May - Riddells Creek Pony Club

Riddells Creek Pony Club Inc. Newsletter
MAY 2009 A0003079R
http://www.rcpc.ponyclubvic.org.au
District Commissioner: Christine Sievers 0414 708 006 President:
Secretary: Bronwyn Meadows-Smith, Treasurer: Heather Witmore, Vice Presidents : David Stammers and Kevin Watson
Committee Members: John Baboth, Alistair Baylis, Alison Dimery, Heather Fiorentino, Sam Gregory- Muscat, Bronwen Gould, Sue Neagle, Joan Stammers,
Card Secretary: Aly Barton 54286363, Facilities Maintenance: Peter Amezdroz , Clothing, Badges, Books: Tina Cowley 54 287 372,
Gear Checking Coordinator: Sue Neagle Canteen Coordinator: Joan Stammers 54 333 252, Canteen Purchasing: Heather Fiorentino,
Newsletter Editor: Kevin Watson – kgwatson@melbpc.org.au Junior Committee Leader: Bronwyn Meadows-Smith
PONY CLUB CLUBROOMS PHONE NUMBER 5428 6816 EXTREME WEATHER 0439 992 219 after 8.15am Rally Day.
NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING; Monday, 1st June at 8.00pm at the PONY CLUB ROOMS.
NEXT JUNIOR COMMITTEE MEETING: Friday, 5th June at 7.30pm, PONY CLUB ROOMS.
BIRTHDAY GREETINGS FOR MAY
Jasmin Patterson 4 th , Georgia Harkin 18 th ,
Kierra Butts 20 th , Katherine Climas 21 st ,
Sophie Baylis 28 th , Nicole Ferguson 31 st .
Have a great day girls.
ROSTERS
MAY
Equipment- Gould, Mahoney, Urbaniak, Kelly
Barton .
Canteen—Kurban, Sievers, Slade, Gears,
Hazelden. .
Cleaning- Kirby, Fiorentino, Schultz.
JUNE
Equipment-Hocking, Reeves-Singles, Pearce,
McClean, Littlewood.
Canteen- Shields, Chiller, Frost, Ruff, Franks.
Cleaning- Cowley, Dimery, Patterson, White.
Attendance Book.
All riders must “sign in” when they arrive at
each rally.
If a member can not attend the next rally, they
should state this in the Attendance Book, or
notify the DC as soon as possible.
The Card Secretary will inform the DC if a rider
has been absent for 4 consecutive months.
If the rider has not notified the D.C. previously,
the D.C. shall contact the rider, and discuss
whether they will be attending any further
rallies.
Infrequent attendance makes it very difficult for
the D.C. to organize groupings.
If a rider’s attendance is infrequent, they cannot
be guaranteed a place in their original group,
when they return.
.
MEMBERSHIP FEES
Annual Fees of $ 200.00 were set at the
A.G.M.held during the April rally.
These are payable now.
COMMITTEE .2009---- 2010
The following people were elected to steer our
Club for the next 12 months.
President-? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ?
Vice President(Facilities) David Stammers
Vice President (Events) Kevin Watson
Secretary- Bronwyn Meadows- Smith
Treasurer-Heather Witmore
General Committee- John Baboth, Al Baylis,
Alyson Dimery, Heather Fiorentino, Bronwyn
Gould, Sam Gregory-Muscat , Sue Neagle and
Joan Stammers.
Joan Stammers has volunteered to be Canteen
Coordinator for Rallies.
Sandra Matthews has volunteered to be
Canteen Coordinator for Events.
Card Secretary-Aly Barton
Uniform Sales&Books- Tina Cowley
Junior Committee- Bronwyn Meadows- Smith
The Committee elected Christine Sievers as
our next District Commissioner at their recent
meeting.
Chris. will work with Judy Climas our past
D.C., to become familiar with the role..
At the Committee meeting held earlier this
week, past and present committee members met
and discussed the past and the future of the
club.
ENGAGEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Wendy and Richard Abey are pleased to
announce the engagement their daughter Louise
to Aaron Mawhinny.
Both Aaron and Lou are keen Polocrosse
players.
Lou and her sister Matilda were members of our
Club for many years and mother Wendy is a
Life Member of our Club.

EASTER HORSE TRIALS 12 TH 13 TH APRIL
Twenty-one of our riders competed in this
event. With riders at all levels, some having
there first start in a Horse Trials event, the Club
should be very proud of their efforts.
.
Katherine Climas was 2 nd and Rhiannon
Stammers was 6 th in the Gr.1 section against a
very well performed field over a testing X.C.
course.
In the Gr.2 section we had four riders.
Jane and Kate Matthews, having only their
second start at this level, were placed 3 rd and 4 th
.They were in different sections, so this relieved
the pressure on parents Sandra and Ray.
