Pine Ridge Pony Club

SATURDAY7TH JANUARY 2012

2012-01-08T05:44:00.000-08:00

With our 1st Pony Club Rally of 2012, may we take this opportunity to hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas, and we wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Can I eat this?

Today saw Jenna taking the riding sessions as usual, and with the members all having been away for 2 weeks during the holiday season a lot of figure-work & transitions were brushed up on. Several members still had their holiday heads on and had a lot of fun. But then Pony Club Should be fun, as well as lots of learning with the opportunities to apply that learning. Jenna also worked on control and accuracy as well as Jumping with the senior members.

Jenny Worked in the yard, grooming & mucking out with the members, she also (with the help of the members) developed our own ‘Pine Ridge Pony Club’ version of the ‘Macarena’ which the children all had a whole lot of fun with!

This is going to continue as a work in progress for the future – watch this space.

All of the members also like the hula-hoops and, as this also helps with their balance and co-ordination time is usually allocated for this most weeks.

June meanwhile was round the back covering Road Rider. This is a very long badge to learn and we will cover it many more times before the members will be able to be tested on it. They have to learn the rules of the road, and when they should dismount & lead their horses, how to ride different road junctions & roundabouts, spotting hazards etc. This is one of the few badges that we have to have an outside examiner for – we are not allowed to test ‘in-house’ and will not put anyone forward for this badge until we are certain that they will pass it! Only one member has already done this badge and she did it at the age of 16! The members have to learn to think about how to do these things for themselves, so rather than trying to ‘drum’ it into them, June tries to teach by asking questions on how they ‘think’ it should be ridden – If they get it wrong then she corrects them, as they have all had in the past, the lectures and the practical sessions!

This book can help your child to study & learn for this badge at home - it is available from the Pony Club. to purchase please go to
Cost is £2.95 - a small price to pay to help keep your child safe when riding out on the road!

This weeks birthdays

Chloe will be 8 on the 13th January
We would like to wish you a very Happy Birthday from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

Forthcoming events

We are getting together a Quiz Team made up of 4 members to take part in the Pony Club NUF National Quiz of 2012! So we are looking for:

1 Member any age under 12 on 1st January 2012
1 Member any age under 14 on 1st January 2012
1 Member any age under 16 on 1st January 2012
1 Member any age under 21 on 1st January 2012

These are the ideal age range choices, however we can double up on ages.
All team members MUST be friendly, happy, smiley, horsey loving people, with a need to WIN (as we must WIN).

If you think you would love to take part and are willing to put the time in to WIN, then feel free to talk to Jenny, June or Hannah N to find out more!

SATURDAY 3RD DECEMBER 2011

2011-12-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

What a lovely but chilly start to December. The members almost decided for themselves what they wanted to do today (with a little bit of guidance from us)

Jenna took all of the riding today and worked on a wide variety of things. With the older members there was jumping exercises, balance, control, 20m circles etc all done in trot while with the younger members, there were also lots of balancing exercises, accuracy, 20m circles, serpentines, etc however they were done in walk. They all rode round on the track as well during the morning session.

They followed the riding with untacking the ponies and putting them back into their stables.

Meanwhile June had all of the members in the yard, for grooming, mucking out, cleaning water buckets & Putting hay round all of the stables ready for lunch time. They had their knowledge of grooming tested, mucking out also for the reasons behind each job. They also made sure that the horses had hay in their stables for lunch.

After all of this was done, they all went into the school on foot for the fun.

Firstly, Hannah gave them a lesson on dressage on foot where they tried different exercises.

Jenna then gave them a jumping lesson on foot. She started with some ground poles set at a certain distance apart and got the members to jump over them with a varying amount of strides between each jump. This is a ground exercise to help teach the members about the horses striding and how sometimes you have to ask the horse to lengthen its stride OR shorted it, (very few jumping courses are set at ideal distances for your own horse).

In the afternoon session, we had 3 small competitions! The first was the best groomed horse or pony! Each member was allocated a pony for the afternoon, and they each had to do all their own grooming. The winners of this were Eryn with Fred & Alice with Barney! They both did very well.

The second was fo the best rider of the day, again there were 2 winners for this category – Emily on Danny & Annabel on Jack. Both rode extremely well and have improved immensely.

The final category was for our helpers, Both Hannah B & Hannah N are Pony Club Members as well as being helpers. They often go unmentioned but the other members got together and decided that the final category should go to the helpers for the amount of time, effort & help that they give to all of the other members.

Well done to all of you members & helpers alike for such good work!

SATURDAY 26TH NOVEMBER 2011

2011-12-01T07:06:00.000-08:00

We did a very wide variety of things this week! The members started out with Alice’s Charity Cake Stall – Alice was doing her Fund Raising Badge & decided on a cake sale. There were a wide variety of very delicious cakes & cookies and Alice did a roaring trade all morning, She thought that she had made enough to be able to come back in the afternoon and sell more, but misjudged just how popular they would be – She sold out and has raised somewhere in the region of £35 for the Neuroblastoma Society for Childhood Cancers – Extremely well done Alice!

Riding was with Jenna & June who worked on the usual Accuracy, Control, Figure Work & Balance with lots of exercises to achieve these aims.

Unfortunately during June’s Session there was an episode when the horses spooked due to the sudden appearance of a Pheasant followed by a strange dog, that had the ponies all dancing sideways and 3 Riders parted company from their ponies. This just goes to show how unpredictable ponies can be & why balance is so very important.

On the yard with Jenny, the members were grooming, mucking out, doing hay & waters and one member asked if she could show her how to do a tail plait so that she could try to do it as well (June got the job). They also did some horse handling & leading on the yard using Jack & Ella with Jenny.

Meanwhile, back in the sand school Hannah was teaching the members about dressage. She had the members doing figure-work on foot, collected & extended trots & canters all on foot. There was a lot of energy expelled doing these exercises and they were a lot of fun.

This Weeks Birthdays

Joshua was 9 years old on the 25th November & Megan was 12 years old on the 30th November. May we wish you both a belated Happy Birthday from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

SATURDAY 19TH NOVEMBER 2011

2011-11-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

The members were, as usual, separated into groups! Jenna concentrated on the riding and covered accuracy & control in walk & trot as well as transitions from halt to walk & walk to halt.

They all rode very well indeed and the reward for the last session was mounted games!

Jenny & June worked in the yard with them doing mucking out, grooming, horse handling & tacking up.

Back to the mounted games! These were played on horseback in walk & involved bending in & out of bending poles, dismounting, running back over the stepping stones & throwing a ball into a bucket before running back to where the next team member was waiting to go on horseback.

This was a lot of fun but very tiring for those of us on the ground as we had to do a lot of running.

The members didn’t want to stop but as there was another session in the afternoon, we had to finally call a halt to the games & take the ponies in for lunch & Untack them.

The afternoon session ran in a similar vein but without the mounted games. We did riding in open order and had a lot of fun with that as it really enables the members to put into practice what they have learned.

SATURDAY 12TH NOVEMBER 2011

2011-11-13T04:05:00.000-08:00

Firstly I would like to apologise for the lack of last weeks blog, I have had an extremely busy week on a personal level and was unable to do it!

Now to the business of the day!

Announcing the winner of our Sunflower Growing Competition – Libby, her prize was a book on horsemanship which we have all signed for her and we hope that she finds it informative, Keep up the good work Libby.

Paul & Jack taught the members in the yard this week – They covered Mucking Out, Grooming, Sweeping the Yard, Filling Haynets, Filling Water Buckets & Feeding.

The Aim of these tasks is to instil some knowledge of how to care for a pony should they ever be lucky enough to own their own at some time in their lives.

There are certain jobs that have to be done every single day, regardless of how you feel or what the weather is like!

Mucking Out, Feeding & Watering your Horse is a daily job as should be grooming. Grooming is important to check for injuries or swellings that can lead to unsoundness in the horses.

Bailey was the star of these sessions as she just loves to do all of these really mucky jobs and does them so well.

Riding was with Jenna.

Jenna tried to get the members to act ‘drunk’ on the ponies to get them relaxed in the saddle! This enables them to test their balance in a relaxed way!

She then went on to do lots of different exercises to strengthen their position & balance. There were lots of leg stretching, toe touching & balancing by standing in the stirrups.

Jenna also did some Figure work with them like ‘Figures of Eight’ & ‘Three Loop Serpentines’

Yasmine was the most improved this week – well done Yasmine, keep up the good work.

During all of these exercises, Daisy decided that she was hot & the sand being quite wet looked very inviting to a hot horse, so she thought that she would quite like to roll and cool down! Poor Madison had to jump off quite quickly to avoid getting caught under her – well done Madison for acting so fast - Naughty Daisy!!!!!

Meanwhile – in the office June was in charge of the Crafting session that we had today. The members were making Cards with a horse theme. There was a lot of glue, a whole lot of glitter glue, a heap of noise and then on top of it all a lot, lot more glitter.

