• encourage you to ride and learn to enjoy all approved kinds of horse sport
• provide instruction in horsemanship and horsemastership.
• teach you to care properly for your horse.
• give you an opportunity to be involved in a club with young people of similar interests.
• promote the highest ideals of sportsmanship, citizenship and loyalty, thereby cultivating strength of character and self-discipline.

Nunawading & District Horse & Pony Club is affiliated with the Northern Metropolitan Zone of the PCAV. This Zone represents the interests of 20 clubs in the north eastern area of Melbourne from Nunawading to Kinglake, Healseville and Upper Yarra .

Pony Club representatives meet monthly at a Zone meeting to discuss issues affecting all clubs in the area and to plan Zone events throughout the year. Each club sends a Zone representative and any member or parent is welcome to attend the Zone Meeting - normally held at Ringwood Pony Club grounds on the second Wednesday of the month.

Annual zone events which involve NHPC are

• Zone Horse Trials, normally held during March at Yeringberg (just past Coldstream)
• Zone Games, normally held during April at Healesville Pony Club ground.
• Zone Team Dressage and Musical Ride competition, held in conjunction with the Games day.
• Zone Team Horse Trials, normally held during May at Yeringberg (just past Coldstream)
• Zone Dressage and Showjumping Championship (qualifiers for the State Championships), normally held during December at Yarrambat Pony Club Grounds.

Our club normally organises training sessions - depending on the level of interest - on weekends leading up to the event. A nominal fee may be levied to cover cost of instructions.

Selection for Zone Teams for Games, Dressage and the Horse Trials is by the DC in conjunction with the Riding Committee. Selection for the Zone Dressage and Showjumping Championship is by invitation only.

As well as competing at these events, the club has a responsibility to Zone and State to assist in -

• setting up dressage/showjumping areas,
• catering,
• ground management (including parking).

All parents are asked to assist so that these tasks are not left to one or two willing and exhausted parents.

• Late Arrival If you are late for a rally, for whatever reason, please report to the District Commissioner (DC) who will then give you permission to join a class. Extend the courtesy of apologising to your instructor for being late as you join the class. Similarly, if you wish to leave the class or rally at any time, you must seek permission from your instructor and DC.
• Injury The DC must be notified of any accident or injury to horse and/or rider during the rally.
• Absent If you are unable to attend a Rally for any reason you should telephone your apologies to the DC as soon as you know that you cannot attend.

PLEASE NOTE: If you are absent for three (3) rallies without an apology, your membership will lapse.

• Unmounted Rallies Members should be mounted at all rallies unless their horse is unfit, or the rally is specified as unmounted. If a member attends as unmounted they should participate in their allocated group at the rally by assisting the instructors with moving equipment etc.

The Official Pony Club Uniform as of June 2000 is cream jodhpurs, white shirt, purple tie, purple jumper and the PCAV badge.

Ties, t-shirts, jumpers, badges and Club saddlecloths may be purchased from the

Uniform Co-ordinator. (Refer to the back page for the list of office bearers.)

The above uniform is to be worn by all competing members at line-up on Rally Days.

A competing member is defined as Grade 4 and above and any Grade 5 who has competed or intends to compete before next Rally. This ensues all members are fully

prepared for competitions and that the DC or an instructor may check all your gear.

After line-up, members may change into club poloshirt and/or windcheater if they find it more comfortable due to weather conditions etc. However, the overall appearance must be neat and tidy at all times.

The DC may at their desctretion, announce in the morning that poloshirts will accepted at line-up on that day due to weather conditions. In this case no penalties will apply.

Our constitution is based on the PCAV model constitution and copies are available from the Secretary.

Any member 14 years and over is eligible for the Junior Committee. The Junior Committee assists the main Pony Club body by organising special social projects for the members, fund raising, working bees and represent the members at Senior Committee.

The District Commissioner undertakes the job of controlling the well being of the club and achieving its goals. They help to define acceptable standards of member behavior and then to maintain those standards through implementation of NHPC and PCAV rules. They also encourage each member and at the same time tempers the aspirations of the over ambitious parent.

