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End of Year Celebration – 31st January 2020
This is always a great evening for the whole family, food and drinks will be provided. It’s a good opportunity to catch up with your friends and meet other members of our branch, Cathy will have a selection of MPC merchandise to view and order and this year we have asked Bex Mason to come and give a talk on her show jumping career. This will also be an opportunity to hand over your membership forms, if you have not already done so!
However, we do need to know numbers – so please let me know if you will be attending/or not and how many of you there will be in your party
Hetty Hill from Waterlane Equine Vets has helped me to put together the information below – please read it carefully. Hetty is a former member of our branch and has had first hand experience of dealing with a strangles outbreak so is very aware of how emotive this subject can be, she is very happy to speak to anyone who has any concerns or alternatively please speak to your own vets.
Biosecurity Advice for Minchinhampton Pony Club Members (06/08/19)
Following recent events, we have put together the following biosecurity advice our members. To our knowledge, there are no confirmed cases of strangles locally or within our branch at this time, but it is important we all remain vigilant and follow the precautions listed below.
Strangles
What is it – strangles is a bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus Equi which may affect horses or ponies of any age.
How is it spread?
- By direct contact between horses and ponies or by indirect contact such as –
- People moving between horses may carry the bacteria on their clothes or hands
- Equipment being shared between horses (e.g. feed and water buckets, tack or mucking out equipment)
- By other animals moving between horses such as dogs and cats on the yard
What are the symptoms?
- Dullness and reduced appetite
- A temperature over 38.5℃
- A snotty nose (typically nasal discharge with bacterial infections is thick and yellow)
- Swollen lymph nodes under the jaw
- Some horses or ponies may show only mild symptoms
Prevention:
Taking appropriate biosecurity measures is essential in helping to prevent spread of strangles.
At Home:
- Monitor horses closely for any of the symptoms listed above.
- If you have any concerns, isolate the horse and contact your vet immediately. They will be able to discuss the best course of action, including tests required and a more detailed biosecurity plan.
- If a strangles outbreak is suspected, no horses should be moved on or off the property until the disease status is confirmed
- Isolate any new arrivals to the yard for 2 weeks, or ensure their strangles status has been confirmed by testing.
Isolation is recommended for:
- Any horses or ponies with confirmed strangles
- Any horses or ponies that have been in contact with a confirmed strangles case
- New horses arriving at a yard.
- Horses or ponies that become infected with strangles may not show symptoms for up to 10 days, but may still shed the bacteria and pass it to other horses in this time. This is why an initial isolation period of 14 days is recommended when moving horses to a new yard.
- Alternatively samples to test for strangles may be taken before movement. This should be discussed with your vet.
Isolation means no direct or indirect contact:
- Ideally horses in isolation should be handled and mucked out after non-isolated horses.
- Separate equipment should be used for horses in quarantine and human clothing washed before making contact with any other horses.
- A disinfectant foot bath and hand wash should be present at the entrance and exit to isolation. Virkon is a suitable disinfectant.
- You are advised to contact your vet to discuss the best way to set up an effective isolation area.
At Competitions:
- Avoid direct contact with other horses and ponies
- Do not share feed or water buckets
- Do not take water from communal water sources while away at events
- Consider transport as a potential point of infection, it is good practice to disinfect lorries or trailers between groups if transporting any unknown horses
This advice applies to all contagious diseases – horses and ponies travelling and mixing with new horses on a regular basis will be at risk for catching or spreading conditions such as strangles and equine flu, but these risks can be reduced by following the guidelines above.
See the BHS Strangles Leaflet which will give you more information.
It would appear that what happened this weekend was a false alarm and everyone will be able to enjoy the rest of the summer holidays but please be vigilant and notify your vet if your horses and ponies show any unusual symptoms.
Volunteers Needed for The Pony Club Championships
There are now just seven weeks to go until the 2019 Pony Club Championships at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire, taking place from 16th to 20th August.
In this special 90th Anniversary year for The Pony Club why not celebrate your connection to this very special charity by becoming a Volunteer for the Championships?
With such a wide variety of horses, ponies and young people represented at the Championships, this is unsurprisingly the biggest week in our calendar.
To ensure the smooth running of the event, we need between 160 and 200 voluntary positions to be filled every day, so we really need your help!
By clicking the button below, you can register your interest to volunteer at the Championships:
Register as a Volunteer
From 5pm on Monday 1st July you will also be able to indicate the hours/days you are available, as well as indicate the types of role you would like to volunteer for. Accommodation information will also be available on the page.
The roles include:
• Buggy driving
• Dressage writers and stewards
• Dressage sheet collecting
• Scoring and scoreboard update
• Tack checking
• Stewarding the collecting ring
• Fence Judges
• Catering: preparation and serving (Food Hygiene certificates would be beneficial)
Please find this year’s timetable available to download below:
Championships Timetable
We are very grateful to those who have already signed up, and to those who have offered to cover their own fuel and accommodation costs. For those who would like some support with the cost of fuel, fuel can be claimed at 25p per mile and a contribution made by The Pony Club towards accommodation if required.
If your situation or availability changes please email area12@pcuk.org ASAP and please also notify us of any dietary or mobility requirements.
Have you checked out our fantastic 90th Anniversary range?
