Pony Club CEO Update – 16th April
Dear Members, families, volunteers and staff,
As we are set to face more weeks in lockdown it is a difficult time for us all. Many of us would be having fun with our horses and ponies planning activities and enjoying sporting competitions but may now have less time with them. At The Pony Club we are working hard to continue to provide you with activities. Easter weekend was great fun to watch firstly with the Easter Bonnet competition, the standard of creations was spectacular. We also had our 2 Legs Not 4 competition and the effort put into your videos was just fantastic to see. Thank you to everyone participating in the fun and I hope the winners are looking forward to receiving their prizes. We continue to plan more activities; the new writing competition has just launched with some amazing prizes, and our art competition will be live tomorrow, open to all our members across the globe.
Keep checking our Creative Activities page here.
Funding
This week we have updated information on our website about the Economic Resilience Fund released by the Welsh Government to support local businesses and voluntary organisations, which we hope our centres and branches can benefit from. The Sport England Community Emergency Fund is also available to support those in immediate need, designed to assist grassroots sport and physical activity providers, which covers our branches and centres. There are many more local funds available through an application process which have been shared with us and are listed on our website. Please do contact your Area Rep or Centre Coordinator if you need support.
Click here to view available funding.
Welfare
We have also shared advice on how you can be prepared if you do need to call on your vet during this time, with access to The British Equestrian Veterinary Association’s (BEVA) helpful videos. Visit our Help and Advice page to read more.
As we all rally together to support one another it is important that we continue to think about our actions and the impact on the wider community. Whilst we all support the work of our NHS and frontline workers, I am concerned about how fireworks and sky lanterns are now being considered as an addition to our Thursday 8pm clapping. The dangers to animals and buildings could place more burden on our emergency services than people realise. Please stay vigilant of your animals and buildings to mitigate any risks they may face.
Please continue to stay safe in these times and thank you for your continued support.
Marcus
Marcus Capel
Interim CEO
