This month we have been busy preparing for our November rally at the Whittlesea Show this weekend.
Whittlesea Show Competition Days
We have approximately 26 members participating in this event over 2 days, so it promises to be a lot of fun and a great opportunity to try something different and introduce our newcomers to the world of competing in a friendly, supportive environment. The Whittlesea Show has now been operating for 154 years and we’re proud to support such a fantastic local event.
In addition to supporting our newer riders, our more experienced riders will have the benefit of instructor support under competition conditions.There can be enormous variation in horse and rider behaviour at rallies compared to competing and we believe there is much to be gained by our instructors watching our riders competing under pressure. We are very pleased to have Robbie Allen and Lisa Bray in attendance to support our riders in the showjumping ring and Lisa Bray and Jessie Olinder in attendance on Sunday.
We have had a few late entries, so an updated participant list has been prepared and issued. Please check that your name is on it.
Horse Trials Training Days
The “Horse Trials Training Day” Sally Gill arranged over the holidays was a huge success. Those that attended gained valuable insight from some very experienced riders and it was an ideal opportunity to get some cross country training in before the closure of our course. Sally has also arranged a further training day next weekend at Wyena PC and a separate email has been sent to all members about this. The day will provide another fantastic opportunity for our riders to train on a cross country course before our horse trials.Numbers are limited, so contact Sally ASAP if you are interested.
A huge thank you to Sally for organising these clinics. They take a great deal of time and effort from planning to set up to pack up but it’s all worth it. They provide a truly invaluable resource for our members.
Competitions
Congratulations to Jessica Grant who successfully competed in the National Interschool Equestrian Championships in WA over the holidays. It is a wonderful achievement to even qualify to compete in this event and Jess was great. Well done Jess!!
Another important event on the pony club calendar is the Northern Metro Zone qualifying competition for the State Dressage and Showjumping Championships. This will be held on Saturday and Sunday the 7th and 8th of December at Hurstrbridge Pony Club. This event is for Grade 1, 2 and 3 dressage riders and A, B and C showjumpers. All entries must be submitted by the club and individual entries will not be accepted. If you wish to enter these events please notify me by Friday 16th November 2013. For further details visit the Northern Metro Zone website.
Christmas Rally
Please remember that our Christmas Rally will be held on Saturday 30th November 2013. As always, this event will commence in the morning, leaving time for riders to get home and organised for our Christmas Party held later that evening. Stay posted for further details regarding this event!!
Other News
A reminder that all competition results need to entered onto our website by 5.00pm on Tuesday 19th November 2013. Calculation of all results will need to take place that week, so we cannot accept any late results. Please remember that results must always be entered onto our system within 3 months of the competition. All results recorded via our old website will be calculated and added to results on the new website, so there is no need to re-enter results on our new website.
An urgent call for all holders of perpetual trophies to contact Lisal O’Brien on 0419 567 308 or Bec Cartwright on 0429 484 429 to arrange the return of trophies in time for this year’s presentation night.
Happy riding!
Sinéad Hanlon.