Chris's Blog » Pony Club

Talygarn Equestrian Centre 2011 – 2012

Chris Rogers — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:04:29 +0000

Normally I like to write a blog looking back at last year at the end of the year, I don’t know where the time has gone but I cant believe we are half way through January already. This time last year was the big freeze and we had cancelled the team jumping at christmas because people couldn’t get their horses out of the stables due to the ice. This year we have had to cancel the team jumping because it has been so wet and parking would be impossible. We had many successes again last year with our students achieving numerous passes. We became a riding and road safety centre last year and our first 8 candidates all passed. We will be holding our next riding and road safety training and exam this spring. Two of our riders qualified for the area dressage last year with Carys and Buffy being placed 6th. Our Quiz team came 1st and 3rd at the area finals and 2nd at the championships in Warwick. We held or annual quiz last saturday for all Pony Club members to select the teams for 2012. There was a poor turnout for the quiz but those that came did extremely well and we will enter the teams for the area quiz in February. Our Pony Club Horse and Pony Care teams came 3rd and 4th in the juniors and the seniors came 2nd and qualified for the champs at Derbys where they came 5th. Talygarn Centre team Carys Morgan, Sarah Blake, Chloe Ellis and Robyn Edwards came 4th in the centre competition at the championships in derby out of 20 plus teams with Robyn Edwards winning best newcomer. The Fun Dog Show, Halloween Party, Christmas Gymkhana, Team show jumping, Camps and many other activities were a great success last year along with the Summer Open Day which gets better every year. After visiting a riding school in france which participate in vaulting I have wanted to have a go at putting a display together which I did for the open day last summer. It was a great success and I decided to take up some further training in coaching. This year we will be adding equestrian vaulting to our long list of already popular activities starting with taster sessions in February. We were very lucky throughout the summer with managing to hold all of our mini hunter trials in the fields and the show jumping and dressage have been very popular. With all the rain we have had this winter i am hoping there wont be too much left and we will have another good run this summer. On the holiday front I managed Morocco Greece Romania Singapore and Malaysia and I’m starting 2012 with Iceland and Belfast. The garden wasn’t as good last year although I did have an abundance of runner beans, lettuce, potatoes and the fruit trees did well. There are lots of photos on the gallery for last year and I’m sure there will be lots more this year. Keep an eye on the website for all activities and a belated Happy New Year

Mini Pony Club

Chris Rogers — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:58:19 +0000

Mini Pony Club meet every other Saturday and it is for the 4 to 7yr old Pony Club Centre members from Talygarn. The session lasts an hour and is run by Jennifer Rogers and Nadine Pugh. Every few weeks the children work towards a new badge. Some of the badges are Equine and some are about the countryside. They are working on their Birds badge at the moment. All the badges include a lot of games, colouring and and some practical sessions. Last saturday each child made a birds nest from hay, leaves, twigs and horse hair with some brightly coloured plasticine for eggs. If you would like your child to join the pony club ask at the office for a form. There are other sessions available for older children. Photo Callums Birds Nest

October Half Term

Chris Rogers — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:53:12 +0000

October Half Term has been a hectic week. On the monday Steve, Jen and I travelled to Northampton to continue our training to coach vaulting. We were both assessed and passed and are now Level one coaches for vaulting. We took the trailor with us to pick up a barrel for vaulting practice. It was a long day and we didn’t get back till late. Tuesday we had Pony Day and lessons in the evening and I had all the preparation to sort out for the team jumping. Wednesday morning was an early start and late finish for the team jumping. Thursday Client show jumping I thought would be quiet after the team jumping but it turned out to be quite busy in the tipping down rain. Thursday was also my birthday so Steve and I left for Bristol after the client show jumping. We had a nice meal in Bella Italia (curtesy of Tesco’s clubcard vouchers) then went to see We Will Rock You in the Theatre. We stayed over and came back the next day. Ready for the Halloween Party on Saturday. Another successful event organised by the Pony Club Centre committee made up of the older members. There was a good turn out and great to see so many adults supporting the event and even dressing up. The Halloween Party finished about 11.30 after a clean we had a few drinks in the house, five of us went to sleep in my lounge and I woke up on the floor in the early hours, so I assume it was a good night. See photos in the Gallery.

