesson, ask for just that.
Letters should outline: your personal goal, why you’re supporting that charity/doing that challenge, any personal connection, what funds will go towards, the web address of the charity, and how and where to send donations.
Make sure any sponsors are named, e.g. on event publicity, programmes, raffle lists, etc.
Make sure you thank them afterwards, and let them know how much was raised. For example, if Wynnstay donate a rug that goes towards a raffle, send them a letter thanking them, telling them how much was raised from the raffle, and how much more to go.
It’s a good idea to make a list from the beginning about who you can contact. Update it once they have been contacted, whether they are donating or not, when items are received, etc. This will ensure that you do not contact someone who has already been contacted, or that people are not bombarded with requests (see last page for example).
See the following page for an example letter. If possible, include Pony Club and Pony Power logos. You could also include the artist’s impression of the lab on the Pony Power website, or photos of PC activities.
<Your address>
<Date>
Dear <Sir/Madam/Name>
I am a member of the Flint & Denbigh Hunt Branch of the Pony Club, based in North Wales. There are 290 members in the Branch and we take part in rallies, competitions, fun days and educational events throughout the year. More information about Flint & Denbigh Pony Club can be found on our website: //www.fndponyclub.org.uk.
This year we are running fundraising events and activities for the Animal Health Trust, including <what you want a donation for, or general outline>.
The Animal Health Trust (AHT) is dedicated to reducing animal suffering by increasing understanding of how to prevent and treat animal disease. They provide clinical and diagnostic services and research and educational work. Their work is disseminated globally, helping animals worldwide. Pony Power is AHT’s dedicated Pony Club campaign, aiming to raise £100,000 to build a laboratory to combat diseases such as laminitis, strangles, grass sickness, African Horse Sickness and West Nile Virus. More information about AHT and Pony Power can be found on their websites: //www.aht.org.uk and //www.ponypower.org.uk.
Last year, Flint & Denbigh Pony Club raised £440 towards Pony Power, and this year we are hoping to raise £500 towards the laboratory. We are seeking sponsorship or donated items that can be given as <raffle/auction/tombola prizes>. We would be very grateful of any items you could donate or sponsorship towards running costs of the event, to help us meet our fundraising target.
All donations made will be acknowledged in event publicity, including posters and event programmes.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely/faithfully
<Leave 4 lines for signature>
<Name – typed>
List example:
| Company name | Address /email | Contact name | Date contacted | Date replied | Donation made | Use for | Date thanks sent |