Clothing and Accessories
In celebration of our 90th Anniversary, we are delighted to be offering a beautifully designed selection of commemorative clothing created by our Partners, Harry Hall. The full range is now available on The Pony Club Shop powered by Harry Hall. Shop the range by clicking below:
View the 90th Anniversary Range
Visit our Facebook page for a competition in partnership with Harry Hall to win a Pony Club kit bundle to enjoy using over the summer holidays.
The 90th Book
We have been enjoying all the stories, memories and anecdotes that Members have sent us in response to our request for contributions to the 90th Anniversary book. Thank you so much for sharing these with us. Our only regret is that we can’t use them all, but how wonderful that we could, in theory, create several books from all your contributions! The Pony Club means so much to us all.
To pre-order your copy please click the button below:
Pre-order the 90th Book
Take part in Ride around the World Day
Make sure you have the 3rd of August in your diary to take part in ‘Ride Around The World Day’. This is a unique opportunity for you to share your connection with The Pony Club whatever your age.
Members old and new are getting together all around the world, whether it is at a competition, camp, hacks or picnic with friends. We would love everyone to share their stories on the day via social media channels with the hashtag #PonyClubWorldRide.
There is even music kindly provided by Andrew Lloyd Webber, husband of our President, Lady Lloyd Webber for those who wish to use it as the soundtrack to their videos from the day. Download the file by clicking the button below:
Download the 90th Anniversary Soundtrack
Latest Sports Updates
Flu Vaccinations
With cases of equine influenza continuing to be reported, Members are reminded that it is essential to have their horse’s flu vaccinations up to date before attending any Pony Club activity. If a horse has not been vaccinated appropriately, it may not attend a Pony Club event to protect the health of the other Members’ horses and those of the hosting venue.
The seven-day clearance period, between having the vaccination and attending an event, continues to apply (see point 7 of the vaccination rule on page 30-31 of the Health and Safety rulebook).
If it has been more than six months since your horse has been vaccinated, then the British Equestrian Federation recommendation is to consult your vet. Find out more by clicking below:
Latest BEF guidance on Flu Vaccinations
Young Volunteers
Calling all YELA candidates and Pony Club volunteers! The Young Equestrian Leaders Award is the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) youth volunteering award, and it’s open to all young people aged 13 to 25 years old who volunteer with BEF Member bodies like The Pony Club. To find out more and register just click below:
Register for the YELA scheme
Centre Equitation Competition
Find out more about this competition which takes place at The Pony Club Championships for Pony Club Centres by clicking below:
Centre Equitation Competition Info
Training Vouchers available at BSPS Gold Cup
In collaboration with the British Show Pony Society, we are able to offer a training voucher for £100 to the highest placed Pony Club Member in each of the three height sections of the BSPS Gold Cup at Burghley Horse Trials. This has been generously sponsored by Mrs Sheila Clifford. Further details of this competition and how to qualify can be found on the BSPS website.
Dressage
Please note that the version of the Open Dressage Test 2019 in the Dressage Rule Book is incorrect. All other versions on the website and through Harry Hall are correct.
All Dressage and Eventing tests can be downloaded here on the Pony Club website. Score sheets can be purchased from the Pony Club shop through bit.ly/PCUKShop_HarryHall
Project Pelham enters Data Cleanse stage
The project is progressing well, and we are about to start writing the testing scenarios for the first major phase (Membership) which will be received from the developers in the next month.
We are very excited to be able to tell you that according to current planning we will be able to start the implementation phase in October this year, when we will migrate Branches in a phased manner over 6-7 weeks. More details will follow in due course on exactly how this will be done.
In the meantime, we are starting to prepare the Unity data for transfer into the new system, and we need help from you all! Over the next month, individual reports will be sent to all Branches requesting that they check the data that is stored in Unity for Members, parents/guardians and Coaches.
The main focus of this is not the accuracy of each field (that is up to all of you) but to remove the duplicate entries that are present in Unity. There will be clear guidance given on how to use the reports, and you will only be asked to check the records that we believe are an issue, not every Member in your Branch. We are checking both active and archived Members.
To find out more info on the Pelham project click the button below:
Pelham Project Site
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The Pony Club
The Pony Club, Stoneleigh Park
Kenilworth, CV8 2RW
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Due to the ongoing precautions with regards to Equine Flu, most venues
and competition centres that we use – including Star Farm, are now
asking that all horses and ponies coming onto their property have had a
vaccination for Equine Flu within the past six months, but not during
the 7 days prior to the event you are attending.
I am informing you all of these requirements so that you can check you
horse/ponies passport and if needs be get them inoculated
Please let me know if you have any queries?
New online dressage competition!
A relaxed and stress-free way to ride through your test without leaving your field/yard! All judged by a BD list 3 judge.
Pony Club pure dressage AND eventing tests to choose from – all tests may be called.
No competition wear required, just someone to film your test.
Perfect if you don’t have time to get to an event, great practice if you are looking to move up a level and a really relaxed way to compete if you are nervous or new to dressage.
Simple to enter – pay your fee on our PC website – just £7.50 per class, upload your video and wait for your test sheet which will give you constructive, helpful feedback and maybe you will also receive a rosette!
Entries close last day of the month – see our PC website for full details.
Results will be posted online and sheets/rosettes will be sent back to you in the post.