Upper Valley Pony Club

PONY CLUB RALLIES

Upper Valley Pony Club mounted season runs from around 1st September to 30th May with unmounted winter rallies.

All members are welcome and encouraged to attend all rallies. Members can choose to come to any rally whether they are mounted or not. Where there has been a mounted rally scheduled and weather does not permit it to be held an unmounted rally will be held in it's place. UVPC endeavours to stick to the calendars but unfortunately things do come up and in this case we will send an email, advise on the Facebook messenger group chat, post to our Facebook and our online website calendar will be updated as soon as we are aware that a change is to occur.

Emails regarding upcoming rallies will be sent out to all paid up members and all members are to respond, even if it is to say you cannot attend, this allows us to plan our rallies. If you turn up to a rally without an RSVP you may be asked to attend unmounted.

- Gear checks are done at every mounted rally.
- Red Tagged Helmets and jodhpur boots are compulsory for all mounted members.
- Each member is required to abide by the Code of Conduct. A copy can be can read and downloaded from here.

If you wish to know more please do not hesitate to contact us.

Parents, there are generally a few jobs, such as setting out rally equipment, packing away, and maintenance of PC gear. Please ask!

To further assist you the below has been copied from the NZPCA website

ACHIEVEMENT BADGES

NZPCA are proud to announce the arrival of the Achievement Badge initiative. See Note: It is UVPC preference that badges be sewn on to saddle blankets.here for more info on this.

WORKING RALLIES

The working rally is the backbone of The Pony Club. A working rally is one at which instruction is given and is open to all Members of the Branch. It may be either a mounted or unmounted rally. An unmounted rally is usually for horse and pony care instruction. Rallies vary in length from an hour and a half to whole day rallies and even camps. All mounted rallies follow a rally plan which is tailored to the level of the groups of riders attending. The plans include a gear checking/safety brief, a 'lesson of the day', a horse management lesson and games and activities. The longer rallies allow for extra activities such as treks, hunts, competitions and quizzes. It is at rallies that riders are encouraged to work towards gaining their certificates.

CERTIFICATES

Certificates are an essential part of the Pony Club system, providing incentive and encouragement to learn and improve at all levels. Pony Club members study for their certificates at rallies and can take exams to test their knowledge approximately every two years throughout their time at Pony Club. Pony Club certificates are available for all ages and levels of competency with even a lead rein achievement card available for our youngest members. The Certificates attainable are;Lead Rein D D+ C C+ B H A. A booklet containing all the examination syllabuses is available for purchase in our e shop.

Certificate Rules see here

H and A Certificates

The pinnacle of achievement for riders are the H (horse management) and A (riding) examinations. These together award you with the A certificate which shows a very high level of competency in both riding and horse management and is recognised worldwide as such.