AREA 5 EASTER BONNET COMPETITION

Closing date Easter Monday. The bonnets must be constructed on top of/around your riding hat. Once made, members should put on a PC sweatshirt and their hat and get a photo taken (upper torso only). Send your photos to Meg (area5@pcuk.org). You can send two photos from different angles if you like.

Classes:

  1. 8 yrs and under
  2. 12 yrs and under
  3. 13 yrs and over.
  4. Teams of 3 from at least two of the above classes

Winners from Area 5 go forward to a Final Judging against other Areas, judged by Mary King.

Message from PCUK

Cancellations

I am sure you can appreciate we are doing our very best to provide activities and sporting opportunities for our members this year, when it is currently so hard to predict what will be possible. As time has progressed, we are understanding better the medium-term impact of Coronavirus on The Pony Club.

It is with the deepest regret that we have made the decision to cancel the National Championships at Cholmondeley Castle, in light of the scale of this competition, the organisation required and the ongoing uncertainty. This also means the cancellation of area and qualifier competitions until the end of June. We will continue to monitor the situation – individual sports are currently making plans for what might be possible at a local or regional level. As soon as we have the latest on each sport we will share it with you.

Kids Activity Kit: COVID-19

With schools closing around the world, kids are at home looking for engaging activities while parents are busy working. They also may have questions about the coronavirus and need to learn how to stay safe during this time. This kit provides fun activity cards with easy-to-do games and exercises where kids can learn how to wash their hands, not spread germs, cope with stress, and more.

More Online Activities

Racing: Jockey Club has a design your own silks competition, ends 14th April

Training:

  • Points of the horse
  • FEI has quite a lot of free training videos suitable for our older members
  • BHS training on YouTube: how to put on a tail bandage
  • Piggy March on Facebook is doing Super Sunday Grooming, first week was a video teaching them how to plait – despite being fairly sponsored, it is good.
  • Caroline Moore has a lot of video training topics on her website
  • Yogi Briesner has some YouTube training sessions

Dressage: The Pony Club and Dressage Anywhere have teamed up to offer a special Online Dressage Championships for all Pony Club members. Dressage Anywhere is a great way to compete online from anywhere, without having to leave your yard. Simply register for free, choose a class to enter, then ride and film your dressage test and upload it for judging. You’ll receive a link to download your score sheet and be in the running for rosettes! This year each monthly competition from April 2020 to July 2020 will be a qualifying round towards The Pony Club Online Dressage Championships 2020. There are classes from Walk & Trot all the way up to Open level. All you need are two scores at 60% or above to qualify!

Horse Events are promoting three separate competitions: a Virtual Team Challenge, Virtual Dressage and Virtual Jumping with Style. All have classes and prizes for Pony Club teams and members.

Tetrathlon: Area 15 are about to launch this copied from Scottish Tetrathlon: An air pistol competition during lockdown. As most of you have decent phone cameras, it would save postage and hassle if Hi-Res photos of the targets were emailed to me to score at area15@pcuk.org. Submit your 4 best (5 shot) cards each week. 1 photo containing all shots on all four targets. You can shoot as many as you want, but only submit what you think are the 4 best. Targets should be shot from 10m and have the athlete’s name and age clearly visible in the photo submitted.

  • Week 1 targets must be submitted by midnight, Sunday 12 April
  • Week 2 targets must be submitted by midnight, Sunday 19 April
  • Week 3 targets must be submitted by midnight, Sunday 26 April
  • Week 4 targets must be submitted by midnight, Sunday 3 May
  • Link to target: https://fndponyclub.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/air-rifle-target.jpg (copy and paste into your browser)

Word of the day on Pony Club Area 15 Facebook page, being uploaded each day: untangle the word, know what it is, and see how many more words of three letters or more you can make.

Poem and Art can be opened up to other areas as well if you would like it:

  • Poem: write a poem, about your best friend: could be a pony or a person! Send them in to area15@pcuk.org and we will have a prize for the best ones – all will be shared on area 15 website. But for some reason Pippa Funnell’s competition is gaining more interest than Area 15’s.
  • Art: draw/paint a picture of your favourite pony club event. 3 categories: up to 8 years old; 8-14 years old and 14+. Send to Deborah (Hayne House, Silverton,  Exeter  EX5 4HE) stating your name and branch and on Easter Sunday we will have a prize for the winner of each category.

Be Alert to Coronavirus Scams

Gov.uk scams: Ignore text messages from the government claiming to be fining you for leaving the house. There’s often a link to a fake gov.uk website where you can ‘appeal’ and enter your bank details to get the money back. These details can be used to try and access your bank account and your money. 

HMRC relief scam: Fraudsters are sending text messages impersonating HMRC offering relief money to help those in need. There’s a link to a fake website to apply by entering your personal and financial details. If you receive anything like this, report it to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.

Health information scam: Be suspicious of unexpected emails from the NHS and the World Health Organisation claiming to offer help and advice. Don’t click links or open attachments – these may contain malware and attempt to gain your personal and financial details.

Good Samaritan scams: Many of us have offered our neighbours help with grocery and pharmacy deliveries. Be careful what information you post online like in Facebook groups or the Nextdoor app – fraudsters trawl online platforms for data like name, address, email, phone number, place of work, health issues, date of birth. They use these details to target or impersonate people to commit fraud. 

Investment scams: When stock markets become volatile, many people look for more sensible or guaranteed-return investments – and many fraudsters take advantage of this. Be suspicious of investment offers that sound too good to be true – even green or ethical investments. Check the investment service provider is regulated on the FCA register and confirm the company exists on Companies House. Before transferring any money, call the organisation on the number published on the FCA register to ensure the investment is legitimate.