Jane’s February 24 Newsletter

I had such a great time last Friday at our Big Party!!!! It was very special to see so many of you there, over 60 members I believe, which is a record,  and I owe very special thanks to a huge number of people who stepped up to help but especially Kim and Madison (food), Tim Rycroft (photos), Yvonne (trophies), Nigel (plaques), Amy and Matt Darch (disco) and all the discipline managers. I was extremely touched by my lovely card and the wonderful messages that you all wrote. Please remember though that while I might steer the ship and set it on the right course (the course with lots of fun and laughter!!), there is an army of volunteers keeping the engines running. I feel terribly lucky to be part of this fabulous team, and I am looking forward very much to the coming months and years with all of you.  We always love feedback, so while its fresh in your mind, please please contact me with any comments from Friday night, both good and bad!!!
One of the things I forgot to mention on Friday night was Easy Fundraising, which is such an easy way for us to raise money, to help pay for things like Friday night.  You will have seen flyers on the tables and the link is above. I now have my Mindful Chef order linked to this so there is a regular donation going to the club. Its so easy, so please just take 5 minutes to get it set up for your supermarket shop, or even better, for a holiday or buying a new washing machine.     
Another way that we are going to raise money this year is provide the Arena Party at Thoresby Horse Trials.  This means picking up showjumping poles and resetting the showjumping course between classes.  Some of you have already done this at Shelford Horse Trials and have already volunteered again, but we do need more people.  Everyone who helps will receive one free entry ticket, and if we have enough volunteers you will only have to work for 3 hours, and the rest of the day will be free to enjoy the event. We are being paid a whopping £1000 for this weekend, and we sincerely hope that first and foremost award winners come forward:  the trophy engraving and rosettes alone this year cost nearly this much. We would also very much like to see those who competed at the summer Championships as we want to continue to support you all by paying entry fees, but we need to raise the funds to do this in 2024. 
Coming up soon is our very own Triathlon, being held at Bingham on Sunday 11 February. Again we will be needing help especially at the swimming pool and timing the runs. If you haven’t already replied to our volunteering mail, here is your chance to get involved. We will also be hoping for a great turnout entry wise!
Spring Festival Qualifiers are well under way. Last month I reported on our fabulous dressage competition. Last weekend we went to the South Wold for the showjumping and saw the following qualify – Connie and Lottie (110cm), Connie, Phili and Lottie (100cm), Phili and Lily (90cm). Alice 80cm, Lottie 90cm and Lily 100cm were all just one place off qualification, so they may all still pick up a spot at the champs, fingers crossed. It was lovely to see new members Lexi and Jess competing too and we look forward to seeing you both at other competitions soon.
The next qualifier is Arena Eventing and we really hope to see lots of you there, you need to enter yourselves and the eventing managers will put all our members in to teams.  The Spring Festival is being held at Arena UK on 24/25 February.  We will put out all times for our members and I really hope some of you will get over to Grantham to support our club.
While the spring festival qualifiers have been taking place, the area 6 winter leagues continue at a pace in dressage, showjumping and triathlon events.
In dressage, we lie in a fabulous 2 place and our top scorers are Lily Gretton 6 in PC70, Alice Hardstaff 2 in PC80, Martha Stevens 2 in Novice, Tash Bonnick 3 in Intermediate and Lily Davies 5 in Open.
In Showjumping, we have a bit of work to do, so please look for any showjumping events in the area 6 calendar and get jumping. If you need any help, support etc, please get in touch with Pen (showjumping manager) or myself, and we’ll do our best.
In triathlon the club lie in an impressive 5^th place, with Freya Anderson contributing points in the senior girls, Freya Hallam 2^nd in junior girls, Kane, Hugo and William 2^nd, 4^th and 5^th in minimus boys, and Ralph 5^th in beanie boys. Plus Alice, Orlagh, Isla and Lucia all contributing points, our tri team is really beginning to enjoy some much deserved success. To join in the fun, contact Kat, our tet manager, who has shooting sessions lined up over the coming weeks.
Coming up before too long is the area 6 quiz, 3 March hosted by the Burton at Sturton by Stow Lincoln. We are looking for anyone and everyone that wants to have a go at this, but in particular we need

• Four 13 year olds to join our two junior/senior teams
• Some 10 and unders to join the mini teams
• Some 8 and unders to join the mini teams.
• Seniors with B test, Pip and I hope you will step up to lead our senior teams.

Please please get in touch with Pip (Tests and Badges manager) or myself if you’d like to know more, your club needs you!
Horse and Pony Care bundles will start again soon, with lots of badges to be won over the year, and these activities all help you prepare for competitions and tests. NB we are hoping to run another C test in the Easter holidays, watch this space.
You will have seen information on social media regarding the moving of all our rally bookings over to Horse Events as from now. This will massively reduce the tremendous amount of work that Yvonne does managing the Paypal account and Rachel managing the bank account. This is where you find our upcoming rallies, plus there is always a link on the website, find what’s going on and how to enter via the “dates for your diary” page.  The website will be having a makeover in the next few weeks making everything easier to find, please be patient if there are few issues when it is being redone.  
Camp 24 is finally taking shape. We have made the decision to move the main camp to Vale View which will provide a very different experience, but hopefully a good one. It is really important that you sign up as “expression of interest” on the website booking page as soon as possible as we need to know approximate numbers that we may get there. There will possibly be a separate mini camp the week after the bank holiday (27-29 August). Having spoken to a lot of you, I am confident that most children will still be on school holidays, but this is provisional. I promise I shall attempt to confirm as soon as possible.
Year 11’s and above, don’t forget to book onto senior camp at Easter, there aren’t many places and this is a fantastic chance to get some early season training with Kirsty and Beth, plus have a lot of fun with members your own age. If you are at all unsure, don’t hesitate to pick up the telephone to Yvonne who has been running this camp for quite a few years now, and can answer any questions you have.
As always I welcome calls from you all, if ever you have any questions. Pony club is a very special environment, but I know it is tricky to get to grips with, especially at the beginning and all the committee are here to help. We have welcomed three new members this week, and I’m sure there will be many more during this year. I thank all of you who have recommended us to your friends.
Have a super February, and I look forward to seeing you all soon at one of the many activities coming up.

Jane