Other responsibilities include:

• Chairperson of the riding committee that oversees the training/grading of all members
• To implement the rules pertaining to the members of Pony Club and to ensure that these are carried out;
• To ensure that club rallies function smoothly and that all members are catered for in rally programs;
• To ensure that horses and riders are graded correctly and in accordance with their ability as a combination, regardless of size or age of horse and rider.
• To ensure that details recorded on membership cards are correct and in accord with current PCAV rules; if members are eligible, to endorse their entry in competitions by signing the entry forms;
• To ensure that attendance records of members at club rallies are correct and that these details are recorded correctly on membership cards and in the attendance book.
• To brief instructors before each rally about the standard and subjects that they are to teach.

Annual Awards presented at the Christmas break-up rally are -

• DC Award
• Encouragement Award
• Improvement Award
• Turnout Awards.

Members cannot belong to more than one pony club at the same time. If you wish to join another club, you can arrange a transfer from NHPC by forwarding a written request for transfer to the NHPC Secretary. If you wish to resign from Pony Club, please forward a letter of resignation to the Secretary.

We currently have a group of members called non owners. This is an introductory course to riding, horse care and pony club. The aim is to educate the member and encourage them to have their own horse in a riding group.This group is for those horse lovers who wish to further their knowledge in horsemanship but do not yet have their own horses. (Or their parents do not wish to purchase a horse until they are certain that love of horses is not just a passing phase).

Non owner groups have practical and theoretical lessons and ride horses when available to them on rally days. (We ask other members who have horses to make them available to our non owners group when they are participating in theory lessons or other times when they are not riding)

Due to the popularity of this group we expect a non-owner member be part of the non owners group for no more than two years.

A surcharge is added to the membership fee to cover hire of horses for this group. (Refer Back page for fee)

Competing at Pony Club events can be an enjoyable experience for riders, horses and parents. Much can be learnt about how a rider and horse is progressing within their grade and how to improve future performances. Included in this summary is a short explanation of Dressage, Horse Trials, Combined Training and Showjumping. Gymkhana and Show events vary according to the wishes of the organising body but classes are usually divided into riders ages and the horses height.

Entry forms for events can be obtained from saddlery stores, at Pony Club or by photocopying another entry form. Some horse magazines and The Weekly Times have lists of coming events. Entry forms must be filled in correctly (including horses name) and, most importantly, signed by the D.C. Entries should be sent in well in advance of closing date, (especially for Horse Trials), as some events are very popular and fill up fast.

You should arrive at the venue at least an hour before your first riding time to ensure enough time to find a suitable parking place, saddleup and have a gear check. Gear checks must be done before each section of the competition or you will be eliminated. Leave yourself plenty of time to warm up your horse before each phase of the event.

Grading and attendance cards - the same card - are issued by the PCAV to each rider through their Pony Club when their fees are paid. New ones are issued annually in July.

Grading is from Grade 5 to Grade 1 with 5 being the lowest grade. In showjumping the levels are called E Grade up to A Grade. Grades are not necessarily the same for each discipline, so a rider could be E Grade showjumping and Grade 4 horse trials or even ungraded in a discipline. For a rider to be graded they must be at least 8 years old, have attended at least two (2) rallies riding the horse that they are to be graded on, and must have gained their ‘D’ Certificate indicating a level of competency of the horse and combination.

The grade given is based on many things, including the ability of the horse and rider together, safety in a competition situation, and to some extent the age and experience of the rider and the height of the horse. Each horse and rider combination are graded separately. If you get a new horse you will not necessarily be graded the same as you were on your other horse - you may not even be graded on the new horse immediately. Grading is done by the D.C. with assistance from instructors. Grading cards are kept

by the D.C. and must be obtained by the rider prior to an event and taken to the event.

Nunawading & District Horse and Pony Club Incorporated is, as our name indicates, an incorporated club under the Association Incorporation Act 1981. As such, we are required to meet certain standards in regard to our membership, fees and voting rights. Corporate Affairs are forwarded a copy of our audit report immediately after our Annual General Meeting.and we must also nominate a Public Officer. (This basically means a contact person and address.)

