Dear Members & Parents,

First of all Welcome to The South Northumberland Branch of The Pony Club, whether you are a member who is rejoining or a new member joining for the first time we have put together some information to help you.

First of all a few introductions to The Branch Committee…

District Commissioner – Heather McDonald

Ass. D.C – Catherine Leech

Secretary – Helen Proctor

Treasurer – Deborah Crozier

Chief Instructor – Kellie Davidson

Health & Safety – Stef Willey & Cara Courage

Safeguarding -Amanda Odd

Committee members – Bev Ridley, Jane Smith, Phil Crawford, Ami Walby, Tracy Turner, Kirsty Coulson.

Our Branch President is Commander John Galpin.

RALLIES

Rallies are the main stay of the Branch. We hold them at Indoor and outdoor venues and on local farmers land. Rallies are advertised on our Branch website

branches.pcuk.org/southnorthumberlandand booking onto a rally is done through an online system called www.horse-events.co.uk unless otherwise stated. We will always send emails to remind you of activities taking place and post on our Branch Facebook page which is only available to our Branch.There will be no charge for rallies held in fields this year.

We try to group where we can within a similar age group and standard, this depends very much on who is attending the rally on the day and the horse they are bringing. However if on the day there is a slight mix of ability attending all instructors get a list of abilities of each member in their group and will adapt their sessions to accommodate the whole group. A parent or responsible adult must stay at the rally and are welcome to watch from afar allowing the instructor to conduct the lesson without parental interruption. Information for Parents from The Pony Club can be found on our Branch website.

Parents are asked to help set up show jumps etc. once members are on their horses/ponies and warming up with their instructor. Help is also needed from to clear away at the end of the rally.

CAMPS

We hold 3 camps in the summer holidays, Little Camp for members 12yrs and under, Middle Camp 12yrs -16yrs and Senior Camp 16yrs – 25yrs. Dates will be posted on The Branch website and information will be sent out for applications to attend camp.

All new members wanting to go to Little Camp are expected to attend a rally before camp so that they can be assessed to see which ride they should be in for camp.

PONY CLUB CLOTHING

Members are expected to attend all Pony Club activities in Pony Club kit, this is available to purchase through The Branch from Helen Proctor theproctors123@btinternet.cominformation can be found on the Branch website.

LIST OF KIT

Black or Brown riding boots/chaps

Cream/beige Jodhpurs

Green sweatshirt with PC logo

Green polo shirt or white shirts & pony club tie

A navy, brown or black waterproof coat, gloves, hat silk

Hats must be current standard and must have a Pony Club hat tag which will bechecked at the first rally you attend.

Please note that from 1st January 2023 two hats are being removed from the hat standard list, PAS 015 1998 & SNELL 2001

Long hair must be secured in a hairnet at all times.

No Jewellery.

Body protectors must be worn for any XC riding and must be the current standard required.

Stirrup irons should be the correct size for the boots with a finger gap either side of the foot.

All stitching should be regularly checked for wear

Horses should have plain dark coloured saddlecloths / numnahs

AREA COMPETITIONS & CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Pony Club holds Area Team competitions at different levels in all disciplines, which culminates in The Pony Club Championships for those members who are lucky enough to qualify at an Area Competition. Members will pay their own entry fees to Area and Championships and any stabling this year.

To be considered for Teams Pony Club members must attend 3 rallies. Camp can be included from July of the previous year and rallies to June of the current year. In our Branch 2 winter training rallies will count for 1 rally qualification and one rally must be attended in an open field.

Teams will be chosen by team trainers and our D.C.Committee members are not involved with team selection.

We hope that you enjoy your time at Pony Club, if you have any questions, concerns or even new ideas please do not hesitate speak to any member of The Branch Committee.

On Behalf of The South Northumberland Branch Committee.