Bev Whitehead Garran Beg Rally 27th March 2011

All those younger members who attended the Garran Beg rally at the Glebe today enjoyed lessons which were both instructive and also great fun! 

Bev came highly recommended and this recommendation was totally justified as members were kept totally focused and all admitted that the lesson 'just flew by'. 

We are delighted to have found another instructor who obviously enjoys instructing and we will definitely be contacting Bev again to come back over to teach.

William Blane Rallies 26/27th March

Once again there was very good attendance at these rallies. All members who attended enjoyed excellent instruction from this very experienced and talented Instructor. William is a most enthusiastic person and inspires all those he comes into contact with, we are most fortunate here on the island that he has found time in his extremely busy schedule to visit and instruct on three occasions during the winter. We will definitely invite him back and hope that he can fit us in his calendar again

Cross Country Course Walk with William Blane

Pony Club have a new cross country course at Oatlands. The course has been designed by William Blane FBHS and built by Jill, David and Dan Shacklock. There are some new and interesting combinations on the course intended to encourage control and straightness through the fences. With these aims in mind William hosted a course walk on Saturday afternoon 24th March. Over twenty members enjoyed the benefit of William's expertise and can now look forward to riding the course at the first Hunter Trial on 10th April.

Achievement Badge Awards

On Friday 18th March along with holding our very successful Comic Relief fund raising, quite a few members had to work hard taking their grooming achievement badge. The following members were successful:-
Kirree Quayle, Ella Perry, Katy Schreiber, Lucy Sellors, Isla Quayle, Annabelle Ackers, Alicia Oates, Harriet Lee, Charlotte Shimmin, Jack Kinrade, Nathan Mealin, Katie McKnight, Bethany Hanson, Abby Jackson, Tinesha Kinley and Kaitlyn Arrowsmith. Well done to you all and many thanks to Paula Kelly for her dedication teaching members throughout the winter.

Event Training Update

We have decided to cancel the training on Tuesday 26th April at Oatlands.

It seems more appropriate for those wishing to be considered for Area Teams (Dressage, Showjumping, Eventing) to enter the Combined Training on Monday 25th April and for those wishing to be considered for Eventing and Tetrathlon to enter the Hunter Trial on Sunday 10th April.

You should enter a class at the height you wish to be considered for in Area Teams.

If you have any queries please contact Alice on 481510

There will be a training night at Kennaa Equestrian Centre on Thursday 14th April, if you wish to attend please send your payment of £10 made payable to Isle of Man Pony Club to Sue Staley, 10 Stowell Place, Castletown IM9 1HF before 31st March.

Senior Camp 2011

Eight senior members, Abby, Lori, Kirree, Will, Imogen, Tabbie, Claire and Nicole, all enjoyed a fantastic two day camp at GGH on the 19th/20th March. The instructor for the weekend was Mr Richard Clarkson, BHSII. Richard has been coming to the island for many years, most recently for the last two years at Senior Camp. Those that attended last year were eager to take part again and for new members it proved to be a most enlightening experience. Richard competes regularly at dressage and eventing and passes on his enthusiasm to all those he instructs. Nearly everyone from Camp went out for supper on Saturday night and this proved to be really good fun. It was most gratifying to see all these senior members mounted on lovely horses and beautifully turned out, Richard especially wanted to let you all know how much he enjoyed the weekend.

Horse and Pony Care raise funds for Comic Relief

Members, friiends and parents attending the Horse and Pony Care evening at Kennaa on 18th March all joined to raise funds for Comic Relief. There was a raffle, lovely cakes for sale and a few small novelty items which raised a grand total of £195.04. Well done!

National Equine Health Survey

The National Equine Health Survey has been set up to improve the health of horses in the UK. By gathering data about common problems like lameness, obesity and coughs, we'll be able to target resources towards preventing those aliments. Around 3,500 horses, ponies, donkeys and mules signed up to the 2010 pilot. You can take part this year on one day during the survey week 9 - 15 May.
Currently disease surveilllance is based around exotic diseases such as African horse sickness and West Nile virus which leaves a gap in our knowledge about what other health problems the national horse population face. We hope you'll be willing to take part and help contribute to a healthy future for our horses.
For more information or to register visist www.bluecross.org.uk/NEHS or email NEHS@bluecross.org.uk

Stop Press: Event Training - April - Change of Date: Open to all members who are hoping to represent the Club at Area Events 2011

Due to events/holidays clashing with the original date we have now changed the date for this training to Tuesday 26th April. This training will take same format as originally posted. All members who entered for the original date of 14th April will have their entry carried forward but others who may now be able to attend should send entry with fee £10 to be sent as normal to Sue Staley by 1st April. If you are wishing to be considered but are unable to attend this event please let Sue know. A meeting will be held shortly after this event to discuss arrangements for travel and stabling.If you need any clarification regarding the above please contact Alice on 481510

Red Nose Day

In aid of Comic Relief on 18th March the Pony Club will be doing some fundraising during the Horse and Pony Care Achievement Badge Night at Kennaa. All members are invited to wear their red noses with their Pony Club sweatshirts. There will be some small fundraising stalls at the end of the Horse & Pony Care session so please bring some extra money along to help support this very worthy cause.

Event Training - April - Open to all members who are hoping to represent the Club at Area Events 2011

On Thursday 14th April the event training will be held at Oatlands, Santon. This training is open to any member who is eligible (ie.attended 3 rallies and membership paid by 31 Jan 2011) including those that have been unable to attend training but is thinking they would like to compete at an Area Event for our Branch (Eventing, showjumping, Dressage). Any Tetrathletes will need to compete successfully at our future cross country events.
You will be required to ride the dressage test and jump a round of show jumps for the level you are hoping to compete at. Before making any decision regarding teams we need to check that you are safe and capable of competing at your chosen level.
Novice Level 3 Novice Eventing Test 2006 Showjumping 95cm
Intermediate Level 4 Intermediate Eventing Test 2009 Showjumping 1.05m
Open Level 5 Open Eventing 2010 Showjumping 1.15cm

Entry with fee £10 to be sent as normal to Sue Staley by 1st April. If you are wishing to be considered but are unable to attend this event please let Sue know. A meeting will be held shortly after this event to discuss arrangements for travel and stabling.
If you need any clarification regarding the above please contact Alice on 481510