We have an annual membership fee and it covers our fees to the Zone , PCAV, Rally Round, insurance and the monthly instructors. It may vary from year to year depending on the level of fundraising in the previous year. (Refer to back page for current fees).

Adults wishing to become supporting members are charged an annual fee to cover administration costs. (Note: Parents of financial members are automatically classified as supporting members).

Our financial year commences 1st January and lasts until 31st December.Accounts for membership renewals are issued during January/February each year.

A family supporters levy is paid initially when a new family joins the club and is returned when the final member leaves the club, providing the applicable assistance has been maintained during the period. The levy is reviewed annually and an invoice will be forwarded during January/February for the next years levy when :-

1. a family did not undertake their required assistance during the previous year, either via canteen duty, assisting at Zone and Club events or working bees

or

2. a family wishes to support the club financially rather than physically.

• The Officers of the Pony Club namely:- President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer
• Five (5) other committee members

The District Commissioner is selected by the committee.

Committee meetings are usually held on the second Thursday of each month unless otherwise advised by the Secretary. They are held in the Clubrooms at Drummies Bridge Reserve commencing at 8:00 pm. Parents are encourage to attend as observers.

In this event jumps are given a value number with the easiest jumps having the lowest number and the hardest jump the highest number. Jumps do not have to be jumped in numbered order and not all jumps need to be jumped. Start and finish flags are placed together so they can be passed through from either direction. The idea of this event is to get the highest score (from value number) in the time allowed. Riders make up their own course keeping in mind the ability of their horse. You must pass through the flags to start your round. A jump can be scored twice only; any additional times it is jumped are a waste of time. Jumps can be jumped from both directions or the same direction. Any jump knocked down will get a score and will not be put up again until the round is finished. Normal penalties for knock downs and refusals do not apply in this type of event. When the judge rings the bell to signal the end of your round, ride as quickly as possible through the finish flags - the time between when the bell rings and you pass through the flags will count if there are riders on equal scores.

For this event there are two riders on the course at once. The first rider starts their round and continues until either they have a fault, they finish the round or the judge rings the bell. When the first rider has a knock down the second rider takes over the round starting at the jump after the jump knocked down. When the first rider has a refusal the second rider takes over at the jump refused (if it was knocked down during the refusal they must wait until it is put up again). If the first rider completes the round with no faults and the bell has not rung, the second rider takes over from jump No 1 and continues on - finish flags do not apply. Swapping of riders when faults occur continues as above until the bell rings to finish the round. If the second rider is the one to finish the first round (i.e. the first rider had a fault) they continue on from the last jump to the first jump again. When the judge rings the bell your round is finished and you should jump the next jump in order. The pair that wins is the one that covers the most of the course. If there are equal placings the time taken from when the bell goes to when the horse takes off for the next jump is used to separate them.

The maximum heights for the first round are: Grade Height Spread

E grade 0.53m; 0.53 m

D grade 0.70m; 0.60 m

C grade 0.85m; 0.90 m

B grade 1.00m; 1.20 m

A grade 1.15m; 1.50 m

This is 8cm higher than the maximum height for show jumping in H/T or C/T. The finishing heights can be up to 23cm higher than the starting height e.g. in a D grade jump-off or speed event the jumps can be raised to a maximum of 0.93m.

The grading card is exchanged for the rider’s competition number and provides proof that the rider/horse combination is eligible to compete. It should be returned to the D.C. following the event. Remember you are not allowed to ride without your grading card. If you have a query regarding your grading, you should consult the D.C..

Hors Concours means not competing for a prize. Members may enter a competition below their normal grading as Hors Concours subject to approval from the organising committee.

Dressage is a series of movements performed inside an arena. Dressage is the basis for all other areas of English style riding. The control and aids of dressage are also used in jumping and even in games. Booklets with dressage tests for each grade are available through our Membership Coordinator for a small fee. They include explanations of what is expected at each level and things allowed and not allowed in dressage tests. Instructors help by explaining how to ride a test. Tests must be ridden from memory.