Some of the members have decided to keep their wonderful cards hidden from parents as a surprise so please excuse me if I don’t show any of the members finished items!

I will say however that they were all wonderful but the one I liked the mose was Alice’s first card (Some of the members managed to do more than one card)

Well done to you all, see you next week for more Pony Club Fun.

SATURDAY 29TH OCTOBER 2011

2011-11-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

Firstly I really have to apologise for the total lack of photographs this week, we have all had a very long week & by Saturday, the last thing on our minds was using the camera. 3 full pony days in front of 2 pony club sessions took its toll on all of us!!

Today Jenny concentrated on all of the Yard duties with the members, from Grooming & Mucking Out to Tacking Up, Feeding & Parts of the Tack.

Paul did Field Maintenance which is an essential part of horse care, as you need a knowledge of suitable fencing, poisonous plants, suitability of the grazing for the horses, the reasons for Poo Picking the paddocks, checking fencing, and the availability of shelter, both natural & man made.

As we had quite a number of members who had not done any work towards Working Dogs, June once again covered that subject. The members were paired up, the blindfolds came out again and they discovered how difficult it is to be blind and to get around on your own. They were then given their ‘Guide Dog’ who led them around the stables in a safe manner. All of the members then had a discussion on other types of jobs that dogs do, and the different breeds that do them. A lot of fun was had with this subject, and at the end of the day we managed to pursuade Jenny to have a go – she found it to be an absolutely terrifying experience and became totally disorientated.

Jenna concentrated on the riding this week and worked on co-ordination, balance, steering, accuracy & figure work. June also took one of the lessons and concentrated on figure work, transitions & accuracy Sienna was her most improved rider of the week.

SATURDAY 22ND OCTOBER 2011

2011-10-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

Today June revisited Wild Birds for a bit, with the members all choosing a bird to colour in and assemble. They were given a general outline of a generic bird along with a pair of wings, and instructed to colour in a REAL bird (some wanted to create their own weird & wonderful feathered friend). A few of the members wanted to do more than 1 bird & almost managed to complete both before their parents came to collect them.

Paul took the members for field maintenance, and all enjoyed that. For some reason, the all seem to like Poo Picking the fields & mucking out stables, and when faced with a choice of that or grooming, they will nearly all of them choose the Former over the latter.

Grooming was done with June & by the end of the sessions we had 2 extremely clean ponies which adore being groomed & pampered – Jack & Ella.

Jenna did most of the riding lessons again today and concentrated on Figure Work, Accuracy, Position, Control, Riding with one hand & Balance. All of her riders had a turn around the Riding Track & that helps to reinforce what they have learned. Hannah N was her most improved rider this week very well done Hannah

June took the last 2 lessons of the day and worked on Position Accuracy & Control. We did a series of exercises in the school that lead to a drawing by the ponies hooves in the sand of a spiders web! We started off with several changes of rein at different points to connect the ‘Spars’ of the web then followed it with a spiral in the centre of the school to complete the ‘Web’. We then took the ponies back to the outside track of the school where the ‘Web’ became visible! This exercise needs a lot of accuracy to do as well as a lot of control and the members all did very well. June’s most improved rider this week was Nathaniel, Very well done Nathaniel!

While June was in the school Jenna was in the yard filling Haynets & Water buckets with the members, and this is yet another job that they all enjoy doing.

Jenny went into the school with the members while the birds were being done, and each of the members had a turn at being the instructor. They had to mount unaided from the Mounting Block with Jenny Holding Freddie (the only help they received was from Jenny holding & leading Freddie) The instructor then gave them exercises to do, after a couple of turns round the sand school they then dismounted and it was then the instructors turn, with the next one to ride becoming the instuctor. A lot of fun was had & some of the exercises done involved dancing & riding backwards. Everyone seemed to enjoy this immensely.

The following members have passed badges: GROOMING MINI ACHIEVEMENT BADGE-
Harmony, Lillian, Georgia, Maya
HANDLING & GROOMING ACHIEVEMENT MERIT BADGE – Hannah N
WORKING DOGS MINI ACHIEVEMENT BADGE – Nathaniel
‘E’ RIDING TEST FELT – Nathaniel

Very well done to all of you!

SATURDAY 15TH OCTOBER 2011

2011-10-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

Talking about Fire Safety, (when you want a piece of straw to burn - you can be sure that it wont!)

Today we concentrated on Fire Safety! We enacted out what to do if they see a fire on the yard, they play acted about getting the horses out of their stables & releasing the into the paddocks. This was done by some of the members being the horses & the others either discovering the fire & ‘Calling the Fire Brigade’ while the others were putting headcollars onto the ponies & releasing then into the paddocks. There were a lot of shouts of ‘FIRE’ and all had a turn ringing the fire alarm. All of the members enjoyed this section immensely. We also discussed some of the possible causes of fires in stables, from incorrectly stored Hay, Electrical faults & the Muck Heap spontaneously combusting. Unfortunately now that our muck heap is back in the trailer, we were unable to feel how hot it gets inside this time but they were able to see the steam coming off from it which shows just how much heat there was in it.

Jenna took most of the riding lessons this week & concentrated on Balance, Figure work, 20 meter circles Changes of rein, 3 loop serpentines & working without stirrups June taking just one of the afternoon lessons. All lessons also rode around the track which all of the members like immensely. Her most improved rider this week was Hannah B.
In June’s lesson, she concentrated on steering & control and all of her pupils without exception did extremely well in their endeavours.

We also did Field maintenance, grooming, points of tack and I am pleased to say that both Yasmine & Alice have both passed their Points of the Tack Mini Achievement Badge. Well done to you both. We also covered Feeding your Pony, & learned the difference between Pony Nuts & Sugar Beet and how you must never ever feed Sugar Beet until it has been soaked for 24 hours as it will swell up to at least 5 times its original size!

Pony Nuts or Sugar Beet?

We also learned the difference between Hay & Haylage by look, feel & Smell!

We finished the morning session with a spot of grooming,skipping out the stables, cleaning & refilling water buckets & hula-hooping by popular demand.

The afternoon session was finished up with a pony club relay obstacle course, where they had to weave in & out of bending poles, run along stepping stones, throw a ball into a bucket, Hula-hoop and finally jump into a sack & jump back to the bending poles before leaping out of the sack & sprinting back to the rest of their team.
They didn’t want to stop at all & finally, Jenny & June decided to call it a draw as we had both lost track of how many times the teams had gone. They were all worn out at the end of the day, and so were we! I think that everyone will have slept well last night!

Belated Birthday Wishes go to our youngest member Sienna. We hope you had a very happy 5th Birthday on the 12th October! Belated Happy Birthday to you, from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

We have the first Sunflower photo in, this is Libby’s sunflower! Please can we have any other pictures of sunflowers as soon as possible – Thank you.

I am sad to say that one of our working pupils Teddy, has decided that he no longer wants to be at the stables. Ted had been at Pine Ridge for many years now, and has finally decided to finish. He has been an extremely popular pupil and has become a very proficient helper who will be very sadly missed. We would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the best in whatever he decides to do next. Good luck Teddy and thank you very much for all of your help & efforts over the years.

Ted through the years!

SATURDAY 8TH OCTOBER 2011

2011-10-13T03:35:00.000-07:00

We had a real treat today with a talk followed by a demonstration on Polocrosse. Polocrosse is a game that is a cross between Polo & Lacrosse played on horseback.

Jenny introduced our speaker Ashley, who besides being aPolocrosse player and a Barefoor Farrier, is also an ex Pony Clubber who has competed as a Junior in the Pony Club mounted Games, Show Jumping & Eventing and now plays in the ‘B’ grade Polocross League.

Ashley& his team came to the stables and while the horses were being warmed up, told the members a little bit about the game and how it is played also the pitch and its size. The width of the polocrosse pitch is actually wider than our Sand School so the riders had to show amazing control with both their aim and their riding skills.

After he had described how the game is played, he changed places with one of the other riders and with the 3rd team member acting as umpire, Ashley & his brother showed us some of the throws, catches & manouvers that are used when playing this game.

Afterwards it was the members turn to practice, without ponies I might add. They were shown how to catch the ball in the nets, throw the ball from the nets and also picking it up from the ground in the nets. The nets are fairly small approx 6” x 9” on a long handle. There is a lot of skill involved just being on the ground with throwing & catching into such a small area, so to do all of this while on a galloping horse, with sharp turns, stops & accelerations thrown together, balance & control come into play in a very big way.

All of the members had a lot of fun trying this out and trying to get them away to ride was a bit like pulling teeth, however we managed to get all the members riding at one time or another with many of them saying “can we go back & practice the polocrosse please”

We would like to say a very big thank you to Ashley & his Team for coming to give us such an informative and entertaining demonstration of Polocrosse.

For more details on this sport please go to www.polocrosse.org.uk or www.pcuk.org/disciplines/polocrosse

Riding was done on in the school for the 1st session followed by riding on the track in the following sessions due to the sand school being used for polocrosse.

