Wairoa Pony Club 2017-2018 Season Wrap-up...

DC Report:
A very warm welcome to the 2018 Wairoa Pony Club Annual General Meeting. Reflecting on the past 12 months Wairoa Pony club has kept up the momentum in a variety of ways.

Wairoa Pony Club members participated in regular rallies, treks, the A&P Show, Wairoa Riding Club dressage competition, and hunting with Mahia Hunt Inc. Our riding members are the future of these clubs and it is great to see the different equestrian groups encouraging pony club members to participate.

Our membership has grown from 3 in 2014 to 30 in 2018 – which is the opposite from the national trend!  Wairoa offers opportunities to our members that urban clubs and branches don’t always have the luxury of - farm and beach rides, free use of the A&P showgrounds, and wonderful volunteers who give up their time freely!

The focus over the season was on certificates - and it was extremely pleasing to see so many sit and pass their certificates at the end of the camp.

Congratulations to Penny Wilson and Ellie Newman passing their C Certificate; Oliver Newton, Tattie Bayly, Georgia Tizard, Olivia Morunga, Isobel Bayly and Amanda McSporran passed their D+ Certificates. Maisey Alexander and Kaylee Doole passed their D Certificates.
Thank you to Robyn Mackay and Sarah Gault for giving up their time to examine.  It was lovely to hear positive comments regarding how well prepared the candidates were - especially how well turned out they all were. Our new green and white uniform is always receiving compliments whenever members are out and about.

After much discussion about Pony Club camp options it was decided to have camp at the showgrounds, combining the Peter Barke course and make use of our amazing new cross country jumps.  Thanks again to Sefton Alexander and Jeff Shortt for building them.  The camaraderie between the children and adults is something that comes to the forefront at camp time. With the marginal weather, it was decided that the Camp and beach ride would be the last WPCI activity for the season, however if weather permits farm rides are always popular. 
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​​​​​​​Head Coach Report:

The 2017/18 season for Wairoa pony club has been a major stepping stone in where the pony club is heading for the future, with an increase in membership, new equipment and new ideas and enthusiasm.

Our season started off with an unmounted session in early September welcoming our new members and setting goals. Members also received the new Wairoa pony club membership manuals.

We were fortunate to get our first mounted rally in by the end of September which paved the way for a full on season. September/October saw an introduction into eventing for some of our members. Many of which took up the fantastic opportunity that HBAPC gave them to attend the dressage course with Hannah Best. A big thank you to the Hawkes Bay Area for allowing this to happen at a discounted rate. We kept the momentum flowing by having a cross country practise day at the Hawkes Bay Equestrian Park. 5 of our riders travelled down to Hastings and we made use pf the fabulous facility. The girls had a lot of fun and gained a lot of knowledge. Thanks to Flaxmere pony club and the equestrian park for allowing us to use the jumps. I think that a day such as this could become a regular on our calendar each year. All this training for eventing paid off with 5 of our members participating in their first ODE in November at the Havelock North PC ODE. They represented Wairoa very well and thoroughly enjoyed their day.

The Christmas Cracker was another success with the increase in entries. The riders also had more competition in each group which proved to be a lot of fun and a good build up for the Wairoa A&P Show.. thanks to our sponsors who generously donated to our small gymkhana.

Again the Wairoa A&P show was represented by our members. They were all presented exceptionally well and proved to be fierce but fair competitors in the ring. It was fantastic to see some of our riders stepping up into the main jumping events. We were very lucky to have the help of Anna McNicol and Rachel Martin who gave up their spare time in the build up to show by sharing their knowledge of showing and show jumping etiquette. 

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2017 - 2018 Prize Giving end of season awards

Hill Family cup for Diligence: Penny Wilson and Oliver Newton 
McArdle Cup for Effort and Attitude: Charlie Tizard 
Falconer Trophy for Improved Confidence: Maisie Alexander
Powdrell Cup for Overall Improved Rider: Olivia Morunga 
Heather Grant Cup for Best Combination: Georgia Tizard 
Kendra Pye Turnout Trophy: Ellie Newman
Attendance Award: Kaylee Doole

Improved Rider Senior: Tattie Bayly
Improved Rider Intermediate: Georgia Tizard
Improved Rider Junior: Maisie Alexander
Improved Lead rein: Sophie Allott

Rising Star Certificates: 

Certificate Achievements:
C Certicates:  Penny Wilson, Ellie Newman
D+ Certificates: Tattie Bayly, Isobel Bayly,  Amanda McSporran, Olivia Morunga, Oliver Newton, Georgia Tizard
D Certificates: Maisey Alexander; Kaylee Doole
Lead Rein Certificate: