Photo: Many of our members had a fab time at the Snowball last night, held at Chester Races. It was lovely to see members from different Pony Club areas coming together to enjoy themselves.
See photos of Llandyrnog Area’s Christmas Rally: //fndponyclub.org.uk/2014/12/18/llandyrnog-christmas-rally-at-ystrad/
It’s a long one (sorry!): if you don’t fancy reading it all, please make sure you read the last item about riding hat kitemark changes.
C+ H&PC Test
Is any one interested? Iona has not received any names as yet. Please note that the Road Riding Test must be achieved before taking the C+ Riding.
Please send your names to Iona if you would like to take the C+ H&PC Test in the Spring, so training sessions can be arranged (garethion@hotmail.com).
Llandyrnog District Gymkhana
Saturday 3rd January 2015 at Ystrad. Everyone welcome. Names to Iona please so that we can organise the times for the different ages and abilities (garethion@hotmail.com). Lead Rein, Juniors, Novice & Senior.
Winter League Show Jumping
Remember it is our Winter League Show Jumping competition on Jan 10th. Please have your cheques with Aloma in plenty of time, before 5th January.
Happy Christmas and all the best to you all for 2015. We will hopefully have a training evening for the teams before 10th January. Thank you for all your support and help in 2014. Aloma
Llysfaen Area
We would like to wish all our members a very Happy Christmas and a fun filled 2015, and thank you for all your support during 2014.
Aloma, Ceri, Sian and all the Committee at Llysfaen
The Rider Development Pathway Programme
The Rider Development Pathway, supported by the Sport England funded BEF Excel Talent Programme, is designed to aid the development of Pony Club Members who show the ability to progress in their sport and provides a stepping stone for young riders working towards the talent pathways of the Olympic disciplines, the British Equestrian Federation’s Sport England funded Excel Talent Programme and the UK Sport Funded World Class Programme.
Applications for the 2015 RDP Scheme are now open with Pony Club Members aged 12 years or over, who meet the specified minimum criteria in Dressage, Show Jumping or Eventing, being invited to apply to attend at one of ten Regional Assessment Days.
A highly successful new initiative for 2014, the RDP saw a squad of seven riders chosen from over 274 applicants following attendance at one of nine Regional Assessment days and the National Rider Development Camp. Those selected as squad members have been receiving enhanced learning opportunities, including instruction from discipline specialists and coaching from industry professionals to help improve all aspects of their performance, such as goal setting, equine nutrition and promoting themselves using social media.
East Antrim Pony Club Member Rachael Coulter, selected for the RDP Squad, comments. “I can honestly say that being part of the Rider Development Pathway has fuelled me to the next level of competition, and the top class discipline specific training and the performance related training has paid dividends in helping me to achieve my goals”.
Following on from the RDP scheme in 2014 Rachel went on to win The Pony Club Open Dressage Championships and also competed in the Dressage Ireland Championships at Medium level. Rachael continues “I couldn’t have dreamed about achieving these goals without the help and support received from the whole Pony Club team.”
Dressage superstar Maria Eilberg thoroughly enjoyed being part of the RDP coaching team and thinks it is a fantastic opportunity for Pony Club Members. “To be given extra support is invaluable and I feel it is the perfect scheme to link in with the other world class programmes, giving those who are serious about making riding their profession the opportunity to excel” comments Maria. “There is so much talent out there and it is great to see that it is being nurtured and developed, so I find the Rider Development Pathway extremely exciting and rewarding to be a part of”.
A new addition for those hoping to apply to the 2015 RDP scheme is the introduction of training being held throughout the winter months for both flatwork and jumping sessions for rider working at least at Pony Club Novice level.
Further information about the Rider Development Pathway, including criteria, application process and winter training venues, can be found HERE
PonyPrep Plus – A New Pathway to Performance!
The latest update to The Pony Club’s e learning system was launched on December 18th 2014, at Olympia, the London International Horse Show. PonyPrep Plus is based around the same concept as PonyPrep, enhancing the vocational training The Pony Club already offers, but as the next level on, it is based on The Pony Club’s C+ Efficiency Test and associated age bracket upwards, both in terms of content but also in look, feel and interactivity. There are three key areas to the site:
- Profile: An area where users can express themselves, including uploading images of activities, joining virtual Pony Club groups and displaying their achievements.
- Skills: Contains bite size learning content to aid progression towards Pony Club Efficiency Tests from C+ upwards, backed up by images, videos and interactions to aid learning.