The afternoon session was a little different as we didn’t have the demonstration. So we covered a wide range of subjects. The members took a bridle apart and then had to put it back together again. We did field maintenance, looked at poisonous plants, mucked out, cleaned & filled water buckets, rode, covered horse handling, grooming etc.

Everyone had such a good day and all were very attentive & hopefully some of what has been taught today will have stayed in their memory for future reference.

Olympia Indoor Horse Show

2011-10-05T06:14:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't yet know - We have arranged a trip to the Olympia Horse Show on Monday 19th December. Book & pay for you tickets before the end of October! Price includes Coach! Other pick-up point in Swanley to be confirmed - if needed!
Ring Jenny on 01959 533161 to come & enjoy the most festive Horse Show in Britain - enjoy the following events:

Evening Performance - from 6.45pm
(The Shopping Village will close half an hour after the last interval)

The Martin Collins Eraser Stakes

•The Kennel Club ABC Dog
Agility Stakes Final
•The Lusitano Ride from Portugal
•Osborne Refrigerators Shetland Pony Grand National
•Lorenzo The Flying Frenchman
Interval
The Kingsland Olympia Grand Prix

•The Christmas Finale supported by The Hilton London Olympia

Lots of shopping bargains to be had in the shopping village - come & join us for a great night out!

All of these events are to be seen on the night we are going.

SATURDAY 1ST OCTOBER 2011

2011-10-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

Today we once again did the same things in the afternoon session as we did in the morning one.

Paul taught the members a bit about ‘Public Speaking’. This is one of the Pony Club Achievement Merit Badges for the over 8 year olds. He tried to teach them how to project their voices, so that we could hear them at the bottom of the field. He did an exercise with them that gave each of them in turn the chance to be the speaker, while the ‘Audience’ were coached how they were to behave. They went from being loud & unruly to most attentive, bored, heckling, and even at one point getting off their seats and walking out! All of the different attitudes were chosen by the members without the speaker of the moment being involved in the decision. Every member had a go so no one was left out, everyone had a hand in making the decisions on how to react to the speaker and there was a lot of noise from the members. All in good fun I might add!

While this was going on Jenna was teaching & concentrating on position & control. The members did exercises as well as questions & answers on their riding. Each member is being taught to verbalise their aids on the horse to help them understand better how they work. Eryn is Jenna’s most improved rider this week.
June worked on Balance & accuracy as well as position. We did a lot of riding without stirrups to help get their seats well down in the saddle, and to improve their leg positions. Hannah B is her most improved rider for this week.

While Jenna was teaching, June & Jenny were with the members & Jack! Jack is proving to be quite the little star, suffering once again to have a lot of fluorescent stars stuck all over him labelling up the different parts of the pony. All the members really enjoy this exercise and seem to learn a lot faster this way as it is much more fun than just sitting with a diagram and having points of the pony shown to them!

They also labelled up June afterwards just for a bit of fun but had trouble finding her Chestnuts, so she decided that the belly button was a good place!!!!

We also did parts of the bridle in much the same way. The only difference being that Jack wasn’t wearing it at the time!

Hannah & Jenna did Horse Clothing while June was in the school, and covered Tendon Boots, Double Bridles, stable Rugs & Turnout Rugs as well as some Bits & other items of tack!

All in all, we had a very good day and to top it all, the weather was absolutely fantastic!!!!

Well done everybody – you all worked so very hard!
See you all again next week.

+ + + + + THIS WEEKS BIRTHDAYS + + + + +

Abigail H will be 10 on the 2nd October
Millie T will be on the 6th October
and finally
Satine will be 9 on the 7th October

May all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre, take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy birthday!

Saturday 24th September 2011

2011-09-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

Today with both sessions fully booked we were extremely busy indeed!

Jenny covered Equine First Aid with the members, and explained what to do in the case of an emergency, how they were to stay calm and call for help! Normal temperature was discussed, and there were a lot of Urgggh! Sounds when Jenny told them how to take a horses temperature. Then came the demonstration, with even more eughhhhhh!!!! That’s horrible from the younger members when Jenny inserted the thermometer in the horses rectum! Happily both ponies used had normal temperature of 37 degrees, the same as us humans.

Jenny then finished off with a quiz type game sticking the names of body parts onto Jack, who, bless him took it all in his stride and was very well behaved throughout, even though he had all of these brightly coloured stars stuck all over his body.

Hannah, meanwhile was round the back introducing the members to Dressage. She taught them about the dressage arena, and introduced them to a small variety of dressage moves (on foot), there were sounds of ponies in collected trot, extended trot, flying changes in canter & passage.

Jenna & June again shared the riding lessons! Jenna worked on position, balance, control & accuracy and was most impressed with Eryn who rode in a group with much more experienced riders, and managed to ‘up’ her riding skills to be able to keep up with them in ability. Well done Eryn!

June took the younger members and also worked on Balance & position as well as transitions from halt – walk & back to halt again. Her most improved riders were Chloe P & Harmony (Harmony had her 1st impromptu canter) who have only been riding for a few months & outshone some of the members who have been riding for over a year. Well done guys, keep up the hard work!

We have four Birthdays this week!!!

Annabel G will be 7 on the 25th Sept
Alice will be 11 on the 26th Sept
Grace will be 9 on the 30th Sept & finally
Abigail H will be 10 on the 2nd Oct

May we take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy Birthday from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre

SATURDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2011

2011-09-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

Today we had a super time, riding was once again with Jenna & June, & the members were made to work really hard on getting their position correct as well as accuracy in their aids. They worked on transitions and their positional changes in trot.

The older members worked hard on improving their seat in canter, their accuracy in the school, correct use of corners & control, they also worked in the two point position.

Back on the yard the members did mucking out, grooming, field maintenance, bandaging, poisonous plants, wildlife, paddock construction, water & hazards.

We recapped poisonous plants with the older members & taught the new members about them. When it came to bandaging however, the star turned out to be Josh, his bandaging skills were extremely good, well done Josh!

Meanwhile out in the paddocks Sienna turned out to be the star, just 5 years old is able to pick up a whole fork of dung and spot Ragwort very quickly indeed, and when asked to change jobs with another member, insisted on keeping the fork to continue picking up dung.

We also did some tests on care of the hoof, and I am pleased to say that the following members have passed their care of the foot Mini Achievement Badge. Eryn,Chloe, Yasmine, Tam, Millie T, Josh & Millie J – well done to all of you!

Hannah N meanwhile passed her perfect Paddock & the Saddlery Achievement Merit Badges – very well done Hannah.

SATURDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER 2011

2011-09-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

We did a wide variety of things today. The usual things such as riding, mucking out, Field maintenance & grooming were interspersed with varied subjects such as Knots, Tack, Horse Handling, points of the pony, quizzes, grooming brushes & their uses etc;

Both June & Jenna took the members for their riding lessons and concentrated on position and control of the horse in walk & trot. Accuracy in steering has to be learned by the younger members. The final goal will be to be able to control the pony while playing mounted pony club games, to be able to control the pony while out riding on the roads and to keep safe while taking part in a number of equine sports or just being a happy hacker!

While June was teaching in the school, Jenna was doing mucking out & grooming with them, and then their roles were reversed.

Paul did field maintenance with them & he informed me that the best in this endeavour was Madison W.

Meanwhile back in the yard Jenny did an amazing array of subjects with them from horse handling & points of the pony to points of tack, bandaging & rugs & Knots!

Everyone tried really hard, and hopefully had a good time!

+ + + + + This weeks birthday + + + + +

Robyn will be 15 years old on the 16th

All of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre would like to wish you a very Happy Birthday!

SATURDAY 3ND SEPTEMBER 2011

2011-09-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

<b>OLYMPIA HORSE SHOW

A reminder to all our members, we have a block booking for the Olympia Horse Show on 19 December at 6.45. We have excellent seats plus return luxury coach for £55 per person. Olympia is a fantastic show with loads of entertainment plus an extensive shopping village. Every member of the family will enjoy it. We need to finalise bookings by the end of September, so if you would like to book, please phone Jenny on 01959 533161 to reserve your place.

Pony Club Rally - 3 Sept.

Today we again split the riding between Jenna & June! June worked on position and transitions between walk- halt & halt – walk as well as walk – trot & trot - walk, balance of the rider and their strength & fitness. My most improved rider this morning was Chloe P & this afternoon was Yasmine.

Eggbut Snaffle Bit

Jenna also concentrated on position (As riders progress, position needs to be adjusted to avoid bad habits creeping in) also every time a rider changes transition from one pace to another, new position changes have to be learnt. Jenna also taught them how to use their corners correctly, and did exercises with then to improve both balance, seat position & rider fitness. Her most improved rider was Emily S.

Yew Tree or Bush (Our most poisonous plant) just one mouthful is enough to kill a horse within 1 hour!

In the yard the subjects covered were varied, Mucking out, grooming, horse clothing, bits points of the tack, Poisonous plants & field maintenance.

Full Cheek Eggbut Snaffle Bit

With many new members, all these subjects needed to be covered again and the reasons for doing them explained. The older members needed to cover all of this again to enhance their knowledge & understanding & to cement their learning.

Rhododendron, another exteremely toxic plant common in woodland as well as in gardens. Death usually occurs within a couple of hours of being eaten!

Dutch Gag Snaffle Bit

The members learned about different Bits from the Snaffle family, (the most commonly used bits in the horse world) and how they work on the horse.

Loose Ring Straight Bar Vulcanized Rubber Snaffle Bit.

Travel Boots

They were shown the difference between stable rugs, fly sheets & turnout rugs & they were shown travel boots & tendon boots.

Tendon Boots.

All in all a whole lot of learning was up for the taking, hopefully, they will retain some of the knowledge passed on to them.

THIS WEEKS BIRTHDAY
This week we have 2 birthdays, Poppy will be 11 years old on the 7th September
& Eryn will be 10 years old on the 10th September. May we wish you both a very Happy Birthday from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

SATURDAY 27TH AUGUST 2011

2011-08-28T04:52:00.000-07:00

WHAT WE DID TODAY

Today we again split the riding between June & Jenna. June concentrated on upwards & downwards transitions between walk to Halt & halt to walk, shortening the rein, balance & position. Poppy was the most improved rider in her group. Ground exercises were given to them when they dismounted.
If the rider is in the correct position on a horse, they should be able to be taken off the horse (in position) & stand on the ground holding a tray with a glass of water on it.

During Jenna’s riding lessons she did a session of follow the leader, where everyone has to do the same as the person in front of them, Honey was the most inventive with the things she did as she rode, touching Jump stand with either hand as she rode through them which meant changing hands on the reins and keeping control of the pony, she also came up with some other different moves and exercises.

Jenna then changed the exercise and concentrated on position in trot and shortening the reins while trotting as well as accuracy around the track. The members also rode around the riding track and hopefully had a lot of fun.

While June was in the sand with the 1st group of riders Jenna was in the yard with all the others covering grooming, mucking out, tacking up & general horse knowledge

June covered grooming, mucking out tack cleaning & general horse knowledge & safety when working with horses. Eryn & Jemima are the most confident when working with the horses closely followed by Millie J.

They all enjoyed tack cleaning and we had a big discussion on the reasons for cleaning our ponies tack. We need to keep it clean so that the leather doesn’t – dry out – crack – cause discomfort to our horse – suddenly break – check our stitching – keep it supple are all the answers given by the members, when I asked why we need to clean our tack (They are all correct answers) How often was a bit hit & miss however, with once a month – once a week given! They were then asked if they thought they should at least wipe it down every time it was used – after a bit of thought the correct answer was reached of wipe it down every time it was used & clean it properly once a week.

THIS WEEKS BIRTHDAY

Millie J will be 8 years old on the 4th September! May we wish you a very happy birthday from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

AND FINALLY FOR THIS WEEK

June has a small selection of good quality second hand riding equipment for sale. She also buys items in good condition from you if your child has grown out of them. See june if you are interested in purchasing anything!

+ + + STOP PRESS + + +

SOLD - Riding hat
SOLD - Black Jodhpur Boots size 2

This weeks Birthday!

2011-08-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

Megan O will be 10 on the 25th – may all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre, wish you a very Happy Birthday!

SATURDAY 20TH AUGUST 2011

2011-08-21T04:51:00.000-07:00

Forthcoming Events: Once again we have organised a group trip to the Olympia Horse Show in December. We have block booked a number of prime seats for Monday, 19th December, at 7.00pm. The seats cost £55 each and this includes the coach from Knockholt and entry. Olympia is a fantastic show, loads of family entertainment and last minute Christmas shopping. Well worth attending. If you would like to go, please book your seats asap, booking forms are available in the office.

This week it was mainly older members attending the Pony Club so we changed the usual routine slightly.

Today the members had to do everything they would have to do for their ponies before they could ride. So, they started out by grooming them, this was done properly and efficiently. They then took it in turns to tack up their ponies.

Jenna took all of the older members for their riding & concentrated on co-ordination, accuracy & control, emergency stopping of the pony, keeping the pony out on the track & position. Bad habits as we all know, are quick to learn & extremely hard to correct! Correct position in riding is extremely important so has to be corrected as soon as errors start to occur!

The 2 younger members rode with June, who with help from 2 of the older & more experienced members, concentrated on upwards & downwards transitions from walk – trot – walk – halt & back to walk. Position was also corrected and while riding on the track, various plants were spotted and talked about.

Up in the yard, while the members were not riding, they mucked out their ponies stable, washed out the water bucket & refilled it, put their beds back down ready for their return & filled hay-nets ready for their ponies to have later on.

After checking the beds I came across a potential hazard that had been overlooked, and we had a discussion about the sort of injuries that could happen with different items left in stables - this one was a broken piece of wood!

All of the above jobs are the things that they would have to do on a daily basis if they owned their own pony, and they have to learn to do them quickly and efficiently or they would never get to enjoy their rides because they would spend all day just grooming & mucking out and no time left for riding.

SATURDAY 13TH AUGUST 2011

2011-08-14T06:05:00.000-07:00

Today while Jenna concentrated on the riding, Jenny, June & the senior members concentrated on yard & stable routines, with lots of grooming, mucking out, tacking up & general horse & yard duties.

Hannah & Amy did supervised testing of the junior members in Points of the Pony, Grooming, Points of Tack & Feeding. They were very strict with the juniors and continued to test them to a very high standard.

I am please to announce that the following Mini Achievement Badges were achieved by:
Points of the Pony – Millie J, Ava, Joely, Hattie& Scarlett VB
Grooming – Ava, Joely, Hattie & Scarlett VB.
Points of Tack: Joely& Hattie
Feed your Pony – Madison.

Jenna concentrated on emergency stopping of your horse, fast shortening & lengthening of reins, as well as the position & accuracy of the rider, with the junior members.
The senior members had a very good jumping lesson with Amy (16), Ted (15) & Hannah (17) on Danny, Lincoln & Ella.

Hannah worked especially well as her passion in riding is eventing & she is hoping to become a top class eventer. Both Ted & Amy worked extremely hard as well, and both have ridden in a show-jumping competition in the last year, with Ted coming a very respectable 4th in his class & Amy amazingly winning her class at their 1st ever show.

SATURDAY 6TH AUGUST 2011

2011-08-07T04:13:00.000-07:00

Today we had a whole lot of fun!

(Red Deer)

June took the members for a lecture on British Wildlife. This is towards one of the main Achievement Merit Badges. They learned about Roe, Red & Fallow Deer, Red & Grey Squirrels, Weasels, Stoats, Otters, Fox’s, Badgers, Rabbits, Hares & Adders, their Male, Female & Babies, as well as their homes. Some of the members had a lot of knowledge while others had little or none. The most knowledgeable of the day were Eryn, Ella & Madison who’s knowledge of the animal kingdom was very good indeed.

(Badger)

Jenny concentrated on doing yard activities with the members like grooming, mucking out, horse handling & tacking up. All of the members enjoy immensely these activities and if they were ever to own their own pony, they are things that would have to be done every single day. They are learning that a horse is not a toy that is put away & forgotten about until the next time they want to play with it, but a living, breathing animal that is dependent on us for all their needs, from food & water to grooming & affection! Jenny was very impressed with Annabelle who showed much improvement and enthusiasm in all areas – well done!

(Red Deer)

Jenny also had 3 members pass Mini Achievement Badges today.
Well done to: Sophie – Points of the Pony & Grooming
Libby – Points of the Pony & Grooming
Annabelle – Points of the Pony & Grooming

(Hare)

Riding was as usual with Jenna, who concentrated on the emergency shortening of reins, upward & downward transitions, as well as 20 + 10 metre circles. These moves have to be clearly visualised before they attempt to ride them, otherwise you get the wobble effect instead of the nice smooth lines that will be required in any discipline in the world of equine sports. Jenna’s best rider of the day was Eryn, well done!

(Fox)

We then finished the sessions with a practice quiz. The members were put into teams and questions were asked, they had to put hands up if they thought they knew the answer. They had a total of 40 questions and the results were as follows.
Morning Session: Libby’s Team - 13 points
Edie’s Team - 13½ points
Madison’s Team - 17½ points
Afternoon session: Eryn’s Team - 19 points
Connie’s Team - 19½ points
Very well done to all of you, keep on learning and reading those pony books & maybe next year we can enter 1 or 2 teams in the regional Pony Club quiz! What do you think?

(Otter)

This Weeks Birthday

2011-07-31T06:39:00.000-07:00

This week we only have 1 birthday

Kirsty S will be 9 years old on the 3rd August.
All of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre would like to wish you a very Happy Birthday.

SATURDAY 30TH JULY 2011

2011-07-31T06:38:00.000-07:00

Today, all of the members were able to ride for 1 hour with Jenna, who made them work extremely hard on Balance by riding without stirrups. This enables the rider to get their weight down in the saddle and aids their balance. Jenna also worked on their fitness. Riding is not just a pastime, but is also a sport, and, as with any other sportsperson, they have to be fit. So Jenna did a lot of work with them in the light seat (Taking their weight off the seat of the saddle and into both their heels and their stirrups). This strengthens the legs, stomach and back of the rider as well as their ‘core’ muscles. They also rode around the track and were able to relax a bit. Jenna’s most improved rider this week was Honey. Well done!

The other hour was spent with June who did a variety of different things with them. We started out with the life-cycle of Butterflies & Moths. We learned about the some of the differences between Butterflies & Moths and followed one type (The Red Admiral) from egg through to Adult Butterfly in pictures. Most knowledgeable however was Madison who has already reared her own Red Admiral butterflies.

Painted Lady Egg

Painted Lady Caterpillar

Painted Lady Chrysallis

Hatching Butterfly

Adult Female Painted Lady

We then moved into the yard where we did some grooming, learned various points of the horse, studied horse behaviour and body language a bit, mucked out a stable & Poo picked a paddock. Everyone worked hard and all were very interested in the butterflies & moths. Eryn showed excellent horse handling skills and each of the the 2 hour sessions just sped by and before we knew it, it was time to leave for another week. I hope everybody learnt lots but also had a super time, I know I did!

SATURDAY 23RD JULY 2011

2011-07-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

Firstly I must apologise for the lack of photos this week, this was due simply to the fact that we were all having so much fun – we forgot to get the camera out!!!!!!!!

However there is one of a member who quite simply didn’t want to go home so decided to become a gatepost ornament!

This morning we started the 1st session off with Pony Club Games on foot! This was achieved by splitting the members into 3 teams containing 4 members. We started with a grooming brush race, which was designed to double-check their knowledge of the different brushes. We followed that up with the bending race where they have to weave in and out of the bending poles; they did this race twice by popular demand. Then they combined the bending with the sack race. A lot of excess energy was expelled and a lot of fun was had by helpers and members alike.

Then we divided up into our team groups for Riding with Jenna, Jenna attempted to do some of the games on horseback with the members with varying degrees of success. This was not the week to see vast improvements as everyone was learning new things on horseback, however they all worked very hard at the games which, when they can play them properly on horseback will show their balance & control off perfectly.

Grooming was with Jenny, who also doubled up with horse handling in the yard. All members were able to groom, lead, muck out & ride. Most of the members can now groom to a reasonable standard and muck out a stable well with one or two who are at a higher standard than the rest.

Mucking out & Field maintenance was with June. We checked, poo picked & tidied all of the empty stables then moved to the paddocks. The members learned about the lifecycle of intestinal worms, and the importance of clearing dung from the fields. They also had a chance to spot some poisonous plants in the form of Ragwort, and to learn about the way the toxins invade the horse and attack the liver with the poison building up over a long period. If the horse & the field are left untreated, it will eventually, cause liver failure & death.
This plant is a notifiable plant. the landowners & Council have a duty of care to remove this weed in particular from areas where horses & livestock (i.e. sheep & cattle) are.

Ragwort

The afternoon session ran in the same format but without the games, as there were not enough members to field at least 2 teams.
All of them members worked very hard with special mention to Harmony who showed good knowledge on points of the pony & points of tack. Very well done to you all.

Birthdays this week!

2011-07-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

The following members have Birthdays this week!

Beckie will be 17 on the 19th July
Tillie will be 7 on the 21st July

May we wish you both a very Happy Birthday from all here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

SATURDAY 16TH JULY 2011

2011-07-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

This morning started off with a quick trip into the field next door to have a look at a couple of plants. Here, it is unusual to see both red & white clovers growing together, so when we found both next to each other last week, we took the opportunity to have a closer look at the differences between each plant!

The Rain set in while we were doing this so instead of continuing with the wild flowers & poisonous plants, we did a mixture of other things! Jenny did grooming & mucking out in the stables, while June did parts of the Tack, & Feeding with the members round the back & in the tack/feed room.

Congratulations to Madison on passing her Points of the Pony Mini Achievement Badge.

Jenna drew the short straw & had to brave the horrid conditions to give the riding lessons (as usual). As the morning wore on, the weather got worse and worse. Everyone was wet, and all the members were full of energy. All of the members worked really hard, and it is showing in their riding ability. Congratulations to Millie J who was the most improved rider this morning. We hoped that the rain would ease up or even stop, but no such luck! Despite the weather, we all had a great time.

The afternoon session looked to be similar to the morning one with the weather, but then suddenly the rain stopped and the sun started to appear, hurray!!
June took the members for Points of Tack followed by grooming in the yard. Congratulations to Harmony for passing her Points of the Pony Mini Achievement Badge.
Mucking out & Horse Handling was with Jenny, who was very impressed with the level of knowledge & understanding the members displayed.

Throughout the day Jenna had been concentrating on the members position and control using their bodies & their weight. Congratulations to Teddy for his ability on Daisy, and Satine, Hannah & Harmony were the most improved riders this week

SATURDAY 9TH JULY 2011

2011-07-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

This morning session started as usual with the members breaking up into the various groups. Yard with Jenny, Riding with Jenna & Working Dogs with June.

June decided to spring a surprise test on them for their Working Dogs Mini Achievement Badge.

I am very pleased to Announce that the following members have passed:- Emily
Sally
Madison
Satine
Very well done to you all!

We also did a bit on Horse colours, which turned into a colouring competition.

The winner of this was Honey who won a bag of Haribo as her prize!

We also had a spin off competition with 2 very colourful horses!

This was won by Millie J & Sally who worked together on this extremely colourful entry! – they also had a bag of Haribo to share.

In the yard the members did all of the usual things like Grooming, mucking out, doing waters, tacking up & preparing Haynets for lunchtime. Special mention goes to Sally, Madison & Satine for their ability.

Jenny also discussed with them the differences between horses and humans, & what makes a horse a horse. How to age a horse and about horse behaviour!

Riding in both sessions was with Jenna who worked with the members on perfecting 20m circles & figures of eight worked on 2 20m circles. She also worked on position and using their bodies as aid to steering & control. She also did dome on the ground exercises teaching them how their ponies will use their bodies when coming to a halt from a trot. All of them worked hard in both sessions and her most improved riders today were Annabel W & Amy – well done!

This afternoon saw a repetition of working dogs, with just a few members who have already covered the subject having a surprise test, while the other members had a go at being ‘blind’ and being guide dogs. All had a go at this and great fun was had.

I am pleased to say that the 4 members who took the test, all passed.
Congratulations to: Cormac
Lorcan
Eryn
Jemima

Riding was with Jenna who worked with the members doing exactly the same as she did in the morning. She worked everyone very hard and improvements were noted by all!

Jenny once again did things in the yard, such as grooming, tacking up & mucking out
When all of the younger members had ridden, we turned our attention to Pony Club Games. At last weeks show, we held a fun raising cake stall & raffle. With the money we raised from that we were able to purchase 2 sets of plastic Stepping Stones. We were able to practise this race on foot. Maybe next week we will be able to try on horseback. We had a lot of fun with that and hope to hold further fund raising events in the near future, so that we can purchase more equipment for the members to practise with!

Jenny also asked the members to devise a short quiz with 5 questions & answers each. Jenny is going to collate them all and put them into a proper quiz in a couple of weeks! There were some very interesting questions & we are looking forward to seeing how they all perform.

SATURDAY 2ND JULY 2011

2011-07-03T07:55:00.000-07:00

It is the morning after the show held for the Pony Clubbers here at Pine Ridge, We raised enough funds from the Raffle & Cake stall to buy 2 sets of Stepping Stones for playing pony club games with and a very good time was had with a whole lot of enjoyment for everyone. We all worked extremely hard and were exhausted by the end of the evening.

I really must apologise for the lack of photos again this week, this was NOT Paul’s fault this time but June’s. June forgot to pick up the camera as she left home! Sorry folks L

In todays 2 sessions, we worked on all aspects of the yard from grooming & tacking up to mucking out & sweeping the yard. The older members are now very proficient in this task and are able to help the younger members a great deal. Hannah & Cormac have shown the most imrovement on the yard this week. & some others such as Millie J & Alice are always consistently good at handling the horses.

This mornings members also learnt more about plaiting & braiding using sections of cord to practice with, they were able to take some twine home to practice with. Some of them learned how to braid with 4 strands, while others simply learned how to do a basic 3 strand plait; keep up with the practice. Alice manage to plait Daisy’s tail extremely well, we even kept her plaited up until halfway through the afternoon, it was a grand. One if the afternoon members even attempted a 12 strand braid, she will bring it back next week to show it - if she has been successful!

Riding in the morning was with Jenna and in the afternoon both Jenna & June did the riding. We concentrated on their balance in the saddle and control of the pony. The most improved riders of the day were Abigail & Ella. Very well done to you all!

SATURDAY 25TH JUNE 2011

2011-06-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2011-06-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2011-06-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-06-12T03:40:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-12T03:38:00.000-07:00

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

Saturday 11th June 2011

2011-06-12T03:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

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!

* NEXT WEEKS ACTIVITIES *

2011-05-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Pony Club Games, Just so you know, we will be having a fun day learning how to play some of the pony club mounted games. Check them out on You Tube, see how fast they can be played, we will be working in walk but the skills you will need are balance for yourself and control of your pony. Have a fun week and we will see you all on saturday!!

This weeks Birthday

2011-05-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

This week we would like to say a very Happy Birthday to Bel'anna, who was 11 on the 27th (sorry we were late) from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

SATURDAY 28TH MAY 2011

2011-05-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

Todays 2 sessions followed the same format, Jenna took the members for their riding and they worked on their riding fitness. Jenna gave them various exercises to do while they were riding.

All these exercises help to strengthen them as riders and help in firming their balance and security while in the saddle! Her most improved riders of the day were, Georgia in the morning and Hannah in the afternoon, with a special mention for Maya who rode by herself, off the lead rein for the first time.

Jenny, Jack & Emma took the members for Yard Duties and Horse Handling, All of the members were much improved and Jenny was very impressed with the level of knowledge and confidence that the members are now showing with regard to Horse Handling and Safety Awareness. While leading the ponies around Maya showed that she was the star of her session and managed very capably.

Jenny demonstrating how to put a saddle on!

& how to put on a bridle

June did Road Rider theory today, and the members showed good knowledge on road signs and the things they would need to take with them to keep them safe on the roads. They remember that sings in triangles are warning signs, Circular signs are Orders; they remember that they need to ‘be seen to be safe’ and to wear plenty of fluorescent and reflective clothing on both themselves and their horses. Also they remember that they would need to take a mobile phone and some money with then and to let someone in the yard know where they will be riding and how long they will away for, this then enable someone on the yard to know when there may have been a problem and whether to start to worry.

We also had some Mini Achievement Badge passes, they were:
Scarlett, Georgia, Megan & Joely - Grooming
Megan - Mucking Out
Megan - Points of Tack

Very well done to you all.

This weeks Birthday

2011-05-23T02:54:00.000-07:00

21st May Joely, we would all like to wish Joely a very happy 10th birthday from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

* APPEAL *

2011-05-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Please does any Pony Club Member, their family or friends have access to any Limewash for marking out football pitches etc. if you can spare some for us to use to mark out the road rider course it would be very much appreciated. Please contact June by Email to pineridgepc@hotmail.com - I can collect it

Thank you.

Coming up next week!!

2011-05-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Next week we will be re-visiting Road Rider, This subject is a very long one to learn, and is the only badge that we will have to get an outside examiner for (Apart from the Riding badges). No member will attempt to take the test until we are certain that they will pass it as failure will be a bitter disappointment to them.
Please remember to book your child in for either the morning OR the afternoon session. See you all then and remember, keep on reading your pony books and handout leaflets.

Saturday 21st May 2011

2011-05-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Afternoon session

This afternoon’s session started with a presentation to Amy. Amy has just passed her Riding for the Disabled (RDA) Achievement Merit Badge and not only got the badge from the Pony Club (2 weeks ago) but has now been sent a Certificate of Award by the RDA Association, it was this that we presented to Amy at the start of the session.

+ + + + + CONGRATULATIONS AMY! + + + + +

June again did working dogs and as most of the members that attended the afternoon session had done this exercise before we concentrated a little bit more on the other jobs that dogs can do. Such as Dogs for the Disabled, Hearing Dogs for the Deaf, Army Dogs & Sled Dogs etc. Without exception I was very pleased with the knowledge of the various jobs that dogs are used for that the members showed.

Grooming & yard work was with Jack & Jenny. Jenny was very impressed with the improvements in Horse handling that the members showed in this session, with being able to put a headcollar on a pony for the first time on their own to others who were able to Tack Up or Untack on their own. The shining stars in this section were Tamryn, Abigail & Nathaniel.

Untacking!

I've done it Jenny!

"Please Jenny, is this right?" "Perfect" said Jenny.

Riding was with Jenna who gave the members their first introduction to Cross Country Jumping with a small ditch. All of the members rode well and the rider Jenna felt was most improved was Nathaniel – Very well done!

All of the members in both sessions worked extremely hard in all sections and I sincerely hope that they all had a great time and fun while learning.

Saturday 21st May 2011

2011-05-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

Today we re-visited Working Dogs! As most of the members had been away when we last did it, we repeated the exercise where they took it in turns to be Blind! (Blindfolded). They all had a go at trying to find their way around on their own, and after a short while were given a ‘Guide Dog’ (Another member).
This gave them an understanding of how it must feel to be unable to see obstacles in their way and also how much independence a Guide Dog gives to a Blind person. We also discussed the other jobs that dogs do, from Racing & hunting to Police Work and Search & Rescue. They learned about different breeds of dogs that do the various jobs as well as the colours of them. All of the members were most attentive and did some wonderful colouring in on their hand out sheets.

Jenny & Jack took the members in the yard for Grooming and Mucking out etc. The members have improved greatly with their Horse Handling Ability. Jenny is most impressed with the knowledge and understanding that they are beginning to show. Bailey was this subjects shining star in this session.

Riding was with Jenna as usual. The members were all able to ride both in the field and the school. Millie J was the most improved rider this session.

I must apologise at this point for the lack of photo’s – Paul was in charge of taking them and got waylaid in the office with other things!

Coming up next week!!!!

2011-05-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

Next week we will be re-visiting the Working Dogs to recap what we learned last month and to teach those who missed it!
Jenny will be concentrating on Horse Communication, it is a very long subject that once learned, will help with your horse handling skills as well as your riding!
General studies in mucking out, grooming, field & yard maintenance will of coursw be as usual and lastly Riding!
See you all next week!!

Saturday 14th May 2011

2011-05-15T05:06:00.000-07:00

Both sessions were very well attended; they both had exactly the same format so this week I will join the 2 together for this weeks Blog!

This Weeks focus was on ‘Fire Safety’

June had prepared a lesson on types of things that cause fires on a stable yard, How to prevent them and finally what to do in the event of a fire.

The members all felt the heat build up in the muck-heap and learned about how it can spontaneously combust (Burst in flames without fire being applied to it)

They also learned about correct storage for hay and how that too can suddenly burst into flames if it hasn’t been dried properly or if the roof leaks when it rains.

They also helped to spot any other possible causes of fires and we discussed ways of preventing fires. They were taught in great detail what must be done in the event of a fire.
All of the members, without exception were most attentive and interested.

Riding was with Jenna, who did a wide range of things with the members. Her most improved riders this week were Georgia in the morning session and Jemima in the afternoon session

Jenny did Horse communication with the members! They all had a chance at learning ‘Join Up’ and then free-schooling either Harry, Louis or Jack.

They had a whole lot of fun with this and it gave them the opportunity to study the horses natural behaviour under controlled conditions. The most interested and enthusiastic in this were Isla, Megan, Abigail & Cormac

Jack took the members for their mucking out, yard & field duties. The members mucked out stables filled water buckets, poo-picked the paddocks, washed out and refilled the water troughs & put hay out in the paddocks for the horses. (All these things are the jobs that have to be done every day if you own your own pony)

I think that the members worked exceptionally hard this week but managed to have a whole lot of fun as well, I know that we all did!

Coming up next week!

2011-05-08T03:54:00.000-07:00

Next week we will be concentrating on 'Fire Safety'. How stable fires can start, and what to do if you are the one to spot the fire first.

We will also be doing the usual things, that, if you owned your own pony, you would have to do at least once every day. Like mucking out, grooming, waters etc.

Riding will take place with Jenna and im sure that she will make you all work very hard.

See you all next week and don't forget to book your sessions!

Saturday Afternoon 7th May 2011

2011-05-08T03:46:00.000-07:00

The afternoon session started with Jenny in the yard grooming with all of the members, When all the ponies had been groomed they then tacked them up.

They were split into 2 groups and while one group rode with Jenna, the other group did Wild flowers with June.

The children were taught about the various parts of the wild flowers and how they are pollinated, They were shown pictures of different types of wild flowers and told about them (handouts to follow soon).

They were then taken around the paddocks to see a few of the wild flowers that we had talked about.

Who am I going to ride please?

Jenna again did the riding and also covered the ‘E’Test.

Again I am very pleased to say that nearly all the members passed it and their felts are waiting for them in the office (20p each, see June)
Her most improved rider this afternoon was Abigail. Very well done to you all.