Rebecca Gerber and Amber Amezdroz
impressed with their performances.
Sarah French rode a young pony which was
very impressive in the lower classes.
These seven girls plus Mathew Slade, also in
GR.1, will represent our Club and the Zone in
the State Championships this weekend.
Maybe we will receive a phone call during the
day with information on the progress of the
teams.
At Gr.3 level, Alex Edwards, competing in her
second Gr.3 competition was placed 3 rd , and
Amelia Hocking having her first start at this
level jumped a lovely X.C. round.
Taylor Church was pleased with her mare
which has had only limited experience on X.C
Matthew Sievers had been looking forward to
competing in his first Gr.3 event at this event,
but was unfortunately not able to take his place
in the field.
However he worked prior to and during the
event, with preparations.
At Gr.4 level we had six riders.
Molly Chiller lead all the way to take out the
4B section. Molly and her new mount “Striker”
have been developing their relationship through
several Gr.4 competitions, and no doubt will be
looking for a higher grading for her next event .
Bianca Fiorentino is persisting with “Oscar” at
this level, and Gabby Church and her feisty
pony always seem to have fun.
It was good to see Kyle Baboth out on the X.C.
course, extending his riding skills.
Five of our riders rode at Gr.5 level.
Audrey and Hayley Whitmore had their first
start in a Horse Trials event. Congratulations
girls. You should be very proud of your efforts.
Amy Gregory-Muscat should also be proud of
her effort even though she had a fall on the X.C.
She was 3 rd after the Dressage phase.
These three girls not only competed but were a
great help in preparing for the event.
Madison Mahoney came from 11 th after
Dressage to 7 th at the end of the day.
Melanie Pearce had to withdraw her horse,
because of lameness.
The Pearce family are relatively new comers to
our club, but they certainly pulled more than
their weight in preparing and running the
weekend.
Melanie and her brothers cleaned out yards
prior to the event, Dad Darren collected score
sheets on X.C. day, and Leanne and Melanie
were involved with the Sunday night dinner,
and other preparation
THANKS FROM JUDY CLIMAS
Well, what an event. Record entries and a
massive effort by the families of the Riddells
Creek Pony Club. As Event Co-ordinator, I
cannot begin to thank all of the people who
offered their time at Easter to help run this huge
fundraiser for the club.
To my coordinators of Entries, Office, Gear
Check, Dressage, Cross Country,
Showjumping, Vetting, Canteen, Judges
Lunches and Sunday Night Dinner, you cannot
know how grateful I am for your efforts. Your
dedication and knowledge is an asset to this
wonderful club.
.Many people, everywhere I go, comment on
how professionally this event is run and how
friendly and helpful our members are.
You can all be proud of the success of the
event and take a few months off before we
begin the planning of the EFA October Horse
Trials. Don’t be shy, volunteer to help again, it
gets easier every time you do it. It is certainly a
wonderful feeling to be a part of such a great
event.
At last count the profit made was around
$14000.00 . Not too shabby hey!
Well Done and thanks again. Judy Climas.

OUT AND ABOUT
Not content with an exciting day at our own
Horse Trials, three of our riders traveled to
Mansfield the following weekend.
Molly Chiller followed up her win in Gr.4 at
R.C. by starting in Gr.3 and was 4 th overall.
Well done Molly.
Rhiannon Stammers continued her preparation
for the State Champs, and was placed 4 th in the
Gr.1.
Alex Edwards had Best Dressage in Gr.3, and
6 th place. A run out on X.C. cost her a higher
placing.
ZONE GAMES AND FLAT TEAMS
Zone Games Champions
It was a cold and wet Sunday with 50 Kph winds,
with rain and sleet coming from the Antarctic. Seven
brave riders took on the weather and 12 other clubs
from around Central Zone.
The team of Rhiannon Kurban, Mathew Slade,
Matthew Kirby, Sally Huxley, Jasmine Shields,
Karlie Barton and Bessie Dimery had trained hard
since the start of the year and were ready to take on
last years winners Macedon Pony Club in the first
heat of the day
With the footing very slippery and un-even surface
the team kept their cool whilst the reigning
champions knocked a pole to give the team a
comfortable win.
Wins in ball and bucket and the bottle race saw the
team three wins from three races at lunch time.
Unfortunately after lunch a couple cold hands
resulted in a couple of errors in the tent pegging
race and we came second by about 2 lengths. The
team then finished off the next two races finishing
with all six riders over the line before the other
teams had even made it half way.
At the end of the six games both Riddells Creek
and Macedon both had 5 wins and a second. So
it was back onto the field for a run off.
