Quiz

Friday 19th February at 7pm. This is a quiz for the whole family, so drag Dad away from the TV and Mum away from her wine or gin and test all your knowledge on native breeds and working dogs. In order to take part register with Jane Grindal (dressage@fndponyclub.org.uk) for the zoom link.

Prizes:

  1. Dressage Lesson
  2. Small bale of hay
  3. Bag of sweets

Brief guide on how to qualify in eventing for the 2021 Championships

Please see the attached for the qualification route for the two Eventing Championships. The 2020 rule book needs to be referred to for more detailed rules. The idea is that all the additions that  have been made to aid qualification during these strange times are now all in one place.

Let’s improve our Google rating

We are trying to improve our listings in Google Search engines and would appreciate some help from parents and members by leaving a positive review in Google Listings. It will only take a couple of minutes!

Here’s how:

  1. Open your chosen internet browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox) and go to https://google.co.uk
  2. In the search bar enter these words: “Flint and Denbigh Pony Club”
  3. You should see something like:

  1. Please click where it says Write a Review (circled in red) and click on 5 Stars and leave a great review. Thank you!

Pony Club CEO Update – 12th February

For those of you who attended the coaching conference this time last Friday I hope you found it extremely valuable. The feedback we have received has been wonderful and we are grateful people took the time to share their thoughts. It seemed attending the conference from the comfort of a warm home and not a cold indoor school was certainly welcomed!

This was our first Pony Club virtual conference, and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the team behind it. The speakers were exceptional, and Darrell Scaife our Training Committee Chairman created a theme that was most relevant today, not just for our coaches but for all of us. Paul Tapner, also a member of our Training Committee, fielded some superb, challenging questions that helped us really question why and how we train our horses, ponies and riders today.

The conference theme was a key cornerstone of our new strategy, responsible horse ownership and enabling our horses and ponies to thrive. The Pony Club has some challenging but exciting times ahead. We want to be in the driving seat for change and supporting our young people with the most up to date knowledge and training available. Moving forward we will continue to leverage technology in the virtual world, so you can all join us on this journey.

All attendees to conference will receive a link to the recording, if you couldn’t make the conference live but want to understand what all the buzz is about it is now available to watch it OnDemand here. Watching the recording will still count towards your CPD and everyone registered will receive a certificate upon completion. If you are a Member, parent or volunteer I would urge you to watch this. There was a wealth of information shared that gives us all context to how to care for our horses and ponies and understand the demands on a coach.

2021 Pony Club Handbook

As we embrace the new virtual world, we have also considered our environmental footprint and looked at the publications we produce annually. We have taken the step this year to put our Handbook online, you can download it free of charge here.

We know many of you still enjoy having a hard copy book available, we recognise this, and you still have that option. You can now buy The Pony Club Handbook on Amazon and they will print OnDemand. The handbook is available for £5 and will be delivered to your door. This will be available to purchase next week.

Our greener approach to publications has an additional benefit of enabling us to keep the publication up to date. We will have the ability to change and update rules and information in the online handbook and make clear what updates have been made.

Safety Online

This week it was safer internet day where everyone was encouraged to review how you use the internet and the pro’s and con’s of accessing so much information. It is important that whilst it is becoming our new normal, we don’t get complacent with passwords and that we stay aware of current scams. It is sensible to change passwords regularly and not use the same password for everything.

One scam that does seem to be affecting Branches now is around purchasing Amazon Gift Cards. Please ensure you make contact with the person named in the email and let them know that this has happened. It would be incredibly rare for anyone to be asking for verification of details or to make payments to accounts such as Amazon on behalf of someone else.

Let’s all stay aware and safe online!

Horse and Pony Care Competition

Amelia Morris-Payne has kindly agreed to organise the 2021 Horse and Pony Care Final on the weekend of 23-24 October at Highcross Equestrian Centre, Leicestershire, with support from the Atherstone Branch and Laura Armstrong in the Office.

Area Horse and Pony Care Competitions will take place later in the year as Branches and Centres support all our Members in preparation for what we hope will be a busy season of activities. The deadline for staging and submitting results from Area H&PC Competitions will be Monday 4th October 2021.

Welcome back to our 25 Year Olds

With the disruptions of last year we are aware that a number of Members reached our maximum age limit of 25 and couldn’t complete their Pony Club Tests as planned. Therefore, for this year only we have welcomed back those who which to stay on for an additional year.

By making this adjustment we recognise that these Members may take part in local training and rallies as well as tests. However, it is important to note that these Members are not eligible to take part in Area competitions.

We hope you enjoy your final year with The Pony Club and share your knowledge and experience with our younger Members to help them achieve their ambitions!