Pony Club Area 10 meeting

Chris Rogers — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:54:17 +0000

As a Pony Club Centre Talygarn is part of Area 10 We have 18 Branches and 14 Centres in our Area which covers all of South Wales and much of Mid Wales. Twice a year a meeting is held in Llangorse outside Brecon for all the branches and centres. The meeting is organised by Sandra Fisher the branch Area Rep and was also attended by Cherry Mitchell current Chairman of the Pony Club and previous chairman Mary Anderson unfortunately our Centre Rep wasn’t there. Most of the branches attend but very few of the centres. The most active centres appear to be Cardiff, Underhill and ourselves. Last Thursday I travelled up with members from Llangeinor Pony Club. One of the topics discussed were the dates and who would hold area competitions for 2011. Some competitions do not apply to us i.e mounted games, eventing, tetrathlon. Most will be run by the same clubs as last year, so the quiz will be held at Underhill on the monday of Feb half term. The Horse Care is to be held at Cardiff on a Monday in the Easter hols (not easter monday I believe it will be the 16th). The Area Dengie Dressage winter league will be held at Alps court on Sunday March 11th, which is excellent for us, Carys Morgan on Buffy has already qualified and we should be able to take 2 more. Dates need to be decided for the Area Dressage and Show Jumping but both are being held around the Monmouth/Curre area. It has been decided to move the Championships from Draycott to Cholmondeley Castle (pronounced Chumley) which is near Nantwhich on the 16th to the 19th August. This will be a big problem for us as the champs are now being held Thursday to Sunday whereas they used to be Saturday to Tuesday. The entries, stabling diesel, food cost a small fortune and as well as these costs we also have to pay staff to cover us being away and take two horses out of lessons. These costs were kept lower as we are closed on a Monday anyway. We are too busy over the weekend to take horses out of lessons and be away saturday and sunday. Another subject discussed was the differences between Centre and Branch Members. Centre members who buy a horse and transport must then go to branch. Some children would prefer to stay centre members as they have formed friendships at their centre. In order to overcome this Pony Club will allow people to be members of both but the member’s loyalty must be to branch. Therefore the member may take achievement badges at centre but must take progressive tests at branch. When competing at area competitions the member must compete for the branch. I wanted to know if the member may compete in a team for the centre if the branch weren’t submitting a team but apparently they can’t. I do think that is wrong as the member is paying both subscriptions. Several other dates I can now arrange will be the last team jumping date which will be Wed 18th April. The summer Open day will be slightly earlier next year on Sunday 8th July.

Dog Show

Chris Rogers — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:12:41 +0000

What a successful day the Fun Dog Show turned out to be. The Pony Centre committee worked hard to organise the event and put out lots of posters. The committee set the indoor school up at lunchtime with a ring for the fun showing classes and a ring for the dog agility. Having organised who was taking entries who would be on the agility ring etc. they were ready to start by 1pm. There was a good turn out with plenty of entries in each class and lots of dogs (and owners) having a go at the agility and if you didn’t have a dog it was worth coming to purchase the home made cakes. A big thank you to Leanne Jones who organised the judge and to the Judge herself who did a marvellous job. The Pony Club Committee is made up of the older centre members age ranging between 14 and 18. They organise several events in order to raise funds for the Halloween Party which will be held Saturday Oct 29th 6.30pm. Photos from the Dog Show can be found on the Gallery

