Latest Newsletter

March 2026

Dear Members,

A big thank you to everyone who helped at the Spring Festival Dressage Qualifier in February – Martin, Jill G, Rachael, Sarah, Julie P, Val, Vicky, Jayne, Penny, Karen, Alex and Jade. It wasn’t as cold as it could have been, but we did have some heavy showers! The day ran extremely smoothly and we had a huge entry running from 8.15am to 8.15pm! Well done to the YAS competitors!

Best of luck to our members who are going to Addington for the Spring Festival Championships at the end of the month – Show Jumping: Ellie, Amelia, Holly, Emily O, Hamish, Izzy H and Arena Eventing: Emily O.

Huge congratulations to Zac, who was successful at the Tetrathlon training camp in being chosen to take part in the Pony Club International Tetrathlon Exchange to Australia in July! A wonderful result after so much training and dedication.

Zac, Ella F and Amber all took part in the Area 3 Winter Triathlon Qualifier in February and have all qualified for the National Winter Triathlon Championships later this month.

Our Mini Quiz Team – Ella, Emily, Phoebe, Hannah – had a good morning at the Area Quiz and finished in the top 10 out of 18 teams.

There will be a Spurs Assessment in the next few weeks – I have Lily N, Lara, Eleanor and Lucinda down for this so far. If anyone else is wanting to do it, please let me know as soon as possible. All those who have been assessed or who hold the full C+ test and who wear spurs, now have to have a yellow hat tag. No-one will be allowed to wear spurs at any Pony Club event or competition without this yellow hat tag and you will be asked to remove them!

Welcome to New Member: Abigail M.

Rally Dress/Turnout: Points are awarded throughout the year for turnout. In the winter, your pony is not expected to be completely spotless, but you and your tack can be clean, tidy and correct. During the winter months, at any rally, please dress for warmth, with sweatshirts, dark jodhpurs and warm coats. Hoodies and hooded coats must have the hood tucked into the collar or, better still, not be worn at all. Jewellery is not recommended and all long hair should be plaited or in a net. Don’t forget your gloves as your hands will get very cold – these are compulsory for dressage. All hats must have a current pink tag to show the correct standard for insurance purposes and no fixed peaks for cross country (80cms+), pony racing and games (Don’t forget to get new hats tagged at a rally.) Hat standards: PAS 015 2011 with BSI Kitemark, VG1 with BSI Kitemark, Snell E2016 & 2021, (BS) EN 1384:2023 with BSI Kitemark, ASTM-F1163 2015 &2023 with SEI mark, AS/NZS 3838 2006 onwards. Body Protectors are not compulsory, except for cross country, arena eventing and pony racing – BETA 2018 Level 3 standard (blue and black label) only. Spurs can only be worn if you have been assessed and awarded a yellow hat tag.

Branch Area Teams 2026: see details of Area competitions under Dates to Note (some of these have been amended so do check you have the correct date!)(SJ/Eventing: 70/80/90/100/110m.) If you are interested in being considered for an Area Team, please let Gill know. You must be an active, current member to take part and are expected to have attended at least three rallies/events since 28 July 2025. Area competitions are qualifiers within each Pony Club area in the country for a place at either the National Championships in mid August or the Regional Championships at the end of August 2026. This is nothing to do with various Branch competitions, including Junior Series show jumping. N.B. PC70 classes (not 70+) are for those members 13 years and under as at 1 Jan 2026.

Dressage Tests for PC Area Dressage (12 July): PC70 Regional: Foundation PC70 Dressage Test 2026, PC80 Regional: Grassroots PC80 Dressage Test 2026, Novice: Novice PC90 Dressage Test 2026, Intermediate: Intermediate PC100 Dressage Test 2026, Open: Open PC110 Dressage Test 2026. Dressage Tests for PC Area Eventing (21 June): PC70 Regional: Foundation PC70 Dressage Test 2026, PC80 Regional: Grassroots PC80 Dressage Test 2026, PC90: PC90 Eventing Test 2026, PC100: PC100 Eventing Test 2026, PC Chairman’s Cup: PC chairman’s Cup Eventing Test 2026, PC110: PC110 Eventing Test 2026. All the above tests are new for 2026 and can be downloaded from www.pcuk.org