A dressage test is part of a Combined Training, part of a Horse Trials and can be a competition by itself. In a dressage only competition, the higher the score the better. At some events, usually non Pony Club run events, there may be sections called ‘Unofficial’ or ‘Training’. These can be entered by any rider that satisfies entry conditions. As they are generally not governed by any grading system (either Pony Club, Adult Riders or E.F.A.), the results are not significant and are largely used as a method of educating a horse in competition. Ungraded riders may only compete in these sections.

Horse Trails consist of three phases - dressage, cross country and showjumping. The dressage test is scored as bad points i.e. the lower the score the better. Any penalty points in the two jumping phases are added to the dressage score. When all scores and time penalties are added together the winner is the rider with the lowest score. All three phases must be attempted unless the horse or rider are injured or the vet considers the horse unfit to continue, in which case you are eliminated.

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The cross country phase is a series of fixed, numbered jumps in a large open space. The cross country course can usually be inspected (walked) the day before the competition, normally after 2 p.m. A map showing the position and number of jumps can be obtained from the event secretary’s office. Make sure you have the correct one for your grade and know what colour your jump numbers are. The cross country course can also be walked on the day of the competition but you must be careful to stay out of the way of riders on the course. On the day of the competition, be sure to check the ‘master plan’ for any changes to the course and extra things like compulsory flags. Many things cost penalty points - including refusals, falling off and being over the time limit allowed to complete the course. The most common reasons for elimination are three (3) refusals at the same jump, missing a jump or missing compulsory flags. As soon as you cross the finish line, ride straight into the roped off vet check area. Do not dismount until told to by the vet or their assistants. Then walk your horse around until the vet has checked your horse and advised you to leave the area.

The showjumping phase is a series of non-fixed jumps in a roped arena. It is jumped only once. When walking the course riders must be in full Pony Club uniform, including helmet and whip, if used. Penalty points are given for knocking down part of a jump, refusing or going past your next jump or being over the time limit allowed. Reasons for elimination include three (3) refusals in the whole course, jumping obstacles in the wrong order, not going through the start or finish flags or abusing your horse. A booklet with all the Horse Trials rules and penalties can be purchased from the Membership Coordinator.

O.D.E.s are hard work for the horse and riders must make sure that their horse is fit enough to complete the event otherwise accidents and even permanent physical damage can occur. Regular exercise should start at least six weeks before the event. It should gradually build up to increase the horses stamina. Include some trot and canter work up and down hills. Remember that the horse is an athlete and you are relying on it for your safety and fun.

Training or pre-grade 5 events are for riders too inexperienced or too young to be graded. The format for these events is the same as for other events but as they are unofficial, not all the official rules apply. Dressage tests may be called and riders may be led in both the jumping phases. Scores are given but no placings. Usually the rider is given a ribbon for taking part.

As the name suggests, Combined Training is a combination of scores from a dressage test and a showjumping round. Scoring and penalties are the same as for Horse Trails - the lower the score the better. (Occasionally the dressage score is posted as good points and any penalties in the showjumping are taken off, meaning the higher the score the better.)

At a Combined Training day you may enter for a C/T event (dressage and showjumping) and/or a dressage only event. Sometimes this is a separate dressage test but usually it is the same as the one ridden for a C/T. If you wish to be eligible for a dressage only ribbon as well as a C/T ribbon make sure you enter both (it will cost more). Check that you are graded the same for each discipline. If unsure about filling in the entry form, ask the D.C. when getting it signed. Do not assume that the D.C. knows your grading - with over 50 members in the club, the D.C. does not always have instant recall about your grading when asked to sign a form. Be prepared to supply the necessary information.

A Hickstead is similar to a C/T. The difference is that the jumping round includes both showjumping fences and cross country fences. The round starts off with showjumps then continues on to cross country fences and finishes off with more showjumps.

Straight showjumping events have different penalties, heights and different rules to the showjumping phases of H/T, C/T and Hickstead. There are many types of S/J events. The more common ones are.