‘E’ Test Felts Achieved by:
Eryn
Nathaniel
Abigail
Tamryn
Satine
Jemima

Points of Tack Mini Achievement Badge Achieved by:
Abigail
Jemima
Tamryn
Satine

Grooming Mini Achievement Badge Achieved by:
Abigail
Jemima
Satine
Tamryn
Well done to you all!

Saturday Morning 7th May 2011

2011-05-08T03:26:00.000-07:00

This morning started with Jenny taking all of the children on the ground first. They dealt with mucking out, and general yard duties which also included grooming. Well done to Cormac & Alice who were the most improved in this subject.

Riding was with Jenna as usual. Her most improved riders this week were Lorcan & Millie J.

Jenna covered all of the riding elements contained within the Pony Club ‘E’ test.

I am pleased to say that ALL of the members have passed their ‘E’ Test and have felts to collect from June in the office (price 20p each)

June taught the members about Wild Flowers. They had to learn about the different parts of flowers and about pollination.

They were also taught about the law regarding picking wild flowers, DON’T! It is illegal unless you have the land owners permission.

The children were very attentive on what is going to be a long badge to learn! Well done to all of you, you learned very well.

E Test Felts Achieved by:
Sally
Alice
Lorcan
Cormac
Hannah
Millie J
Bailey
Leah

What are we going to do this week?

2011-05-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

This week our Badge focus will be on Wild Flowers, spring is such a wonderful opportunity to study this subject with it's wealth of Spring Wild Flowers.

Our Riding sessions will focus on the correct use of aids, while on the ground the members will have more handling & grooming of the horses with the focus being on the communication between horse & rider.

Saturday 30th April 2011

2011-04-30T23:54:00.000-07:00

Today in both the Morning & Afternoon sessions, we concentrated on Road Riding.

Jenny & June laid out a course in the field to simulate a series of roads, incorporating turns to both the left & right, From & to main roads and including how to ride round a roundabout.

Before the children started, they were given a talk on safety, and we explained once again how to make clear signals to other road users.

The children had to first walk the course and have instruction on how it should be ridden.
They then took it in turns to ride the course. It was a very practical session, which has lots of merits in aiding to keep the members safe on the roads, both when walking, cycling & Riding!

This was followed up by each session being divided up into 2 groups. One group went with Jenna into the school and continued riding whilst the other group were with June doing the theory on what they had ridden down the field. They were taught about the sequence of traffic lights and the different road signs that they need to know about when out riding. They were taught about the equipment needed to keep them safe and highly visible. This badge they are working towards is the only badge that we have to have an outside examiner for (apart from the actual riding badges) so we will be covering this in great detail until we are sure that the members will pass with flying colours.

A companion book for this badge is available from the pony club http://www.pcuk.org/ entitled Junior Road Rider. This book is the higway code equivalent for horse riders and gives important information to the members that they can study and return to time & time again. Alternatively you can order from June in the office for a small surcharge to cover p&p (£3.95 through June)

(While we are on this subject, If any parents have access to lime-wash for marking football pitches etc. could they spare any for marking out the course for future lessons, because flour just tends to blow away. If you do, can you please let June, Paul or Jenny know or e-mail us at pineridgepc@hotmail.com many thanks).

All of the children were extremely interested but the shining stars during Road Rider were Cormac, Hannah & Nathaniel.

Riding in the school comprised of figure work, learning to ride serpentines, figure of eights etc and the most improved riders this week were Hannah, Millie J & Nathaniel.

After all the members had been both in the school with Jenna & also at the tables with June, It was time for home. A few of the children took time at the end to do some Mini Achievement Badge Tests!
Congratulations to: Edith - Points of Tack
Megan - Points of the Pony
Millie J - Points of the Pony
Sophie - Points of the pony

Very well done to all of you, you worked really hard and did extremely well in everything.

All of the children were extremely interested but the shining stars during Road Rider were Cormac, Hannah & Nathaniel.

Riding in the school comprised of figure work, learning to ride serpentines, figure of eights etc and the most improved riders this week were Hannah, Millie J & Nathaniel.

Saturday 23rd April 2011

2011-04-24T04:20:00.000-07:00

Today June concentrated a lot on Working Dogs with the children. We had a practical session on what it is like to be a Blind person. They were put into pairs and each member had a turn at being blindfolded and led around by their ‘Guide Dog’ partner!

Then they pretended to be deaf! Their partner had to act like a hearing dog. When the telephone rang, they had to alert their ‘deaf’ partner to it by pawing at them and running to the telephone. They did the same sort of thing for the ‘smoke alarm’ (a magazine) and a doorbell.

All the children enjoyed these practical sessions and now have a better understanding of what it is like to be blind or deaf! However I must give extra congratulations to Cormac, Ruby & Nathaniel for their interest, they were extra attentive to the subject. Both Cormac & Nathaniel were able to work out where they were in the yard whilst being blindfolded by recalling the feel of the ground under their feet at different points & Ruby found the experience of trying to find your way around without a guide dog was very scary but as soon as she had her ‘guide dog’ became confident about moving around with ‘him’!
Well done everyone!

The children also had a chill-out few minutes and did some colouring in – a fun picture of a man being bitten on his backside by a dog! Again they had a lot of fun with this as you can see from some of the results.

Riding was back to normal with Jenna. All of the members ‘hacked out’ either down the lane or around the riding track as well as riding in the sand school. The most improved riders this week were Tamryn & Sally
Grooming and mucking out was with Jenny and the members managed very proficiently to muck out the stables and groom and ponies very quickly indeed. Jenny has informed me that Cormac has become extremely proficient in untacking the ponies and can do this by himself.

The 2 sessions went very quickly and as both sessions ran the same, again I have merged this report into 1 instead of breaking it up into 2 (why repeat myself)

Birthday this week

2011-04-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

This week it is Hattie's birthday

Hattie will be 8 on the 18th of April

We would like to wish Hattie a very Happy Birthday from all of us here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

Saturday 16th April

2011-04-17T03:08:00.000-07:00

Both Morning and Afternoon sessions took the same format so I have linked them together this week. Sorry for the lack of pictures but with ALL junior helpers away on holidays this week, there were no spare hands to take any!

Today Paul & Jenna took the members for lessons in the yard whilst June & Jenny did the Riding!

Jenna taught them how to mount properly and how to adjust their own stirrups and girths. Although the children have all been riding for some time now, all this has been done for them and now it has come to the time when most of them will be able to do it for themselves.

Paul did field maintenance with the children and besides clearing the dung from the paddocks (a job they all love to do) He taught them about checking the field perimeters and checking the grazing for poisonous plants such as Ragwort. This plant is extremely dangerous to horses if eaten.
Jenny & June did the riding, and with such a warm day, decides to do most of it in the field and around the riding track. Some of the children even Cantered for the first time. We also taught them other thing, like types of trees, wildlife, wild flowers & poisonous plants.

Saturday 9th April Badge Achievements

2011-04-09T14:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday 9th April - Morning Session

Congratulations to the following members:

Mini Achievement Badges:
Grooming:
Sally
Annabel G
Olivia
Points of the Pony:
Sally
Annabel G
Olivia
Edith
Tillie

Well done to you all.

Saturday 9th April – Afternoon session
This afternoon saw even more badges being achieved and the first of the main Achievement badges being won.

Congratulations to the following members:

Mini Achievement Badges

Points of the Pony:
Hannah
Cormac
Lorcan
Nathaniel
Joely
Scarlett V
Hattie
Farming:
Cormac
Nathaniel
Grooming:
Cormac
Lorcan
Birds: Lorcan

Achievement Badge Awards:

Bird Watching:
Ted
Amy
Lorcan
Cormac
Hannah

Very well done to all our badge achievers today. Keep up the hard work

Pony Club Rally, 9 April 2011

2011-04-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

The two sessions of pony club proved to be highly successful for several members who attempted and passed some of their mini achievement badges. Well done all of you.
June took the members through poisonous plants, grooming, points of the pony as well as farming and we are delighted by their knowledge on most subjects. In the riding sessions we saw great improvement from Sally, Lorcan and Hannah, keep up the good work and don't forget your basics. A good foundation is very important in any sport.

We have club days throughout the holidays and they are limited to four per session, so they are perfect for one on one tuition. Phone for more information or to book.

This weeks Birthday

2011-04-02T11:52:00.001-07:00

Birthday this week is:

Sally who will be 9 on the 3rd April

A very Happy Birthday to you Sally, from all here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre

Saturday 2nd April – Afternoon session

2011-04-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

This Afternoons session was just as busy! This time the children started with the birds and were very industrious in their endeavours. They all copied British Native Birds and we were very pleased with the results.

They then broke up into groups and while some rode, the others did paddock & field maintenance with Jenny followed by grooming. (Ella must be the cleanest pony on the yard)

The standard of riding was very high indeed today with the children managing to do some jumping. Well done Nathaniel, you did really well for your first time of jumping.

Congratulations to you all, you all did very well indeed today.

Saturday 2nd April - Morning Session

2011-04-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

This morning the group did field & paddock maintenance with Jenny and did a superb job of cleaning the paddocks.

Then they split into groups and while one group rode with Jenna, another group did work towards their Birds Mini Achievement Badge with June, by cutting out a bird shape and its wings, colouring them in and finally gluing the wings onto the body of the bird.

These are a few of the birds that the children made - I think they all did an excellent job, well done evryone.

I am also very pleased to be able to congratulate Cormac on achieving his Birds Mini Achievement Badge. He was successful in colouring in 5 different birds from memory and not only did he do that but also described other birds as well. Well done Cormac!

This weeks birthday

2011-03-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Edith will be 9 on the 27th March
We would like to wish Edith a Very Happy Birthday from all at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre

Saturday the 26th March

2011-03-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

The children rode both in the school and the field with Jenna, they rode on & off the lead rein and did exercises designed to improve both their balance and seat. The most improved riders this week were Lorcan & Cormac.

Mucking out & Bedding was with both Paul & Jenny. They learned about the reasons for picking dung up from out of the paddocks and how to do it, while Jenny taught them about various types of bedding, the benefits and down sides of each type. Jenny was extremely pleased with the enthusiasm from both Hattie & Annabelle W.

June did parts of the saddle with the groups and hopefully, next time they come, will pass their Parts of the Tack Mini Achievement Badge. Most improved with their knowledge of tack and enthusiasm for the subject were Cormac, Lorcan & Sally, well done guys.

All the children did very well on all parts of the morning and had fun, which is always a bonus while learning anything! I apologise now for the lack of morning photos, but we were without a spare person.

Our afternoon session was just as busy with the all the members vying to be the best in all sessions. Enthusiasm abounded from all, again mucking out was with Paul, who was teaching field maintenance and why we have to clear the dung from the paddocks. Tamryn & Abigail were very enthusiastic and cleared their section of paddock with speed and accuracy.

Emma & Jenny talked to the members about the different types of Bedding Materials and the health problems associated with each of them as well as the benefits. All members were equally attentive so no extra special stars shine in this session.

June once again did saddles with the children. They learned about the various parts of the saddle and the names of them. The most knowledgeable in the afternoon was Hannah. And the most attentive was Millie J by a whisker – well done to you all for completing the test.

Riding was as usual with Jenna.

Just like the morning session was aimed at improving the riders balance, seat and control. The most improved rider of this afternoon was Tam – congratulations!

Saturday 19th March

2011-03-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

And finally
Public Speaking with Paul, where the members learned about controlling people in groups & how to gain their interest, they spoke about Tack and the care of it. Each member had the opportunity to be the ‘Speaker’. Paul was very impressed with their knowledge and speaking abilities.

Saturday 19th March

2011-03-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Riding was as usual with Jenna.
The Pony Club Members have been working very hard on their balance, co-ordination and control of the horse. The riders’ work through lots of exercises focused at their level of riding. They discuss their goals on the ponies and Jenna helps the riders work towards them. Jenna is very pleased with the riders’ efforts and is seeing major improvements.
The most improved for these sessions were Abigail & Tam – well done!

Saturday 19th March

2011-03-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

The subjects for today were a follow up to Mucking out with a written question session with June. I have to say that all of the members have passed their written tests, next come the verbal ones. So Kids now is the time to look in your pony books about the different types of bedding and find out what the advantages are for each one as well as the disadvantages, What are the possible health problems that can occur for both horse and handler!

Tack with Jenny was a creative session where the members coloured in parts of the bridle made of paper, and then assembled them. Jenny tells me that all the members that attended last week have passed their written tests on the parts of the bridle, so now is the time for you all to make sure that you know the parts of the saddle as well.

Saturday 19th March

2011-03-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Saw the first split Pony Club session

We had our first Morning session, which proved to be a very productive day with several Mini Achievement Badges passed.
Congratulations to the following Members on their achievinments.
Cormac - Mucking Out Badge & Points of Tack Badge
Lorcan - Points of Tack Badge

This weeks Birthday

2011-03-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

We would like to wish Scarlett H a very happy Birthday for the 14th, she will be 9 years old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY from all at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre

Saturday 12th March

2011-03-13T05:37:00.001-07:00

Today we had a lot of fun.
We ran 4 different groups, Group 1 was riding with Jenna both in the sand school and around the riding track, whilst group 2 was learning about Tack and how to care for it with Jenny. Group 3 were with June learning more about mucking out and the reasons for doing so and the frequency.
Group 4 with Paul, learned about the emergency first aid procedures that would be require if someone fell off and was injured. From catching the loose pony to bandaging the wound and then ringing for an ambulance. Chaos reigned throughout but a whole lot of fun was had. After the first half hour was up we all changed groups and started again and so on until all children had ridden, done tack, mucked out and bandaged and been bandaged up.

Birthdays this week

2011-03-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

This week we have 2 members with birthdays.

Charlotte will be 12 years old
Ruby will be 7 years old
Jemima will be 9 years old

A very Happy Birthday to you all,

From all here at Pine Ridge Pony Club Centre.

Saturday 5th March 2011

2011-03-05T10:30:00.000-08:00

Today, Saturday 5th March, the children learned about the Pony Club Games. They first watched a team practicing on the computer, followed by a heat of the Mounted Pony Club Games at the Horse of the Year Show from 2007. The difference between the 2 clips was amazing.
We then went into the Yard and they learnt to play 2 of the games on foot, so they could not only learn the rules but the games as well and how the games should be played in spirit. These games are played in team format like relay races. The 2 games played were the Flag Sticking race and the Tennis Ball Race.

Once all the riding was finished, Jenna erected a Show Jumping course. Jenny showed the children a short clip of a Junior Show Jumper approximately 10 years old jumping at the Pony of the Year Competition. The standard was extremely high and a few of our Pony Club children, said that they wanted to be able to do that. After that we all went out to the Sand School and Jenny showed the Children how to measure out the striding between fences. She also explained some of the rules of Show-Jumping including the various penalties incurred for refusing or knocking a jump down. They then all came out of the arena, and watched as Jenna first warmed Brioche up before jumping the course. We then, lowered the jumps and the children all jumped the course on foot. The idea being to learn about how much room a horse needs to turn, and how to approach the jumps and adjust their own strides to enable them to jump correctly.

Although we didn’t get a chance to take any pictures this week, I think the children all had a great time. I know we did!

26th February 2011

2011-02-27T03:57:00.000-08:00

Today we had a visit from NSARDA Cantech (The National Search & Rescue Dog Association) who are Lowland Search & Rescue. Stuart Kenny talked about how they operate, also how they train their dogs. After he finished talking to the members & their families aboiut the operational side of his Voluntary Job, he then brought out his lovely dog Sky.

Sky is a German Hovawart and is not yet fully trained in search & rescue.

After putting out some pop-up tents in the Sand Arena, Stuart asked small goups of children to hide in them so that he could demonstrate how Sky would find them. Once she had located the 'missing children', she would then run back to her handler and bark to get his attention, then he would send her back and follow, thus affecting a rescue.

We would like to say a very big thank you to Stuart & Sky for coming to visit us & giving such a wonderfully informative talk & Demonstration in what can only be described as a torrential downpour of both rain & Hailstones. Despite this the children enjoyed the experience and we hope to have a return of NSARDA later in the year.

If you would like to know more about the work of NSARDA Cantech, please access their webpages at http://www.cantech.org.uk/

Brian & His knots

2011-02-26T02:08:00.000-08:00

Here we have Brian demonstraing one of the knots that the children tried out!
They all did really well and some even managed the really complicated knots.
Well done everybody

Knots with Brian

2011-02-25T09:12:00.000-08:00

Here we have Amy with her Reef Knot & Jemima tying her Bowline Knot!

19th February - Knots with Brian

2011-02-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

On Saturday 19th February, we had a real treat. An ex Tugboat Captain, Brian Biggs came to give a talk on the different trpes of rope and show the children how to do some basic knots.

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And the winning picture from Eryn - a Blanket Spot Appaloosa how wonderful they all are. Very well done!

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Alice's 2nd place Dapple Grey, What a challenge, well done!

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3rd place with the Steel Grey, another that could give problems very well done Jemima

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4th Place picture by Robyn, Very well done as this is a difficult colour to get!

12th February

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On February 12th 2011, the members learned about the different colours of horses. At the end of the lecture, the children all drew a Horse Colour out of the bag, and had to colour in an outline of a horse correctly.
Finally, Jenny judged the finished colourings.

Special congratulations go to the top 4
The results are as follows:
4th Place was Robyn with the Dun
3rd was Jemima with the Steel Grey
2nd was Alice with the Dapple Grey
and the winner was Eryn with the Blanket Spot Appaloosa

Congratulations! to all the members for such wonderful colourings.

Pine Ridge Pony Club

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