April DC Report

April 2014

40th Anniversary Celebrations

On Saturday night, the celebration of our 40th anniversary year commenced with a function at the Yarrambat Golf Club. It was wonderful to hear from the club’s first ever DC and the night provided a great opportunity for us to acknowledge the efforts of the founding members that built the club. Many past members enjoyed a night of reminiscing and it was evident that pony club builds life long friendships. We now look forward to the next phase of our anniversary celebrations which will focus on our current members, our kids and riders of all ages, so look out for news from the newly formed Junior Committee who are busy investigating some fun options for party number 2!

Out and About

Once again, we have had lots of riders out and about enjoying the flurry of competition available at the moment. Many of our members enjoyed a great day at the Dressage and Showjumping day hosted by Ivanhoe Grammar at our grounds recently and we have also had riders competing at Wyena Horse Trials, Lilydale Horse Trials, Monash Dressage and Showjumping, to name a few. If you haven’t yet started competing but are keen to give it a try, please chat to one of us (myself, Bec or Lisa Bray) if you are unsure and would like some information or reassurance.

Zone Clinics

Another great resource for both new and existing competition riders are the clinics which Northern Metro Zone conduct at pony clubs within our Zone. I have outlined some below, but please refer to the NMZ website for further information.

  • Mooroolbark: Pre 5 & 5 – 9 & 10 April
  • Eltham: Pre 5-5 – 28th & 29th June
  • North Eastern: 4-5 clinic – 9 & 10th July
  • Yarra Glen: 4-5 clinic – 24th & 25th September

State Dressage and Showjumping Championships – Success!

Congratulations to Abbey Turnbull and Kim Apted who represented our Zone at the recent State Dressage and Showjumping Championships.

Kim-Apted

Abbey rode in the Grade 1 Dressage competition amidst a very strong field of over 25 riders and Kim competed against more than 30 riders in the C grade show jumping competition.

Abbey and Kim produced very impressive results, both finishing in the top ten of their section individually and Kim had the added bonus of coming home with a lovely prize winning rug as her NMZ team of 4 riders placed 1st overall – a fantastic achievement for Kim and for the Northern Metro Zone (NMZ)!

Some sad news

One of our newer club members, Maddie Neville, lost her beloved horse “Buddy” last week. Nineteen year old Buddy sustained a nasty tendon injury in a paddock accident and sadly, couldn’t be saved, but we hope that Maddie stays around and we wish her well as she recovers from such a devastating loss. 

PCAV Certificates

It is that time of year when we get certificate work underway. We will be commencing C certificate classes at our May rally, so if you haven’t already advised that you wish to complete this certificate, please do so ASAP. If you haven’t read the information posted in the Feb and March DC reports, please review it.

Some riders will need to finalise their D certificate before they commence the C certificate, so there have been temporary changes made to groups for the April rally. If you are in this category, (at least 12 years old and haven’t completed the D certificate) and have not been placed in the D Certificate group, please contact me before the rally.

A reminder that completion of the C certificate is required before you can participate in any competition at state level if you are at least 14 years old and have been at pony club for more than 2 years.

Horse Trials – Rule Changes for State Qualifiers and Interzones

These changes were outlined in my Feb DC report and are published in the 2014 Horse Trials Rules book, but please remember that all riders who qualify at an event must now get their card signed by a Zone rep at the event. So if you are competing at Yeringberg next Sunday and wish to be considered for the Grade 3 & 4 Interzones or Grade 1 & 2 State Horse Trials – get your card signed at the event!

NMZ have also asked us to notify riders that when a rider now has a 4th refusal on the x country course, they must leave the course immediately at a walk. Riders are not allowed to continue and face a 3 month suspension if they do not abide by this rule.

Ring to Ride Groups

With school holidays and competitions, we have a number of riders not in attendance at the April rally, so Blue and Grey groups have been merged for this rally only. Riders in the Blue group may still select preferences from either of the top 2 groups.

I will not be at the April rally as I am heading overseas for a short break, but you will be very well looked after by our Assistant DC, Bec Cartwright. I have been trying to ascertain numbers early, so if I have not contacted you by text already, could you please text your preferences to me asap.

Good luck to our club members who are competing at Yeringberg on Sunday!

Sinéad