Why ride at The Cobham & Wimbledon Branch?

We are a medium sized branch following the  amalgamation of the Cobham and Wimbledon branches. averaging about 120 members. We are an active branch, holding many rallies and training sessions throughout the year for all age groups. We regularly have members at all levels participating in dressage, show jumping and eventing, in teams and individual competitions both locally and also at Area level.

We encourage our members to take the Pony Club Efficiency Tests if they wish to, and regularly hold training sessions during the year and at our Annual Camp. We are proud that several of our past members have gone on to be International Riders, Vets, BHS Coaches and several have passed their Pony Club A test.

Our main mission is for young people to enjoy their horses and riding, as well as learning more about caring for them.

Best Wishes,

Cathy McGettigan and Lizzy Jackson DCs

HELPERS AND VOLUNTEERS:

We are a busy club, running many events, rallies etc, but we can only do this if we get lots of help and support from our parents. Most of our children get a lot out of their membership – we certainly try to do everything to ensure that they do, but we do expect parents to volunteer to help with the various events that we run as a condition of membership.

There are lots of roles that need filling at any event that we run – stewards, scorers, fence judges, dressage writers, tack checkers etc. Please, when you see a request for help come round, don’t assume that someone else will do it, or worry that you won’t know what to do – there is always someone on hand who can help, you don’t need to know about horses to help out.  We have an account with Volunteer Sign Up and you can view it here

RALLY/TRAINING SESSIONS:

We do try to arrange rallies and training sessions for members of all levels and ages, so please ensure that members are booked into the appropriate level session for their ability. If you are not sure please contact the person responsible for organising the training – there is nothing more demoralising for a child who is comfortable and confident jumping at 60cm cross country to turn up at a session where the smallest jump is 90cm!! Most training sessions are open to all members, however we do sometimes run special sessions for members or potential members of Branch Teams.

Rallies are held during school holidays and in term time as well. We try to offer an interesting and varied programme with many opportunities to develop your skills and have fun both mounted and unmounted. Anyone who wishes to compete for the branch in Area Teams must ensure that they and their pony attend at least 3 ridden rallies during the year. You need to have attended ridden 3 rallies to go to Pony Club Camp.

CAMP: 

Each summer we hold two camps; a residential one for our older members and a non-residential Mini camp for the younger or less experienced ones. We are normally able to accommodate every child who wishes to attend, but obviously numbers have to be limited, so we recommend that you book your place as early possible when booking opens on line in November immediately after the AGM. 

TEAMS:

We are always keen to increase our teams in all the disciplines, please let us know if you are interested. We would like to encourage as many members as possible to take part in our teams, and the main emphasis, especially for younger members is to have fun!! Anyone can take part – we just need to ensure (for safety’s sake) that child and pony are capable and confident enough to take part in the chosen discipline/level. Each summer every PC Area holds competitions in all disciplines from Horse & Pony Care to Eventing where the winning teams then qualify to compete and represent their Branch at the National Championships.  Our Team Managers are listed on the Committee page and should be your first point of contact.