COR News - Previous issues

Feedback is Welcome ... Please send comments or suggestions to Bob Inglis, COR Communications Chair.

This is going to be a rather short CORBITS, because the season has not started yet, and we have not had very much news about off-season activity in the Branches (thanks to Northumberland Pony Club, which sent along its own Branch newsletter).

Some of you may have seen a mention of the planned Canadian Pony Club Wall of Fame in "News from National" or in the Communications report to the April 16 Regional Committee meeting. For those of you who missed it, here is the story. First, a little background. Back in 1990, the Eglinton Pony Club decided to honour some of its alumni and other people associated with the Branch, by assembling a series of plaques for the wall of the club-house. They called it the Eglinton Pony Club Wall of Fame. Being the oldest Branch in Canada, Eglinton had a head start on everyone else, and there are now 23 such plaques, honouring people like Tom Gayford, Jim Elder, Jim and Doug Henry, Lisa Carlsen - I won't attempt to list all of them from memory but you get the picture.

Last year, the Canadian Pony Club Communications Chair (to whom I happen to be married) was thinking up ways to celebrate the organization's 75th anniversary, and came up with the idea that Eglinton's Wall of Fame should be expanded to cover distinguished alumni from all CPC Branches, as part of the website. The Board of Directors approved the idea, and at the Annual General Meeting, April 2, we borrowed Eglinton's plaques for the day and put them at the back of the room for people to look at. Liz unfortunately was ill that day, so I stood in for her and made a PowerPoint presentation about it. As part of that presentation, we suggested a few people to be considered for nomination, for example, Ian Millar (how many of you knew that "Captain Canada" passed his Pony Club "A" test?), Torchy Millar, Sandra Sillcox and Michael Gutowski. The reaction from those at the AGM was about the best anybody could have hoped for - many of them started making lists of people they wanted to nominate. I heard the names of many prominent riders whom I never knew had been Pony Clubbers in other parts of the coun-try, people like Laura Tidball-Balisky and Gina Smith. That's okay, because many people from other regions came up to me to say that they had never realized so many of the illustrious riders whose plaques were at the back of the room were Pony Club grads.

Eglinton has a head start on everyone else, as mentioned earlier, but people from other COR Branches should be thinking about making lists, too. 2009 is not so far away. If your Branch has a grad whom you think deserves to be honoured alongside some of the others mentioned in this article, here is what you do. A nomination form is being prepared, but even before it is available, you can find out contact information for your candidates, and maybe ask them whether they will agree to let their names stand. We need permission to put people's names on our web-site, remember. If you are thinking of a posthumous nomination, we still need to touch base with the next of kin, so you could look for contact information for them. You can also be preparing your arguments on behalf of your nominees. That can mean checking records or even archives, since some of Canada's great Pony Club riders may have represented their country in the 1940s and 1950s. And of course, the Wall of Fame should not be limited to riders. It should include grads who are or were international level coaches (like Michael Gutowski), officials (like Sandra Sillcox), course designers etc. A formal set of criteria will be issued as soon as a few details are worked out by the 75th Anniversary Committee.

Pony Club has a great history in Canada, though some people seem to have forgotten that. The Wall of Fame is a way to show our pride in that history, and we hope everyone will pitch in to help.

Sue Robinson, a former Regional Chair and current Visiting Commissioner, has asked me to mention the above series, run by Durham Pony Club grads Heather and Victoria Robinson. Unfortunately the first two shows in this series have already gone by while I was waiting for more material for this issue, but there is still one to come, on May 15. Those of you not playing PPG that day may want to look into it. The show offers both flat classes and three different divisions over fences (from cross-rail to 2'6"-2'9"). Thornlea is also interested in running shows at the request of inquiring organizations, or, if you want to run your own, the facility can be rented. For more information, get in touch with Heather or Victoria at 905-655-5126. Thornlea Stables are on Howden Road between Thornton and Simcoe, about three and a half miles from Brooklin.

This is addressed to Active Members. Please don't forget the show jumping clinic coming up on May 8. Last season saw too many falls, and during the Regional Committee meetings over the winter a lot of people expressed concern about what they saw as the deteriorating quality of riding in COR. Okay, maybe some of that was the "Nostalgia isn't what it used to be" syndrome, but much of it was justified. Kate Evans, who handles the accident reports at the OEF office, mentioned that on one weekend, she got more reports from one of our Regional Pony Club shows than from an A show at Palgrave with more than 500 horses in it. That caused a lot of wrinkled brows and furrowed foreheads, which you could help smooth out by taking this clinic. It will make you a better rider, and it might even get you a few more ribbons. More to the point, it will help make you a safer rider. Necks are more important than ribbons, and we have had enough of "necks for sale" riding. Too much of it, in fact.

2004 Awards Banquet

October 23 saw us gather at the Annandale Golf and Country Club in Ajax for the 2004 Central Ontario Region Awards Banquet. Many thanks to the Durham Pony Club for organizing this year’s festivities, which, apart from the awards, featured a silent auction, a fabulous buffet, the ever-amusing antics of Malibu Bob and (rumour has it) dancing till someone heard a rooster crow.

Of course, the most important part of the evening was the awards, with congratulations to all those whose names are reported below (in the same order in which the awards were actually presented).

The Entry Division Champion was Christine Oldridge of the Victoria Pony Club riding Elphin Birdsong. King Pony Club member Nikki Ince was Reserve, with T.C.

In the Starter Division, Erin Thompson of the Oshawa Pony Club was the Champion, riding Lily (shown at left riding at the Killusty dressage; all dressage and show jumping photos courtesy Foxprint Photography). The Starter Reserve was Roberta Spratt of the Kawartha Pony Club, on Mr. Teds.

Rachel Welsh of Oshawa was the Pre-Training Champion along with Pippi. Madison Wilks of the Durham Pony Club was the Reserve on Mega Cool.

The Training Division Champion was Katlyn Hewson of Victoria riding Without a Trace. The Training Reserve was Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa on Colwyn Tegan.

Johanna McKeen of Oshawa was the First Level A Champion riding Millgate Braveheart (shown at right, at the Kawartha Dressage Qualifier at Saddlewood). There was no Reserve in this Division.