As usual the race was the flag and drum and so
there was no room for slow ponies. After the two
Matthews had returned, Riddell had about a 4 length
lead and the pressure was mounting on the
opposition.
With faultless pickups and passing by R.C., the
pressure was too great and the Macedon rider
pulled out two sticks. This allowed Rhiannon to
cross the line at a trot and the trophy was ours.
The team presented for presentations wearing their
new team representative shirts and even though the
temperature was in single digits they were
determined to show them off.
As coach of the team I have never been more proud
of a group of riders. In the worst conditions I have
ever experienced, not once did a rider complain
about the weather.
Between every race they jumped off their ponies to
ensure that they were rugged up to keep warm.
So now they are off to the State Championships at
Werribee on June 14th. So mark this date in your
diary and drive down to the Werribee Equestrian
Centre to support your friends and club mates.
Congratulations to our Team.
Thank you for this report Warwick and for the time
you give to training the team.
FLAT TEAMS 2010 ??????
The week before the horse trials, Audrey Witmore
and Forestway Felicity went down to Werribee Park
for the Australian Pony Owners and Breeders Open
Pony Dressage Championships.
They did a Grade 5 test and came away with a
lovely 4 th green sash and a showbag from sponsors.
After her test we were thrilled to hear the musical
rides starting. That means dressage to music !
The theme was Men in Tights, so some spectacular
costumes paraded around like Robin Hood, a
Leprechaun, a Musketeer etc. to all kinds of music.
Some of the competitors had put pieces of famous
music together, classical, rock and modern to match
the horses gait and movement and increases and
decreases in speed (transitions) in the tests. Very
impressive.
Anyone wanting to do the PCAV Musical and Flat
teams next year, to learn a musical ride and
represent RCPC at Zone level, PLEASE see
Audrey or Hayley and Jo Heinz, our instructor for
Musical and Flat Teams.
We should be able to get a Senior Team Together
and a Junior Team together with ponies of similar
height. Start thinking NOW.
Heather Witmore
COMING EVENTS
MAY
3 rd Findon Gymkhana
2 nd - 3 rd State H.T. Championships.
9 th - 10 th Inter-zone H.T. Gr.3&4 Werribee
10 th Kilmore Navigation Ride
17 th Oaklands S.J. & Presidents Cup Qual.
24 th Kilmore Combined Training Day.
23 rd -24 th Zone Clinic.at R.C.P.C.-See Wendy
31 st Whittlesea Combined Training Day.

BULK PURCHASE OF HORSE FEED.
Bronwyn Meadows-Smith has sourced a very
reputable district horse feed merchant who is
prepared to deliver to a central location in
Riddells Creek, once a fortnight.
Prices are more than competitive with our local
stores.
If you wish to be part of this buying group,
contact Bronwyn today.
Our Club receives a benefit from being
involved.
PONY CLUB NATIONAL COMPETITION
Two of our riders have been selected to
represent Victoria at the Nationals to be held in
Sydney.
Mathew Slade will be part of Senior Mounted
Games team, riding borrowed horses.
Katherine Climas will take her horse Brainwave
and be part of the Senior Eventing team.
Congratulations to you both.
CLUB AREA CLEANLINESS
Please remember to clean up after your horse at
the end of the day, and during the day. Line up
time is often a very exciting time for some
horses, so they like to leave a deposit behind
before they begin the day’s activities. There are
scoops and wheelbarrows available to make this
task easier.
GARDEN MANURE
If you have friends who are looking for manure
for their garden, direct them to our Club.
There are several large piles around trees and
along fence lines within the Club area.
All they need to do is bring a bag and a spade
with them to collect it.
NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
T his newsletter depends on material from our
members.
If you have any Horsey or Non Horsey news
that involved our members, ex members or their
families please Email it to Kevin at the address
at the top of the newsletter.
WANTED
DEFINITELY ALIVE
MALE OR FEMALE
YOUNG OR OLD
A
PRESIDENT
FOR OUR CLUB.
SOME EXPERIENCE IN CHAIRING
MEETINGS PREFERABLE BUT NOT
ESSENTIAL.
A DEFINITE INTEREST IN
ENCOURAGING AND PROVIDING
THE CHILDREN OF OUR AREA
WITH A HEALTHY HOBBY.
Our Club is recognized as one of the TOP clubs
in the state, with outstanding facilities.
This reputation has been gained over a number
of years.
The members who have worked to build this
reputation over the years think that it is time for
the next generation of members to step forward.
Our new Committee has many new faces which
is very pleasing, plus a few who have
contributed for a number of years, BUT, not a
candidate for President.
Even if you have only been in the Club for a
short time, you might be the person we need.
Speak to NEW Secretary Bronwyn Meadows-
Smith today, or phone Kevin Watson (54 285
445) for more details of what the position
involves.