- Challenges: Giving the chance to show skills learnt by taking part in virtual competitions, users are able to upload and mark videos uploaded by other users against specified criteria, providing feedback and developing ability to recognise and analyse good quality riding and horse care.
PonyPrep Plus is available for anyone to use, not just Pony Club Members, free of charge; it is hoped that it will go on to benefit as many young equestrian enthusiasts as the original site. Visit PonyPrep Plus and register NOW!
Competing at Your Best in 2015 – Evening Talks with Charlie Unwin
Get a head-start to 2015 with Charlie’s pre-season evening talks designed to help riders of all levels compete more consistently at their best
The talk will navigate you through the season to see how psychology can enhance your performance before, during and after equestrian competition, using principles that Charlie has adopted with successful riders & Olympic teams. The talk is recommended for all competitors, coaches and supporters (all talks start at 1900). For tickets please visit: www.performancelegacy.com/equestrian Tickets are limited so please book early.
- 11 February: Cheshire, Reaseheath
- 12 February: Yorkshire, Breckenbrough
- 16 February: Somerset, Millfield School
- 17 February: Sussex, Turners Hill
- 18 February: Bucks, Addington Manor (tickets nearly sold out)
- 19 February: Gloucs, Unicorn Trust
- 24 March: Hampshire, Sparsholt
- 25 March: Leics, Brooksby Hall
- 30 March: Suffolk, Stoke by Nayland
Important Information Regarding European Hat Standard (BS)EN1384
It has been announced by the EU Commission that the European Equestrian Riding Helmet standard (BS)EN1384 is to be withdrawn from the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) at its next publication. This means that hat manufacturers will no longer be able to CE mark their hats using this standard and will need to recertify to a specification currently being developed.
What does this mean for (BS)EN1384 Standard Hats?
The withdrawal of the standard has no effect on riding hats already on the market. Once a hat has been manufactured to a standard it does not become “non-standard” after withdrawal and can continue to be sold and worn. If riders have hats certified to the EN1384 they can continue to use them unless stated otherwise by rules of competition.
The existing EN1384 standard is currently in the process of revision. The withdrawal is due in part to the European working group responsible for the hat standard failing to reach an agreement on this overdue revision and subsequently causing the Commission to take this drastic step. The draft proposal for the revision to EN1384 has to go through a procedure of comment and review and it is still unclear when the final version will be published. An interim specification is being developed by a group of EU test houses and notified bodies (VG1) that will span the gap with a new specification.
Read a full version of the Press Release from BETA, in association with the equestrian bodies, regarding these changes HERE
What does this mean for The Pony Club?
The Pony Club will not be allowing hats which are only marked with the standard (BS)EN 1384 after 31 December 2015
The prefix ‘BS’ at the start of the EN 1384 standard does not mean the hat has undergone batch testing by the British Standards Institute and hats marked with (BS)EN 1384 and PAS 015 standards must also contain the BSI Kitemark. This is as stated in The Pony Club Yearbook.
How do we tag these hats?
In order to make the transition as smooth as possible, and to allow hats only marked with the standard (BS)EN 1384 to be clearly identifiable, the hat tagging procedure for 2015 will now be as follows:
- Any hats which are certified and only marked with the standard (BS)EN 1384 should continue to be tagged with a purple tag. Most of these hats will already have a purple tag on from previous hat tagging but in the event of one of these hats requiring a new tag only a purple tag should be used.
- Any hats which are certified and are also marked with one of the other standards permissible by the Pony Club (PAS 015, Snell E2011 and AS/NZS 3838) should be tagged with one of the new white hat tags before the 31st of December 2015. The full list of standards is as stated in The Pony Club Yearbook.
- In 2015 hats bearing either white and purple tags will be permitted in Pony Club activities. After the 31 December 2015 no hat bearing a purple tag will be permitted to be worn in Pony Club activities
- We would also remind Branches that hat tagging should only be carried out by one of your two nominated hat taggers and not by any other Branch officials
What does this mean for other equestrian bodies?
Details released so far of plans from other equestrian bodies can be found HERE
Further Information
If you have any queries relating to the above we encourage you to read the Consumer FAQs On Hats Produced by BETA & Champion or email Vicky Kangurs on vicky@pcuk.org
We will keep you informed of any further developments and relevant information as it becomes available.
The Pony Club