The Starter Freestyle Champion was Charlotte Buffet of the Maple Pony Club, with another Maple entry, Jennifer Nason, in Reserve on Contessa.

Jennifer McKeen picked up her second ribbon of the night as Training Freestyle Champion, with Katlyn Powell of Durham the Reserve on Sundance.

Also winning her second ribbon was Johanna McKeen, the First Level Freestyle Champion. Julia McGill of Durham was Reserve on D’Artagnan.

Central Ontario Region 2004 Appreciation Certificates went to: Stephanie Rutherford of the Baltimore Hills Pony Club; Rebecca Adrian, Jodi Hunsley, Julia McGill, Kayla Neil, Katelyn Powell, Alyssa Stavrakos and Madison Wilks, all of the Durham Pony Club; Michaela Brown, Roberta Spratt and Sarah Wilson of the Kawartha Pony Club; Sarah Angus, Nikki Ince and Maddy Lang of the King Pony Club, along with a certificate to the King Pony Club itself; Charlotte Buffet and Jennifer Nason of the Maple Pony Club; Jennifer McKeen, Johanna McKeen, Erin Thompson and Rachel Welsh of the Oshawa Pony Club; Whitney Brennan and Laura Parliament of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club; and last (alphabetically only), Jessie Ball, Kylie Figueira, Katlyn Hewson, Kourtney Matysek and Christine Oldridge of the Victoria Pony Club.

Zone Certificates and Badges were awarded to those who represented Central Ontario so well at the Central Zone Dressage Championships. They were: Madison Wilks of Durham, and Oshawa Pony Club members Jennifer McKeen, Johanna McKeen, Erin Thompson and Rachel Welsh.

In the Pre-Entry Division A-1, James Cruikshanks of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club was Year-End Points Champion riding Target, with Alexandra Reynolds of the Kawartha Pony Club the Reserve on She’s Like the Wind.

The Pre-Entry Division A-2 Champion was William Dow of the Pine Ridge Pony Club on Ava (shown at left at the Uxbridge-Scugog Qualifier at Dreamcrest), with Kaitlin Devoe of the Ajax Pony Club the Reserve riding Van Gogh.

Alexandra Kelly of the Victoria Pony Club was the Pre-Entry B Champion aboard Black Hat (at right, competing at the Uxbridge Qualifier), with the Reserve spot going to Jennalyn Webber of the Simcoe Pony Club riding Chili Pepper.

In the Entry Division, Johanna McKeen of Oshawa was the Champion on Mya (shown at left, again at Dreamcrest), with Sean Cruikshanks of Uxbridge-Scugog in Reserve on Cennabar.

In the Starter Division, Katelyn Powell of Durham was Year-End Champion riding Sundance, and Jessica McVittie of Uxbridge-Scugog was the Reserve on Merrylegs.

Samantha MacDonald of Uxbridge-Scugog was the Beginner Champion aboard Heart of Gold, and Jessica McVittie again took the Reserve Spot, this time riding Rubix Cube.

The Novice Champion was Julia McGill of Durham on D’Artagnan, with no Reserve.

Katie Murray of Durham was the Intermediate Champion on Jamane, with Megan Mattos of the Waussnodae Pony Club the Reserve on Sing Freely.

Show Jumping actually awarded Year-End ribbons to tenth place in each Division. These are summarized at the end of this issue.

In addition to the Year-End trophies and plaques, Show Jumping awarded trophies for the Champions at the Regional Show Jumping Finals. They were:

Pre-Entry Division A-1 – Jane Stephenson of Uxbridge-Scugog riding Missy.
Pre-Entry Division A-2 – Kaitlin Devoe of the Ajax Pony Club riding Van Gogh.
Pre-Entry Division B – Holly McGill of Ajax on Champagne Cocktail.
Entry Division – Johanna McKeen of Oshawa on Mya.
Starter Division – Dawn O’Neill of Ajax on Natasha.
Beginner Division – Jessica McVittie of Uxbridge-Scugog on Rubix Cube.
Novice Division – Julia McGill of Durham on D’Artagnan .
Intermediate Division – Katie Murray of Durham on Jamane.

Since Tet is a one-event discipline at the Regional level, its awards are given out at the end of the competition. We nevertheless want to recognize at least the Division winners here.

Among the Senior A Men, first place went to Zac McCue of the Victoria Pony Club. Kendal Lehari of the Toronto & North York Pony Club finished first among the Senior A Women. At the Junior A level there were no overall placings for men. Samantha Galway of the Maple Pony Club finished first among the Junior A women. Sean Cruikshanks of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club was the winner among the Novice Men, with Jasmin Ainsworth of the Pine Ridge Pony Club the winner among the Novice Women. There were no overall placings at the Senior B or Junior B levels among either the men or the women. The individual high point champion was Samantha Galway of the Maple Pony Club. The top team overall was from the Victoria Pony Club.

Zac McCue, who, along with Brittany Emery of Toronto & North York, represented not only the Central Ontario Region but Canada in this year’s International Tetrathlon competition in the United Kingdom and Ireland, gave a brief report.

In the Entry Division, the Champion was Laura Fiume of the King Pony Club, with Christy Chamney of the Maple Pony Club the Reserve.

Kathryn Robertson of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club was the Pre-Training Champion, and Samantha Galway of Maple was the Reserve.

Kitty Baker of the Toronto & North York Pony Club took the honours at the Training level, with Katie Murray of Durham the Reserve.

The Jamieson Family Award, which goes to the competitor competing in the highest level offered at rally, who finishes cross-country the closest to the optimum time, went to Kitty Baker.

The members of the Champion teams from each level were introduced and presented with spiffy hats. Please note that PPG levels have nothing to do with Pony Club testing levels.

C Division – The winning team was from the Maple Pony Club, and comprised Sarah Nason, Emma Shanks-Skinner, Sarah Smith and Ambre Schlechter.

B Division – Kawartha’s Team 1 (shown at left, again courtesy Foxprint Photography) was the Champion, made up of Brittany Brown, Michaela Brown, Amanda Davis, Callie Evans and Roberta Spratt.

A Division – This was won by a team calling itself the “Left Over Riff-Raff,” believe it or not, because it was made up of players whose Branches had either not enough members to make up a full team, or too many to fit onto only one team. So the Championship was won by a team with members from five different Pony Clubs, as follows (and how they ever practiced nobody knows): Bethany Brown of the Northwoods Pony Club; Shauna Chester of the Temiskaming Pony Club; Thomasin Element of the Pine Ridge Pony Club; Jessica McVittie of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club; and Rebecca Simmons of the Durham Pony Club.

Masters Division – The winners, once again, were the Uxbridge-Scugog Cowboys, a team made up of Brent Couch, Mike Durward, Allison Pascoe, Lisa Pascoe and Lorraine Smith. This team went on to win the Zone Championship, with Jade Stalk (sitting in for the injured Lisa Pascoe) and, for the second time in three years, were Canadian Champions. The picture at right shows one of the Pascoe twins in action (their Mom can probably tell which of them it is but I can’t).

The aforementioned spiffy hats were also awarded to Bill Murray for his work as Steward, and to your obedient servant, this writer, for not garbling the announcing job too thoroughly.

While all these award winners deserve our praise, we would like to single out for special attention the following Pony Clubbers who distinguished themselves in more than one discipline. In alphabetical order:

Sean Cruikshanks of Uxbridge-Scugog – Show Jumping Year-End points Reserve in the Entry Division and Tetrathlon Novice Men winner.

Samantha Galway of Maple – Tetrathlon first place finisher among the Junior Women and overall high point winner, and Pre-Training Reserve Champion for Rallies.

Julia McGill of Durham – First Level Freestyle Reserve in Dressage and Novice Champion in Show Jumping, both for Year-End Points and at the Regional Final.

Johanna McKeen of Oshawa – First Level A Champion and First Level Freestyle Champion in Dressage, and both Year- End Points and Regional Finals Champion in the Entry Division of Show Jumping.

Jessica McVittie of Uxbridge-Scugog – Show Jumping Year-End Points Reserve in both the Starter and Beginner Division (different horses), Regional Show Jumping Finals Beginner Champion, and a member of the “Left Over Riff-Raff” Regional PPG A Division Champions.

Katie Murray of Durham – Intermediate Show Jumping Champion both at the Regional Finals and on a Year-End Points basis, and Training Reserve Champion for Rallies.

Katelyn Powell of Durham – Training Freestyle Reserve in Dressage and both Year-End Points Starter Champion and overall High Points Champion in Show Jumping.

Roberta Spratt of Kawartha – Reserve in the Starter Division of Dressage, and a member of Kawartha’s B level Champion PPG team.

The Karen Meuleman Award is presented annually to the Pony Club member judged to have been the most helpful and involved, based on applications submitted by Branch District Commissioners. This year, we are lucky enough to have the winning application in our computer, and can include it here (and also another photo from Foxprint Photography).

We have never met anyone that sleeps, eats and breaths pony club and horses like Katie Stephenson. She has been highly active in all aspects of pony club over the last year. Katie achieved both her C2 and B level testing in 2004.

In March 2004, Katie helped with the branch quiz project and was a member of Maple’s C level quiz team placing 8^th with her overall individual score. From March to July, once a week, she co-coached two Maple PPG teams, accepting no remuneration. She was often at the barn extra early to have all the ponies ready for practice and always the last to leave after the last piece of tack was clean and the ponies were fed. Her C team came first overall at the regional finals.

Katie showed at both dressage and show jumping qualifiers this year, sometimes showing more than one horse. She was captain of the Maple ‘D’ Rally team, looking after 13 riders plus 9 grooms for the day. She scheduled pre-rally prep meetings and turnout lectures to make sure new members were well informed. Taking an avid interest in coaching this year, Katie prepared many Maple members for their pony club tests, as well as dressage show and Rally preparation. She attended Working Rally as a chaperone. While participating at ‘C’ Rally, she placed 1^st in dressage and 4^th overall at the pre-training level.

There were many early show mornings that Katie was the first to arrive at the barn to prepare the school ponies and horses for shipping, even if she was not riding herself. This is quite a feat since she lived in downtown Toronto and the barn is in King City. Katie was always the person to ask a question of at the barn. She just seemed to know everything. She is always cheerful and pleasant even after a day of lessons and birthday parties. If you ask Katie for help, she is always there for you, explaining the why of things, so you can do it for yourself next time.

Over the year Katie has pursued the prerequisite for her Level 1 Coaching certificate. She took a St. John’s first aid course, the “Learn to Teach” course, attended level 1 Coaching Theory and completed 40 mentoring hours in riding, teaching and lunging skills.

She has met and exceeded her personal riding goals over the last year, having ridden, competed and tested with five different horses. Katie provides an excellent example of devoted horsemanship to all the younger members in the Maple Pony Club. Katie will be greatly missed around the barn this fall, as she is off to attend university in London, Ontario. Even living in London, she decided to drive a 5 ½ hour round trip, just so she could see her fellow members compete at the Checkmate Horse Trials in September. We believe she is a very worthy candidate for the Karen Meuleman Award.

Judging from the applause at the awards banquet, there was general agreement that Katie Stephenson was a fine choice for this year’s award.

With many blushes, your humble CORBITS Editor must acknowledge himself as this year’s winner, for his work on the Central Ontario Region’s Rules and Regulations (four drafts in the Spring and another seven in the Fall – not the fun part of my involvement with Pony Club). Many thanks for this completely unexpected honour.

And if there were an award for the loudest screaming whenever any member of the Branch won anything, that would have gone to Durham.

King Pony Club Opens for Musical Ride

Earlier this year, the King drill team had the wonderful experience of “opening” for the famous RCMP musical ride in Richmond Hill. Shown at left, from front to back, are Sarah Cowie riding Majestic General, Laura Fiume on Maximus, Nikki Ince riding T.C., Maddy Lang on Fat Chance, Mallory Black on Leif Alaric and Kimberly Innes aboard Balmoral. Writes King DC Kate Evans: “The Mountie experience was great. They rode in front of a combined audience (two shows) of over 5,000 people. In the second show they got to take the salute from the Mounties. Drill has been great for out kids; really team building and fun (they also learn dressage without knowing it – Mwah ha ha ha!) and we’re looking forward to doing it with our guys again next year.”

In the Communications Report for the October Regional Committee meeting, your humble Editor asked DCs for Branch news and doings. So far, the only material has come from King, and DC Kate Evans actually sent more than I can use. Thank you, Kate. King Pony Club photos contributed by various Parental Units.

King members were quite successful this year, and here’s a picture to prove it. This group shot shows nearly all the members (a couple couldn’t be there), with the ribbons they won during the 2004 season. Kate reports on some successes outside Pony Club. “Sarah Angus and Waterford (they did Pony Club dressage, including the regional finals this year) finished fifth at the Foggy River Short Course event in June, first at the Equus 3D Horse Trials at the PT 70 level in August and first in the Ontario PT 70 Championships in September. Kimberly Innes and Balmoral (fifth at D Rally at the D1 level) moved up at their next event and finished first in the PT 80 division at the Equus 3D Horse Trials in September. And Laura Fiume (2003 and 2004 Reserve Entry Level Eventing Champion) finished fifth at the Headwaters Horse Trials in the PT 80 division, fourth at D2 Rally and moved up at their next event; they were tenth in their first PT 90 competition at the Equus 3D Horse Trials in September, after going double clear cross-country.”

Aside from studying, practicing, preparing, competing, cooling down, etc, Pony Club should be fun and usually is. Here is a picture from the King Halloween party, showing Emily Banks-Ng as a Princess on a Unicorn (T.C.) and Maxime Weiss as a Knight on a Pegasus (Moonlight).

Well, other Branches? We can’t promise to include every scrap of news if all of you send in all your news (instead of just one club), but we would love to hear from the rest of you.

For those of you who want to get a really, really early start on planning your projects for next year’s Quiz, here are the topics, already set by Quiz Chair Catherine Barker:

Now in this writer’s experience, half the people who have anything to do with Pony Club procrastinate, and the other half fully intend to procrastinate but can never seem to get around to it. If you do get started early, though, there is the obvious benefit that you can put together a knock-out project, and there is another benefit that may not seem so obvious. While the wind howls and the snow flies, you can be working on something that signals Spring, and the start of another riding season, and if you can shut out the sounds of the blizzard, you can almost pretend that Spring will be here soon.

The Announcer Speaks

Some of you are probably saying to yourself, “Well duh, isn’t that what announcers are supposed to do?” Yes, it is, but this announcer just wants to say how much he enjoys his job. This past year it was my pleasure to announce at dressage, show jumping, Prince Philip Games, tetrathlon and D Rally. There’s an old Scottish saying that nothing is work unless you would rather be doing something else, so I guess I didn’t work all Summer. To all of you who asked me to help with your events, a big thank you, and I look forward very much to grabbing that mike again next season.

Show Jumping Details

Here are Year End High Point rankings by Division, from first to tenth place. Some Divisions did not have ten entries to rank.

Division	Rider	Pony/Horse	Branch	Total YEP	Ranking
Pre-Entry A-1	James Cruikshanks	Target	Uxbridge-Scugog	39	1
	Alexandra Reynolds	She’s Like the Wind	Kawartha	32	2
	Emma LeMay-Nedjelski	Jalapeno	Ajax	24	3
	Jane Stephenson	Missy	Uxbridge-Scugog	23	4
	Kylie Figueira	Go for Cool	Victoria	21	5
Pre-Entry A-2	William Dow	Ava	Pine Ridge	57	1
	Kaitlin Devoe	Van Gogh	Ajax	53	2
	Kristin Cappelletti	Oreo Cookie	Ajax	49	3
	Jennifer Shumilak	Morgana	Ajax	43	4
	Paige Shumilak	Montigo Bay	Ajax	40	5
	Alyssa Stavrakos	Alyssa’s Lincoln	Durham	21	6
	Stephanie Thoms	Honey Bee Sweet	Durham	16	7
	Jennifer Nason	That’ll Do Pig	Maple	16	7
	Jenna Scott	Tim Bit	Durham	13	9
	Madison Wilks	Mega Cool	Durham	11	10
Pre-Entry B	Alexandra Kelly	Black Hat	Victoria	83	1
	Jennalyn Webber	Chili Pepper	Simcoe	54	2
	Lindsay Devoe	Trigger Appy	Ajax	46	3
	Kristie Abe	Sock it to Me	Ajax	44	4
	Holly McGill	Champagne Cocktail	Ajax	38	5
	James Cruikshanks	Molly Made	Uxbridge-Scugog	37	6
	Amanda Bell	Silverado	Ajax	32	7
	Jennifer McKeen	Colwyn Tegan	Oshawa	17	8
	Ilona Parenteau	Anastasia	Toronto & North York	13	9
	Emily Gillies	Duncan	Ajax	12	10
	Emily Fox	Fancy Pants	Kawartha	12	10
Entry	Johanna McKeen	Mya	Oshawa	115	1
	Sean Cruikshanks	Cennabar	Uxbridge-Scugog	67	2
	Kiri Ipsen	Spice of Life	Ajax	62	3
	Katie Hoppe	Beaverwoods Larkspur	Brooklin	53	4
	Jenna Patterson	Sky	Pine Ridge	49	5
	Sam Elsenaar	Cadbury	Ajax	40	6
	Kayla Neil	Cruiser	Durham	40	6
	Alexandra Kelly	Firefly	Victoria	38	8
	Rachel Goodman	Chestnut Hill Tiffany	Whitchurch	35	9
	Melanie Grant	Silver Edition	Uxbridge-Scugog	26	10
Starter	Katelyn Powell	Sundance	Durham	117	1
	Jessica McVittie	Merrylegs	Uxbridge-Scugog	81	2
	Erika Belanger	Rainbow Connection	Ajax	66	3
	Meagan Christou	Royal China	Oshawa	58	4
	Dawn O’Neill	Natasha	Ajax	54	5
	Laura Parliament	Star	Uxbridge-Scugog	50	6
	Jessica Figas	Simply a Miracle	Kawartha	37	7
	Laura Grant	Rambling Rose	Ajax	35	8
	Andrea McGill	Phoenix Rising	Durham	27	9
	Whitney Brennan	Karoo	Uxbridge-Scugog	21	10
Beginner	Samantha MacDonald	Heart of Gold	Uxbridge-Scugog	75	1
	Jessica McVittie	Rubix Cube	Uxbridge-Scugog	66	2
	D’Arcy Hutcheson	Irish Park’s Fair Erin	Centaurus	30	3
	Sarah McBride	Little Bob Dodger	Victoria	26	4
	Mori Cruikshanks	Aragorn	Uxbridge-Scugog	19	5
	Andrea Edwards	Alcatraz	Uxbridge-Scugog	18	6
	Rachel McGibbon	Diamond in the Ruff	Durham	3	7
Novice	Julia McGill	D’Artagnan	Durham	33	1
Intermediate	Katie Murray	Jamane	Durham	48	1
	Megan Mattos	Sing Freely	Waussnodae	21	2
	Andrea Edwards	Romeo	Uxbridge-Scugog	2	3
	Callie Evans	Roxy	Kawartha	1	4

June, 2004

It may not be quite mid-season, but the Pony Club competition year is well underway. Quiz is over for another year, the first show jumping and dressage qualifiers are behind us, both halves of working rally are done, and as I write this I am warming up my tonsils to announce at the second PPG meet. Tetrathlon and the competitive rallies are still to come, but it seems to me a good time for all the active members to take stock of how the season is going so far. In particular, you should review with your instructor your progress towards whatever aims the two of you set for yourself for this season. You did set some goals, didn't you? If not, you can't review them, but you can decide with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight what looks realistic for you this year. Those of you who did set objectives, you can use that 20:20 hindsight to decide whether they were realistic in the first place. Maybe they are still okay, or maybe they need a little adjustment. Maybe you should be a bit less ambitious, or a bit more. You are the only ones who can decide that.

Some of you may not have noticed that our new COR Rules and Regulations have made one Youth Rep from each Branch a member of the Regional Committee, and those 18 or older are now voting members. Of course, it is now more than a year since the Canadian Pony Club By-Laws required all Branch Executives to include at least one Active Member - that's you youth guys. The idea was to give Branch Youth Reps a say in how the Region is being run, to make sure that the Active Members were really well represented on the Regional Committee.

When we submitted our Regional Rules & Regulations to the Canadian Pony Club Governance Committee, its members insisted that we must have at least 25% of the voting members at any meeting of our Regional Committee, before it would have a legal quorum. And the inclusion of the Branch Youth Reps made the number of our Regional Committee's voting members much more than it used to be. How much larger we don't really know, since most Branches have not told us how old their Youth Reps are, and only those 18 or older are voting members, remember.

But our last try at having a Regional Committee Meeting failed, because we did not have a quorum, no matter how few Youth Reps are voting members.

As a matter of fact, since we decided at the Annual General Meeting last November to make Branch Youth Reps voting members, I can't remember seeing even one Branch Youth Rep at any of the Regional Committee meetings held this year.

So now the Regional Executive is seriously considering proposing an amendment to the Rules & Regulations, taking away the voting status of Branch Youth Reps, so we have a chance of getting quorums (quora?) at our meetings. If that's not enough, we may have to make Branch ADCs non-voting members as well.

So, as we said in the headline, it's "Use it or lose it." Let's see how many of you we get out to the meeting in September.

Remember, though, only one Youth Rep can sit on the Regional Committee from each Branch. If your Branch happens to have more than one Youth Rep on its Branch Executive, you must find some way to decide which of them has a seat on the Regional Committee. A vote among the Active Members is probably better than a jump-off, to make this decision.

We do not often have to write about death in a Pony Club newsletter. It is all the more painful, therefore, to have to report no fewer than three deaths in the Pony Club family, one of them an Active Member.

Breanna Matthews, a 12 year old member of the Victoria Pony Club, was killed in a car accident February 27, on her way home from her riding lesson. This young lady loved her Pony Club activities so much that her Mom asked permission to have Breanna buried in her Victoria uniform - a request proudly but sadly approved by her DC. The Region has already expressed its condolences, and made a donation in Breanna's name to an equine rescue organization.

On April 9, not long after Quiz, our Quiz Chair, Catherine Barker (nee Burke), lost her Dad. Mr. Burke was an active sportsman, and at one time headed the Canadian Field Hockey Association. And he was a Member of the British Empire. Who knew? Our condolences go out to Catherine and her Mom, Carol, a long-time member of the Regional Committee and my predecessor as Communications Chair.

Most recently, John McIninch died in a car crash on May 14. Most of you won't know John, but he became the President of the Eglinton Equestrian Club a year or two after my daughter Stephanie joined the Eglinton Pony Club in 1983, and his wife, Michelle Leroux, was my predecessor as District Commissioner of Eglinton, back in the late 1980s. Both their daughters were active Pony Club members, and John was a great supporter of Pony Club. In his time as President, anybody joining the Eglinton Equestrian Club at 21 or younger was automatically enrolled in the Eglinton Pony Club, with the Equestrian Club taking care of the head fees.

December, 2003

Here are the year-end awards as presented at our Regional Banquet on October 25, and congratulations to all.

Entry Division - Champion was Alex Dewdney of the Maple Pony Club, riding Contessa. Reserve was Sydney Barton, of the Victoria Pony Club, riding Maple. Alex, couldn't we persuade you to re-name Contessa and call her Victoria, just to add to the fun?

Starter Division - Champion was Benjamin Birchfield of the Waussnodae Pony Club, riding Sudden Inspiration. Reserve was Christine Oldridge of Victoria, on Snow Pony Jack Pine.

Pre-Training Division - Jessie Ball of Victoria took Champion aboard Corona's Kiowa "Ki." Reserve went to Michaela Brown of the Kawartha Pony Club, riding Stardust.

Training Division - Johanna McKeen of the Oshawa Pony Club was Champion on Millgate Braveheart. Reserve was Kaley Fountain of Victoria on Thunder.

First Level A - Champion was Kylie Pinder of Victoria on Let's Rhumba. Reserve was Kendal Lehari of the Toronto & North York Pony Club, riding She's All That.

First Level B - Katie Murray of the Durham Pony Club took the Championship of this Division, riding Jamane. The Reserve went to Megan Mattos of Waussnodae on Mickey Talks.

Second Level A - Daina Brown of Kawartha was Champion aboard Moonwalker. There was no Reserve in this Division.

Third Level - Jenny Rae of Victoria was Champion on Avalon. Reserve was Beth Murray of Durham on Guenther.

Starter Freestyle - Champion was Andrea McGill of Durham riding Phoenix Rising. No Reserve here, either.

Training Freestyle - This was a sister act, with Johanna McKeen and Millgate Braveheart the Champions, and Jennifer McKeen (also of the Oshawa Pony Club, of course) the Reserve on Colwyn Tegan.

First Level Freestyle - Kendal Lehari and She's All That took the Championship, with no Reserve.

Starter Drill Team - Honourable Mention went to the Waussnodae Drill Team, which comprised Megan Mattos and Mickey Talks, Benjamin Birchfield and Sudden Inspiration, Gabby Wackerman and Panda, Michael Olscher and Nick, Gordon Lacey and Lumberwagon, and Kayrn Hepburn riding Freddy the Freak.

C Level - The 2003 C Champions were from the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club, with the team including Kaylin Nauta, Mike Nauta, James Cruikshanks, Jane Stephenson and Jessica VanVliet.

B Level - The Pine Ridge Pony Club B Team won the Championship at this level. Members were Jenna Patterson, Erin Boyles, Thomasina Element, Holly Holford and William Dow.

A Level - Temiskaming repeated as A Champions, this year's team comprising Mallory Durling, Shauna Chester, Bethany Brown and Jessica McVittie.

Masters Level - The Uxbridge-Scugog "Cowboys" defended their Championship at the Masters level, with a team made up of Brent Couch, Allison Pascoe, Mike Durward, Lisa Pascoe and Lorraine Smith.

Members of our teams that competed at National Quiz in Charlottetown were recognized. They were:

A/B Level - Allison Birdsall of Uxbridge-Scugog, Meredith Smith of the Napanee Pony Club, and Amanda Weston of Uxbridge-Scugog.

C Level - Sarah Bortoluss of Uxbridge-Scugog, Maya Kenedy of the Eglinton Pony Club, Brian MacInnes, also of Eglinton, and Hayley Goodchild of the Tynedale Pony Club.

Training Level - Champion was Amelia Jones of Victoria, riding Breezin'. Reserve was Kendal Lehari of Toronto & North York on She's All That.

Pre-Training Level - Champion was Kathryn Robertson of Uxbridge-Scugog, on Kobalt. Reserve was Katie Murray of Durham, aboard Jamane.

Entry Level - Champion was Johanna McKeen of Oshawa riding Mya. Reserve was Laura Fiume of Maple, on Max.

Rally Endurance Award - This award, donated by the Jamieson family, was won by Amelia Jones.

There were two sets of trophies for show jumping: perpetual trophies for the Regional Finals Champions, and individual trophies for the season high points.

Intermediate Division - Kendal Lehari of Toronto & North York, riding She's All That.

Pre-Entry A1 Division - James Cruikshanks of Uxbridge-Scugog was Champion on Mikey, with Emilie Fox of Kawartha the Reserve on Frosted Flakes.

Pre-Entry A2 Division - Rachel McLelland of the Durham Pony Club was Champion riding Braveheart, with Rebecca Simmons of Durham the Reserve on Shiraz.

Pre-Entry B Division - Andrea McGill of Durham was Champion aboard Phoenix Rising, with James Cruikshanks of Uxbridge-Scugog the Reserve on Eskimo Pie.

Entry Division - Katelyn Powell of Durham was Champion on Sundance, with Cody Sturgess of Uxbridge-Scugog the Reserve riding Sunny C.

Starter Division - Madison Reeves of Uxbridge-Scugog was Champion on Pandora, with Mori Cruikshanks, also of Uxbridge-Scugog, the Reserve on Aragorn.

Beginner Division - Julia McGill of Durham was Champion riding D'Artagnan, with Megan Chalmers of the Brooklin Pony Club the Reserve on Skip the Command.

Novice Division - Jessie Barrieau of Victoria was Champion aboard Keep on Dreamin', with Katlyn Hewson, also of Victoria, the Reserve riding Northern Escapade.

Intermediate Division - Kendal Lehari of Toronto & North York was Champion, riding She's All That, with Megan Mattos of the Waussnodae Pony Club the Reserve on Freddy the Freak.

This discipline does not have year end awards based on cumulative results, since there is only one competition, but we did recognize Central Ontario's representatives at this year's National Tetrathlon. They were:

Senior Men - Zachary McCue and James McCue, both of Kawartha, and Ian Hutcheson of the Centaurus Pony Club. We must note that these three swept the top three places in the national competition.

Senior Women - Brittany Emery, Kendal Lehari and Courtney Cotter, all of the Toronto & North York Pony Club.

Last but certainly not least, we have two special awards, not restricted to any discipline.

The Karen Meuleman Award ,for sportsmanship, helpfulness and contribution to Pony Club, went to Beth Murray of the Durham Pony Club.

The Chairman's Award for "Volunteer of the Year" went to our Regional PPG Chairs, Dace Phillips and Sally Chamney.

All the major competitions held at OPCTOC have already been reported and are elsewhere on the COR website. One of the entertainment highlights, however, was the Canada Mounted Games Fossil Division exhibition games, presented in the main indoor arena at York during the banquet. Three teams, two from Central Ontario and one from Western Ontario, competed fiercely in a series of games, most of them much the same as Prince Philip Games but with a few wrinkles (pun fully intended). The teams were:

Charlie's Angels - Charlie Durward, Bill Wray, Michell Cruikshanks, Bev Pascoe and Carol Couch.

The Devils - Audrey O'Handley, Debbie Davies, Pat Nauta, Dennis Pascoe and Rod Couch (except that Rod Couch had another commitment and could not take part, so he sent his son Jeff, a member of the defending Masters Games Canadian Champions team, as a substitute, thus providing The Devils with a "ringer.")

The Good Time Oldies - Chris Nelson, Cindy Johnson, Lorie Jones, Marlene Pettigrew and Sandra Williams.

If you think you recognize some of the surnames in the Angels and Devils, you are quite right. The members of these teams are parents of PPG riders from the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club. Notice that spouses have been placed on different teams to spice up the competition, and we won't go anywhere near the issue of possible side-bets.

The Good Time Oldies are from the Fergus area, and the information about them noted that there is another team in the same area, called the Nags, who were the original Fossil Team. Here are more excerpts from the Fossils information sheet.

"The Fossil rider is past puberty (way past), can stay on top of the pony (most of the time), is competitive (optional), fearless (optional except for Charlie), and has a pony or horse of his own (preferably not taken from his PPG child).

"They have participated at competitions in Barrie, Ottawa, New Liskeard, Pennsylvania and Kentucky in teams. There are also pairs competitions held in Little Britain, Fergus, Barrie and Ottawa.

"There are several teams of Fossil riders in the USA. They call their group "The Forever Young" Division, and in Europe they are called "The Wrinklies."

For what it's worth, the competition was won by Charlie's Angels, but the main point of the evening was to have a good time themselves, and to supply endless amusement to the International Mounted Games Exchange competitors, their own children and the rest of the spectators.

John Jamieson, long time member of the Kawartha Pony Club, is one of five recipients of Canadian Eventing Athletic Development Scholarships, awarded by the Canadian Eventing Committee. Each scholarship is worth $1,000. John, now 22, has been not only an active member but also a volunteer with Central Ontario Region, helping to organize the 2003 A/B/C Rally. John has competed at the CCI* level for the past three years on his former mount Irish Cream, and hopes to qualify for the 2004 Beaumont CCI* on his new horse, Beam Me Up Scottie. He is a certified Equine Canada Level 1 coach and a farrier.

At the provincial level, John won the Ontario Horse Trials Association high point Training award for 2003, and another award for winning the first event of the season at Grandview.

For interest, ALL of the other four scholarship winners also have Pony Club connections. Lisa Birchard is a member of the Comox Valley Pony Club in the BC Islands Region, Noel Clark is a member of the Westbrook Pony Club in Alberta South Region, Jaimie Kidston, now 22, was a member of the Misty Pines Pony Club in the BC Interior and Northern Region, and Lesley E. Grant, now 28, was a member of the Leitchcroft Pony Club when she was a teenager.

In any event (pun fully intended), these current and former Pony Club members have done us proud. They join a long and growing list of Pony Club members and graduates who have distinguished themselves at the recognized, national and international levels, not only in eventing but also in show jumping, dressage and modern pentathlon

This list was contributed by Jenn Irwin and Kate Evans, graduating members of the Maple Pony Club.

Jenn and Kate had a fabulous show season. Just to prove that it is possible for an experience to be both entertaining and educational, we've compiled a list of ten things we learned this year during Pony Club events.

2. Pony Club gives the best prizes. Where else can you win a huge sack of grain? Or a gold-plated pitchfork, for that matter?

3. We're not the only trivia dorks! If we were alone, they wouldn't organize Quiz just for Us!

4. Being on a team rocks. It's all about the jackets with your name on them. (Okay, okay, and the teamwork, camaraderie, etc…)

5. Pony Club provides ample opportunity to be photographed at your best. If you're riding, they catch you when your horse is behaving horribly. If you're on the ground, you're probably wearing a pinny and/or a yellow rain poncho. These pictures will inevitably surface again in the future. Probably at your wedding.

6. You get the best travel opportunities in Pony Club. Like event barns north of Barrie at five in the morning on your birthday. Or Winnipeg. In October.

7. Pony Club is a small, small world. Nearly run someone over and they'll inevitably turn up again. Possibly as a Quiz chaperone.

8. You have lots of unforeseen opportunities to get to know your fellow Pony Clubbers. These occur during the long drives to horse shows, while waiting for the rain to stop, or while waiting for horses to load in the trailer.

9. Pony Club judges are closet poets, using alliterations to describe your performance. Difficult, disunited and disobedient just rolls right off your tongue, doesn't it?

10. Pony Club events always take place in the middle of nowhere. When looking for a Pony Club event, find the only dirt road for miles and turn left. It'll be the second unmarked barn on the right hand side, approximately 11 kilometres from where your directions said it would be. If you see hundreds of moms with horse trailers gingerly trying to back up without running over small ponies, small dogs or small children, you're probably in the right place.

The snow is going , the birds are singing, and before you know it the Testing Season will be upon us.

This is just a reminder to let Gwen Barnes, our Testing Chair, know when your Branch plans to test, and how many members are going to be tested at each level. That does several good things.

First ,it lets you "double up" with nearby Branches if each of you has one or two kids who want to go for their C2 level, for example. That is more efficient and saves both Branches some money.

Second, it lets Gwen arrange for aspiring testers to get their assists. This is really vital if we want to keep a healthy pool of testers available for future kids.

The National Disciplines Conference held last February in Winnipeg led to rule changes in nearly every aspect of our sport.

Dressage in particular has changed to an entirely different set of levels and tests from what we have been using; this reflects Dressage Canada's decision to adopt the U.S. system. There are still some Pony-Club-only tests at the lowest levels, as there always have been, but everything from what used to be Basic on up is all changed.

PPG has a new rulebook that runs to over 60 pages. That sounds formidable until you know that the rulebook has been reorganized on a one page per game basis, complete with helpful diagrams. Still, the change in format is not the only thing that changed, and PPG players will have to adapt to some new rules as well.

All of these are just proposals for now, until confirmed at the Annual General Meeting in a couple of weeks. There may still be some changes to the changes, so to speak.

Once the new rules are confirmed, they will be available for downloading from the CPC website (national rules) and the COR section (regional rules).

Remember, it is the responsibility of the competitor to know and abide by the rules in whatever discipline he or she enters.

One rule that will NOT be changed is this one, taken from the home page of the CPC website:

"Effective January 1, 2003, Equine Canada requires Junior competitors to wear proper fitting, approved protective headgear, with the safety harness correctly secured, at all times while mounted on competition or event grounds. Approved headgear meets the ASTM (American Society for Testing Materials) standards and displays the SEI (Safety Equipment Institute) seal. The British standard, BSI, is also acceptable.

The Canadian Pony Club requires EVERYONE at any Pony Club activity including branch meetings and lessons to wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet at all times while mounted. This applies to everyone, not just juniors. NO EXCEPTIONS!"

