SATURDAY 25TH JUNE 2011

Firstly I would like to announce the arrival of 2 new ponies, Lincoln a 14 year old Grey Connemara gelding and Daisy a 5 year old Welsh section D chestnut mare, & the departure of both Myles & Louis who have gone to a jumping yard.

Now to the business of the day;

The 2 sessions once again ran parallel to each other; The members all did a mixture of things starting with wild flowers, once again they were shown various wild flower pictures and told a little bit about each one.

We also planted 2 Giant Sunflower seeds for them to grow on at home. This is a long running competition, when the seeds have germinated and grown big enough, they are to plant them in their gardens; when the Sunflower actually come into full flower, each member needs to have a photo taken of them standing next to their Sunflower, They then bring in the photo, and we will measure them; Paul will be given the photos with each members height and then do the maths, the winner will be the person who has grown the biggest Sunflower and the tallest Sunflower. Prizes will be given once all photos are in & the Maths done!

We then did a whole mixture of things from grooming & mucking out to field maintenance. Some of the members expressed a wish to try for some more badges and I am pleased to announce that the following members have achieved the standard for the following:

Points of the pony: Cormac
Nathaniel

Fire Safety: Cormac
Nathaniel

Points of Tack: Kirsty
Joely
Millie J
Scarlet
Leah

Feed your pony: Cormac
Nathaniel
Scarlet
Joely
Leah
Tamryn

Congratulations to you all!
The children have to work very hard to achieve these badges, and are tested to a high standard, I am sure that you are all very proud of your children, I know I am!

Riding was with Jenna, who worked on their position, classical seat and the use of their weight aids.

The members all worked very hard and Jenna has said that this weeks most improved riders were Annabella & Alice – very well done.

This Weeks Birthdays!!!

This week we have 2 Birthdays

Scarlett V will be 8 years old on the 19th &
Amy (One of our helpers)who will be 16 Years old on the 23rd

Make we wish you both A very Happy Birthday from all of us at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre

Next Week!!!

Next week we will take another look at Wild flowers, There will be another practical growing session, a creative time, and a long running competition to see who can grow the tallest sunflower and the largest sunflower.

Saturday 18th June 2011

Today we covered plaiting! June showed the members how to plait up a mane for a show or hunting, followed by the tail. They were taught how many plaits to do down the horses neck, and how to finish them off into a neat ‘blackberry’ shape. They were instructed on how to do the forelock as well. That is done like the tail but finished of with the ‘Blackberry’ bobble.

All of the members had very good attempts at this. Plaiting up a horse is not an easy thing to do, with the tail and forelock being the hardest parts. It would be much simpler if they didn’t move but……… As we all know, they are living breathing creatures that fidget worse than very young children who are bored just when you need then to be still. There were lots of cries of “I can’t do this” or “ He/She keeps on moving”. I glad to say that everyone persevered and a very passable job was done by all!

Mucking out was done with Jenny and completed so quickly that she had time to show some of the members how to braid with 4 & 8 strands of twine, so definitely a plaiting day!!!

Riding was shared between Jenna & June. June took our newest members and concentrated on getting them balanced & relaxed in the saddle, Ella & Josh have joined pony club right at the beginning of learning to ride, but did extremely well.

Jenna tested the members on their ‘E’ Riding Test and I am glad to say that the following members have passed:- Megan – Abby - Millie T – Alice - Chloe P – Libby – Bailey – Hannah – Eryn – Emily – Ted – Amy – Tam – Jemima – Lorcan – Megan O – Annabella & Cormac

Jenny also informed me that Ella & Josh have passed their grooming badge – Well done to all you guys & gals, you have been absolutely wonderful today.

2 weeks ago, the members covered one of the sections on wild flowers, and we held a small competition with a bean seed, to see who could grow the healthiest plant. In the morning session I am pleased to announce that Chloe P won with the best looking plant. She has already received her prize! The afternoon sessions winner was Jemima, she has yet to receive her prize as she had to leave before they were judged. The prize for the best kept log will be announced at the end of next weekend!

Happening Next Week!

Next week, we will be concentrating once again on the show & judging our bean seeds & their logbooks for them – don’t forget to bring them back, lots of prizes await! We will also be learning how to plait manes for the show ring.

This Weeks Birthdays

Annabel who will be 8 on the 16th
Nathaniel who will be 8 on the 17

Saturday 11th June 2011

Firstly I must apologise for the complete lack of photos this week. Paul was simply too busy to take any and the rest of us were too busy teaching or helping to be able to take any.

