Thetford Chase Pony Club Newsletter

Hello 2025!

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year to all our amazing Pony Club family – whether you’ve been with us forever or are brand new to the gang! We hope you’re keeping warm and powering through the winter chores (we know, mucking out and riding in the cold isn’t always fun). But don’t forget how awesome you’ve all been since summer camp – and think about all the exciting events and training lined up this year. Bring it on!

A Look Back at the end of 2024

At our Christmas presentation evening at Euston Hall, we celebrated some incredible achievements. Here’s a little reminder of the winners:

Best junior: Ellis

“Up for everything and never phased by anything, particularly in the showjumping and XC when it might be with older children. Keep up the good work!”

Best senior: Emily

“Never seen without a smile on her face, always willing to help others often seen helping the younger children when she isn’t on a horse. A lovely asset to our club.”

Most improved Junior : Esmae

“For many years, was nervous to canter or tackle any jumps without getting upset. Now she is happy to push herself and asks to do bigger jumps and joins in the mounted games all with a smile on her face..”

Most improved senior: Zara

“Having been unsure on canter and jumping especially in the open with maybe not the easiest of horses, Zara has really proved herself this year and many times she has picked herself off the floor, brushed her self down and tried again. She can now happily jump round cross country courses as well as compeiting in Area Dressage.”

Show jumping: Emily

“At the area SJ she held her own and kept the nerves down to finish a very respectful 5th place with a speedy jump off.”

Best pony: Lola’s Tommy

“The pony we can always rely on and such a gentleman. When ridden he always gives it his all regardless of the discipline Lola throws him at. We all would like to take Tommy home.”

Sportsmanship: Niamh

“When arriving at senior camp Niamh hadn’t had her new pony long and it was all looking so hopeful until she came flying off him twice into the water on the first day. But she didn’t once seem bothered and just got back on and carried about her day!”

Endeavour: Theresa

“This young lady proved herself at senior camp where she was lucky enough to ride her mums lovely horse Joey. However half way through he got swapped and unfortunately Mocha didn’t want to play ball quite as much as Joey. Theresa however didn’t lose focus and rode positively and overcame all the obstacles that Mocha would rather not do.”

Junior attendance: Bella & Senior attendance: Sophia

“Both always turning up and supporting the club, and never without a smile on their faces”

Tetrathlon: Jack

“The Eastern Area Tadpole champion although Benjamin was close behind in 3rd place.”

Novice dressage: Bella

“Bella achieved the highest score at the grassroots dressage competition held at Ickworth back in the summer”

Senior dressage: Connie

“The highest score at grassroots at Ickworth. Putting her forward to the regional finals where she was placed high enough to go into the ride off.”

Endurance : Jack

“Endurance Pony Club Championships and Jack came 5th in the intermediate class but 1st Junior for the event and won the horsemanship award and best shod while riding over 40km”

Polo cross Lola and Savannah:

“Competed at the Polocrosse National championships in a mixed area 8 team and finished 3rd.”

Outstanding member: Isla W

“Although she is much younger than her peers she coped fantastically at senior camp. She was polite and efficient and always the first to be tacked up! Her and Teddy always give everything a go, even if it meant Teddy running home and jumping massive cross country jumps in his way!None of this stops Isla and she will always be smiling and wanting to improve more.”

Mounted games: Eleanor, Annabelle, Iona and Esmae:

“Our Novice area 8 mounted games team, coming 8th in the games and 5th in their turn out.”

Service cup: Lexie

“With Lexie’s new horse not being quite ready for PC this year it hasn’t stopped her being fully involved with the club. Always offering to help at various different rallies, camps, tet etc. Nothing is ever too much for her from running with the lead rein to building xc jumps.”

And so many more achievements! Whether it was smashing dressage tests, flying round cross-country courses, showing off in mounted games, or competing at British Showjumpjng National Champs and Schools, you’ve all been fantastic.

TCPC SUCCESSES!

Area 8 pony club regionals … team 7th for Sophia, Zara, Theresa and Connie, with Connie also achieving fantastic results individually.

PC tests – we were so lucky to run 3 tests at the end of the year … D, D plus and C with all our participating members impressing the examiner and passing with flying colours.

Our Tetrathlon competitors have been going from strength to strength since the summer, with Stanley, Jack and Isla getting fantastic results at the last two competitions including a win for Stanley in the Tadpoles and a 3rd for Jack in the Minis at Area 6, and a team win for Benjamin, Jack and Stanley in the minis at Cottesmore. Isla’s mixed Beanie team took the win and Ellis won a 5th individually and a 2nd with his mixed team.

The Fitzwilliam have their competition at Oundle on the 25th January. Our Area Tri is on the 23rd February at Bottisham College.

If anyone else would like to join Tet training please give Hannah a call 07876 251493.

Upcoming Events & Training

We’ve got loads planned to keep you busy this winter. Here are the upcoming key dates:

• Showjumping Training (Easton College with Georgia):

Jan 14th | Feb 11th | Mar 18th

• Flatwork Sessions (Hill Farm with Jess):

Feb 6th | Mar 6th | Apr 3rd

• Stable Management (with Michala):

Jan 22nd | Feb 26th | Mar 12th | Apr 23rd

• Tetrathlon Training (with Hannah):

Jan 12th | Feb 8th | Mar 9th | Apr 19th

Plus, our friendly showjumping competition is at Forest Edge Arena on Feb 23rd – we’d love to see loads of you representing Thetford Chase. Details coming soon!

Want to give mounted games a go? North Norfolk PC is hosting a winter team friendly at Easton College on Jan 26th. Let us know if you’re interested – !

**Summer Camp Dates coming soon!**

Exciting News for 2025

We’ve made booking even easier! You can now bundle sessions (like flatwork, or showjumping, and stable management) into one payment on Horse Events, saving you late booking fees and with a cheaper overall booking fee. Don’t forget to grab the Early Bird Tetrathlon Offer before it closes on Jan 31st!

All booking through the Horse Events website as usual. More dates further into the year are available (or will be added ) on Horse Events.

Let’s make 2025 a year to remember! Stay warm, keep smiling, and see you all soon for some pony adventures!

The TCPC Team