Pony Club Championships 2011

Chris Rogers — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:51:15 +0000

Last week we spent 3 days at the Pony Club Championships in Derbys. After packing the lorry and loading up Lucky and Buffy we left around 6am and arrived at the showground at around 11am. After putting up the tents we put Buffy in her stable but Lucky had to stay on the lorry until his was available. Carys Sarah and Libby made their way over to the Horse and Pony Care section. The competition is a test in practical ability and knowledge which lasts about 2 hours. 20 teams took part and the girls were placed 6th. After sorting out the horses we had spag bol for tea and Libby had a lesson in washing up assisted by Chloe followed by a few games of cards. The girls slept in the tent and Steve, todd and I had the lorry. The following morning there was plenty of time to prepare Buffy as Carys was riding her in the Dressage to Music at 12 noon. Unfortunately Buffy was a bit wound up and didn’t go quite as well as Carys hoped but still did a nice test and Carys was placed 8th. The girls then plaited Lucky ready for the next day. Robyn’s parents brought Amelia up in the evening. Tuesday was an early start for the Centre Equitation Competition. Robyn was the first to ride Lucky then Chloe then rode the Dressage test on Lucky. Carys rode Buffy and then Sarah. After the Dressage Chloe was in 2nd place in Section B Carys in 3rd place in Section C and Sarah in 2nd place in Section D. Next came the jumping section Robyn scored the highest score for her section but unfortunately Chloe was eliminated. Buffy who is not the keenest jumping wasn’t too bad for Carys but by the time Sarah came to jump Buffy decided she wasn’t playing anymore and although Sarah got her round it wasn’t good round. The scores from the dressage and jumping were then added together for the overall score. There were 24 teams taking part and Talygarn were placed 5th in the Tack and Turn out and placed 5th in the competition. Carys received a 3rd as an individual in Section C, Sarah was 5th in Section D. Robyn was 2nd in Section A and was also Best Newcomer in Section A. Later we were told that there had been a mistake in the overall placings and the team had come 4th. After packing up the tents and the lorry we arrived home just before midnight. Photos from the Pony Club Champs 2011 can be found on the Gallery

Open Day Practices

Chris Rogers — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:40:50 +0000

This time of year most of my time is taken up with practices and preparation for the open day (and NVQ files). Originally we started the open day with a BBQ and a few riding demonstrations which were performed by the kids that give their time freely to help on the yard on the weekends and evenings providing they rode at a good level 3 and up. Today the demonstrations have grown in size considerably and with costumes although I still try and stick to selecting the kids and the kids of parents that give their time free to help throughout the year. At the end of May beginning of June I start the practices on a saturday after lessons. Everyone thats here helping on the day has a go and we and then we choose who is in by whether they can do it. The Bareback jumping always starts with loads having a go. They all jump through a grid with their saddles and bridles. Each time their jump down the grid we remove something like their stirrups, then their reins, then the saddle. No one has to take anything away if they don’t want to and they are not allowed to if they don’t look safe. By the time we get to no saddle no hands we usually have half a dozen or so riders left that are then in the display. The next practice involves taking off bridles and two on a horse. This is done in the outdoor school over 6 fences. Generally some one falls off and on this occasion Katherine and Katie fell off 3 times trying to do pairs. The riders in the musical ride are chosen from the level 4 an 5’s with a couple of good level 3’s for the youngest ones again with emphasis on those that help out. Last saturday we practiced the the vaulting and the gymkhana. I still have lots of costumes to organise for Pony Club (delegating to Lisa Vukashin). The musical ride have had two of their 4 practices and I am impressed with how quick they have picked it up. The bareback jumping and vaulting is organised just need more practices. The pony club display and gymkhana still need organising and we were going to do a horse football display but that is not working to well in the outdoor school so that may be changed altogether. The open day will take place on Sunday July 10th gates open 1pm tickets are £2 everyone welcome. Everyone needs to start keeping fingers crossed etc for good weather. Needless to say after all this stress and organising I do feel the need for a holiday, so I’ve booked the flights to Romania 9 days backpacking, Bear watching, dracula hunting and bird watching from a floating hotel.

