Kathy Peyton, Essex Farmers Pony Club President
Sadly Kathy passed away on 19th December 2023 but she was our President until this time. She was our club’s inaugural secretary and held the post for a number of years. She continued to volunteer for the rest of her life, and was awarded the prestigious Cubitt award to prove it! She later went on to become Branch President, a position which she took very seriously, always encouraging the members and dishing out hospitality and charm to the land owners who we rely so heavily upon.
Here is Kathy’s message to all our our members:
Welcome to the Essex Farmers Pony Club! I hope you will have a lot of fun (and even learn something?) by becoming a member of our branch. We were founded just after the war over 75 years ago and run by a group of farmers for many years, hence the name. Now the members are no longer only farmers’ children but come from all walks, but we still rely on the parents’ input to help run our rallies, competitions and camps. (If you want to be popular, bring your dad to help build our hunter trial course or mend our show jumps!). You will find that after you have attended a few rallies that you make friends very quickly and your confidence will grow enormously by finding out that all the others have problems too. There is a lot of expertise amongst our instructors and you will get plenty of help. There is also a lot of fun, besides competitions, some serious and some not so serious. Our annual camps are very popular and are held on private land.
Remember that we expect you to always put your pony’s welfare first, before your own, and treat it with the love and respect it deserves. And we always like the members best who appreciate what a lot of work goes into putting on a great day. If you stop to help clear up at the end of the day and say a few thanks yous; you will be much loved.
So enjoy your membership and don’t be afraid at the beginning of making mistakes. You will make friends for life and in your old age remember the wonderful days in our lovely Essex countryside.