IN THE SADDLE
With lighter nights Chipping Pony Club members are looking forward to spending more time with their ponies and friends, writes Paula Kopydlowski. Photography: The Kopydlowski family and Jade Thompson
This month Chipping Pony Club will see the dressage, show jumping, mounted games and triathlon Winter Leagues draw to a conclusion and they are also looking forward to some of their members going to the Winter National Championships.
Spring is always an exciting time of year for equestrians. The clocks going forward allow for longer hours of daylight after school, which means more riding and time outside with their ponies. It won’t be long before members can ride on the grass in the great outdoors as they have many events, rallies, activities and camp to look forward to with their ponies and friends, hopefully under sunny skies and warmer temperatures.
As the Winter Leagues draw to an end, the club happily prepares members who have qualified in various disciplines, for the National Winter Championships. This is a huge accomplishment for this little club in the Ribble Valley.
It will be a very busy weekend at Addington Manor in Buckinghamshire for Megan (show jumping and dressage), Evie and Joel (show jumping) as they compete in the Dengie finals. One of the benefits of being in Pony Club means you get to ride at some wonderful venues.
Erin and Oliver are heading to Milton Keynes to take on the country’s finest in the National Triathlon Final. Lots of training has taken place over the winter, which not only has seen members become much fitter and far more accurate shots, but Friday night training sessions have also been quite a lot of fun!
The club wishes them all the very best of luck, and the club is, of course, already immensely proud that they have qualified for the nationals.
Worth a mention is Chipping’s win in Heat 5 of the Winter League Show Jumping – Chipping was the only team to finish on zero penalties out of 18 teams. The team consisted of Megan, Mia, Evie and Joel – Mia taking individual third place out of 72 riders.
The Pony Club is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. It was set up in 1929 to teach youngsters how to ride and look after ponies, while making life-long friendships, having fun and promoting high standards of sportsmanship, citizenship and loyalty. The vast majority of Britain’s elite riders started their competition careers in the Pony Club, representing their local branch in area, regional and national competitions.
At Pony Club, members work towards achievement badges in a number of equine and non-equine subjects and they take tests all the way up to the prestigious A Test, which is held by many top riders. The Pony Club A Test is highly respected by employers in the horse industry, as the holder has proven to have an extremely good level of riding and horsemanship.
Contact Chipping’s DC Joanne Conlon on 07739 687972 for more details
pcuk.org