Summer Shows

Chris Rogers — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:29:11 +0000

During the summer months May to end of September I prefer to hold our show jumping competitions in the outdoor arena instead of indoors. The winter dressage series finishes which is replaced with Mini Hunter Trial events throughout the summer. Last year we were very lucky and managed to hold all Mini Hunter Trials and most of the show jumping outdoors. May this year has been a bit of a wash out, so far we have managed only one Show jumping in the outdoor school (I’m glad we have the option of going indoors) and we had to replace our first Mini hunter trial with indoor Show jumping last Sunday. Lets hope June and the rest of the summer is going to be better. The initial tryouts for the Open Day take place randomly in May and priority is given to level 4 and 5’s and some level 3s that have given their time free during the year to help out on the yard. Most of the try outs for the Open day have been done now except for the Gymkhana and serious practices start next week. It is only 6 weeks to the open day and there is a lot to organise. Horses for displays are going to be difficult this year as we seem to be going through a phase of having a lot of new horses some being a bit on the young side, although we have got some exciting displays and a couple of new ones this year. The open day is Sunday July 10th. Gates open 1pm, tickets are £4 to raise money for the Pony club. Refreshments available, everyone welcome.

Easter Holidays

Chris Rogers — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 07:22:16 +0000

I can’t believe its only just over a week since I was in Greece with Martha. I knew Easter was going to be busy and going away for the week leading up to the holidays was probably not the best idea, I arrived home from the airport at 2.30am a week last Sunday and my busy week started at 6am with a trip to warwick for the pony club national quiz. The Talygarn Team consisted of 4 members Carys morgan, Millie Bushrod, Kate Owen and Sophie Thomas. The team were lying in 5th place at half time and and took 2nd place at the end. The team also received a runner up prize for their mascot which was based on riding and road safety. The winning mascot was based on the royal wedding. Many years ago it became a tradition to stop at McDonalds after Area Competitions. Nowadays its 2 stops, breakfast on the way there and meal on the way back. The following morning Amelia took her horse to Stratford to a show jumping yard for two weeks and I went to Cardiff for the Pony Club Horse and Pony Care Competition. Talygarn were had 2 junior teams and two senior teams. The junior teams were placed 3rd and 4th and the one of our senior teams was placed 2nd. Tuesday was a manic day with riding and road safety badge pony club centre and lessons. On wednesday we ran a cross country clinic which turned out to be very successful and we were extremely lucky with the weather. Friday was another busy day with a riding school show jumping competition. We also had 3 new horses arrive on friday 2 8yr old mares and a 4yr old 16.1 gelding. (Sunday got the garden rotovated) Monday we took Sarah and Buffy and Carys and Jimbob to the hunter trials at Sunnybank. They day started well with Carys driving the land rover into the wheelie bin but did improve. Both horses had a few stops in the first class then both jumped a clear in the pairs and took 3rd place. Tuesdaya Pony Day was busy and today we have Team Junping, which is looking like another long day. We will be holding a riding school jumping competition on friday for those who don’t wont to be watching the royal wedding. With all the lessons to run as well its been a long week and I’m thinking I need a holiday.

Team Show Jumping March 2011

Chris Rogers — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 01:25:48 +0000

Sunday 20th March we held our 3rd team jumping of the series. This one should have been in December but due to the artic conditions at that time we had to rearrange it. Rearranging events in the horse world is a nightmare as there are always so many other events on. We lost a few of our regulars to the Dressage finals at Cricklands and several people from Pony Clubs were at the Monmouth Tetrathlon. Despite this we had a good turn out of 25 teams. Glamorgan PC informed me that because we had changed the date Him who decides the weather hadn’t been informed and thats why the sun shone all day. Talygarn teams rode extremely well and a Talygarn team won every class. At the end of every class the winning team is awarded a sash and rosette each and the team get to gallop a lap of the arena to Simply the Best with everyone cheering. Yesterday it was so nice to see some riders getting the opportunity to do this for the first time. Photos on the gallery Next team jumping Wed 27th April