Today our 2 sessions of Pony Club were met with great enthusiasm and gusto from all the members who came, June did Fire Safety & Awareness with the members. We discussed how fires can start on the stable yard and how to prevent them. The members all had a dig in the muck heap and felt just how hot it becomes on a relatively mild day. They all had the opportunity to play act finding a fire and calling for help, and with the use of a dummy phone were able to call the fire brigade using 999! The loud calls of ‘FIRE! FIRE!’ rang out loudly all around the yard,( it’s a miracle that the neighbours didn’t actually call the fire brigade out on our behalf!) The ringing of the fire alarm however seemed to be the flavour of the day, and without exception, all the members were keen to do this task. A few of them even pretended to be on fire so that a demonstration of how to use a fire blanket could be done.
They each received a handout leaflet, showing the different types of fire extinguisher with information on which types of fire to use them on and which types NOT to use them on. A few members however have left their handouts behind. If any of them are missing them please ask for them next week!

Jenna concentrated on helping the members prepare for show, by working on their turning ability, steering & overall control as well as accuracy in the school. The members also developed a chant that could be heard all over the stables & probably well into Knockholt village centre as well!

‘Everywhere we go
People always ask us
Who we are and where we come from
So we tell them
We’re from Pine Ridge
And if they can’t hear us
We shout a little louder
WE’RE FROM PINE RIDGE!!’
This was heard up in the yard from down at the bottom of the fields. Everyone was in top form & high spirits, and hopefully all had a great day.
Jenna’s most improved riders this week are Lorcan & Bailey – Well done!

Jenny did yard duties and horse handling with the members. In keeping with the forthcoming show, they concentrated on grooming & tacking up this week. Jack once again came into his own, as he is small enough so that everyone can practice on him. He was groomed to quite a high standard, his tack was put on & taken off many times and the members were also able to ride him on the lead rein with Jenny. Jenny was most impressed with their horses handling skills this week are Jemima, Tam & Cormac.

The ponies had a lot to contend with this week, there was the imagined fire with members screaming out FIRE! FIRE! - Ringing the Fire Alarm – running all over the yard pretending to turn ponies out into the paddocks & the riders shouting out their chant, they behaved perfectly, they just looked round at it all, sighed & then stood there & let the members just get on with it where most other horses & ponies would have been fidgety at best & downright panicked at worse.

** Coming up next week **

With the long hot dry spell we have had and are still having, we feel that we have to cover fire safety again!

It is such an important subject with fires breaking out not just in stables but also on Heath land as well as homes and businesses that the members really need to understand fully what to do in this type of situation.

This weeks Birthdays

This week there are 2 members with birthdays
Sophie will be 7 years old on the 7th &
Madison will be 10 years old on the 9th

We would all like to wish both of you a very happy birthday from all here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre

Saturday 4th June - Afternoon session

This afternoon started with everyone in high spirits. Jenny took the members for grooming and yard duties and I think Jack is probably the cleanest pony on the yard. They also all had a go at Tacking up Jack, everyone also had a go at riding him today, all being led by Jenny and He behaved very well indeed.

Jenna took the members in the field and in the school and was able to do some jumping with them although the focus was again riding in open order so that the members could demonstrate their riding control, communication and their up & down transitions. Her most improved rider this week was Hannah.

We also had a ‘Mad’ session in the sand school and let off a lot of steam, jumping on foot and playing ‘British Bulldog’

We also did another session of seed planting. This is a 2 week competition to find the best kept log and the best kept seed. This is towards their Wild flowers Achievement badge, they need to learn plant structure and how a plant grows from seed. They need to learn to recognise different wild flowers and whether or not they are poisonous to horses. They also have to learn what the Law says about picking wild flowers.

We had a good day and we hope that all of the members enjoyed themselves. See you all next week.

Saturday 4th June - Morning session

This morning was a bit quieter than usual with many members away either on holiday or other club events so we were unable to play any of the planned pony club games. However, the children were wonderful, they worked well on the ground with their grooming & mucking out with them all being able to pick up a ponys hoof and clean it out by themselves! This can be a very difficult & heavy job to do as some ponies lean on you while you do this job.

Riding was with Jenna, and all of the children were riding in open order, (doing their own thing on their pony) for about 15 minutes. All were well supervised and were able to keep control with a few words of assistance from Jenna most stayed in walk and showed off their riding skills and a couple tried trotting by themselves.
The most improved rider was Millie J, however Tamryn was the star in this riding session, managing to have a ride on all of the ponies.

June did some more work towards the members Wild Flowers Achievement Merit Badge, The members have all taken a seed home to grow for 2 weeks with a log to fill in daily. There will be prizes for both the best kept log and the best looked after seed. The members were very keen this morning and showed good knowledge. They need to learn many things for this badge, such as, how do plants grow from seed, what are the different parts of a flower, recognise different wild flowers and most importantly, if any of the wild flowers are poisonous. After all, they wouldn’t want their pony or horse to die from eating something poisonous! They will also need to learn the law regarding picking wild flowers.

Hopefully this is what they will see growing during the next 2 weeks!