Saturday, January 10, 2009

PONY CLUB

PONY CLUB is a club for young horse enthusiasts under 25 from all over the world.
The South African Pony Club falls under the British Pony Club, which is international-with branches from New Zealand to America, Europe to all over!
It aims to teach the correct manner of horsemastership and riding, while encouraging growth and team spirit.

Pony Club is divided into regions, of which these has branches in different suburbs – ie Paarl, Tokai, Durbanville.
Morningstar has a sub-branch which falls under the Table View branch.

WHAT DOES IT OFFER?

RALLIES – workshops where members learn certain subjects (grooming/ tack/ feeding/ wildlife/ loading etc etc!)
RIDDEN RALLIES- riders learn while riding (equitation/ dressage/ jumping clinics / gymkhanas/ etc etc)
OUTINGS-to places of interest (feed companies/ stud farms/ race yards/ hunts)
SHOWS- shows are held where different branches compete against each other
PONY CLUB DOES NOT PUT EMPHASIS ON COMPETING, HOWEVER DOES ENCOURAGE GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT.
PROFICIENCY TESTS- there are tests for members to work towards to test riding and theory skills, which are recognised
world wide and offer job opportunities at the higher levels.
ACHIEVEMENT BADGES- special felt badges, earned through testing, are sown onto Pony Club t-shirts.
CLOTHING-each branch has its own unique design of t-shirts, as well as Pony Club ties, tracksuits, jackets, numnahs,
browbands etc.