IN THE SADDLE
Chipping Pony Club’s week long summer camp is an exciting and super-fun event on the club’s annual calendar. Member Megan Conlon reports. Photography: Sean Conlon
At last! School was over for another year and we were finally free for almost seven weeks! But our holiday wasn’t starting like a normal summer holiday.
Rather than settling into sofas, we were seated on saddles performing perfect paces with pristine, precise positions … well, almost! We swapped TV remotes for a Manual of Horsemanship and spent time memorising courses before soaring over show jumps. Instead of going out shopping, we were going out to the cross-country course and tackling logs, steps and ditches as well as cooling off with a splash in the water. In fact, it almost felt like we spent more time in our horses’ beds than our own! I am, of course, delineating Chipping Pony Club’s annual camp!
This year we had the privilege of staying at the sparkling new facilities at Somerford Park, Cheshire, which included a pavilion equipped with a kitchen and much-needed showers and a luxury stable block, which was home to our beloved horses and ponies for the week. We stayed in tents, trailers or horseboxes!
We had the great opportunity to make new friends as we had several members join us from other Pony Clubs (Lancaster and Holcombe) who were all very friendly and were keen to get involved. We were also delighted to welcome some new Chipping members who were amazing team players and we were so glad they were part of all the fun.
Throughout the week we were split into three teams called Exmoor, Dartmoor and New Forest and were made up of a variety of ages. Within these teams we competed through a point system in all aspects of Pony Club camp, such as keeping our sleeping accommodation spick and span, thoroughly cleaning our horses and tack and demonstrating our exemplary stable management.
Our points were also boosted by being extra helpful and considerate and also by competing against each other in super-fun and super-competitive dismounted evening activities. These included These included space-hopper races, quick mini-challenges and even non-competitive karaoke and film nights!
We also had a very interesting visit from Caroline, of Bailey’s Horse Feeds, to tell us how to make a ‘Sloppy Choppy’ to keep our horses hydrated and how to score our horses’ weight. We welcomed Sarah Light, a physiotherapist for horses and humans to teach us about rider fitness and we all enjoyed using a variety of equipment including a balancing ball.
Group rides were based on ability of the horse and rider and were called Cavesson, Grackle and Flash. These rides all received amazing tuition from a number of talented instructors such as Sarah Ettridge, Emma McDonald, David Llewellyn, Linda De Matteo, Jo Baxter and our very own Victoria Hargreaves. Over the week we mastered dressage prowess, show jumping style, cross country determination and even mounted games teamwork.
Overall, I can undoubtedly say that this year’s camp has been the best camp ever and I can’t wait for next year – now time for a well-earned rest I think!
Anyone with a love of riding and horses can visit and have a taster day at any of Chipping’s rallies or just go along and watch members in action.
Contact Chipping’s DC Jo Conlon 07739687972 for more details.
www.pcuk.org