To download a Word version of this issue, if you need to distribute it to Members without internet access.

November, 2002

Our fourth annual year-end awards banquet was held at Gallantry's in Pickering on November 2. As usual we need to say a big "Thank you!" to those who spent so much time organizing this affair.

One of the main reasons (excuses?) for the banquet was to honour Central Ontario members who had distinguished themselves in competition during the past season. Here are this year's winners.

Beginner 1-2 - The Champion was Christine Oldridge of the Victoria Pony Club who rode Snow Pony Jack Pine, and the Reserve was Monica Ruegsegger of the Bowmanville Pony Club, whose pony was called Star.

Beginner 2-3 - The Champion was Sarah Angus of the Maple Pony Club who rode Let's Go Cowboy, and the Reserve was Jennifer McKeen of the Oshawa Pony Club, riding Teagan.

Beginner 2, Basic 1 - The Champion was Julie Pett of the Victoria Pony Club on Tim Bit, with Kaley Fountain, also of Victoria, in Reserve on Thunder.

Basic 1-2 - The Champion was Kylie Pinder of Victoria riding Let's Rhumba, with Katie Murray of the Durham Pony Club the Reserve on Jamane.

Basic 2-3 - Jordan Thompson of Durham took the Championship on Braveheart, with Amelia Jones of Victoria the Reserve on Breezin.

Basic 3-4- Natalie Quinn-Steinburg of the Maple Pony Club was Champion aboard L'Enfin, with no Reserve.

Basic 4, Medium 1 - Jenny Rae of Victoria was Champion on Avalon, with Megan Mattos of the Kawartha Pony Club the Reserve riding Freddy the Freak.

Beginner Kur - The Champion was Andrea McGill of Durham on Cloud #9, with Jessica McCarron of Kawartha the Reserve riding Tess.

Basic 2 Kur - Rebecca Olscher was Champion riding Finnegan, with Jessie Barrieau of Victoria in Reserve whose pony was Keep on Dreamin'.

The new Wes Goff Perpetual Award for year-end overall high point average (donated by Audrey Robbescheuten) went to Jordan Thompson and Braveheart.

Entry Level - The Champion was Katie Stephenson of Maple, riding Masquerade, and the Reserve was Kathryn Robertson of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club on Kobalt.

Pre-Training Level - Amelia Jones of Victoria was Champion riding Breezin, with Durham's Jordan Thompson and Braveheart the Reserve.

Training Level - Kendall Lehari of the Toronto & North York Pony Club won the Championship on She's All That, with Kitty Baker and Irish Willie, also of Toronto & North York, in Reserve.

International Fox Hunting - Awards were presented to Kitty Baker of Toronto & North York, John Jamieson of Kawartha and Katie Shipley of Pickering, for their participation in the international fox hunt organized by the USPC.

Pre-Entry Division A1 - This new Division was for riders ten years old or under. The Champion was Kara Phinney of the Brooklin Pony Club riding Allen. The Reserve was another Brooklin member, Stephanie Toms, who rode Valentine.

Pre-Entry Division A2 - This Division was for riders 11 years or older. The Champion was Sam Elsenaar of Ajax, riding Champagne Cocktail, with another Ajax member, Monica Jones, in Reserve riding Tex.

Pre-Entry Division B - The Champion was Rebecca Simmons of Durham, riding Bianca. The Reserve was Mori Cruikshanks of Uxbridge-Scugog on Eskimo Pie.

Entry Division - Jessica McVittie of the Temiskaming Pony Club was the Champion on Merrylegs, with Julia McGill of Durham in Reserve on D'Artagnan.

Starter Division - Ashley Milne of the Pickering Pony Club was Champion on Overtime, and Madison Reeves of Uxbridge-Scugog was Reserve riding Pandora.

Beginner Division - Jessie Barrieau of Victoria was Champion on Keep on Dreamin', with Amelia Jones, also of Victoria, the Reserve on Breezin.

Novice Division - Kendal Lehari of the Toronto & North York Pony Club was Champion riding Aiysha, with Andrea Edwards of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club the Reserve on Romeo.

Intermediate Division - Mike Durward of the Uxbridge-Scugog Branch repeated as Champion riding Gerrie Maguyre. There was no Reserve.

Advanced Division - We are sorry to report that there was no competition at the Advanced level this year. Maybe next year …

This discipline does not have year end awards based on cumulative results, since there is only one competition, but we did recognize Central Ontario' representatives at this year's National Tetrathlon (ably staged by our own Carmen Cotter in the Peterborough area). The following pony clubbers were presented with medallions:

Junior Girls - Maddie Baker of Toronto & North York; Kendal Lehari, also of Toronto & North York.

Junior Boys - Ian Hutcheson of the Centaurus Pony Club; Tristan Lehari of Toronto & North York; Zachary McCue of Kawartha.

Senior Girls - Courtney Cotter of the Timberline Pony Club; Britanny Emery of Toronto & North York.

This is another discipline that does not have year end awards, but recognized the members of our winning teams.

C Level - Tynedale's Red team took the honours. The members were Sarah Bagworth, Sarah Baker, Laura Jessop and Jacqueline Salome, and the coach was Kathryn Clark.

B Level - Tynedale again finished first, with a team comprising Christina Chamney, Claire Goodchild, Genrys Goodchild, Danielle Heft and Morgan Taylor, again coached by Kathryn Clark.

A Level - Our Central Ontario Champions came from the Temiskaming Pony Club. They were Bethany Brown, Shawna Chester, Candace McMahon and Jessica McVittie, coached by Julie Brown. This team also won the Central Canada Zone Championship and went to the National A Championship in Vancouver, where they finished fifth.

Masters Level - Our Regional Champions for 2002 were the Uxbridge-Scugog "Cowboys" whose members were Brent Couch, Jeff Couch, Mike Durward, Lisa Pascoe and Lorraine Smith. This team won the Central Canada Zone Championships, and, in the National Championships (again staged by Central Ontario, with thanks to Maisie and Charlie Durward, Sally Chamney and Dace Phillips), the "Cowboys" defeated the Alberta North Region and Prairie Zone Champions, the "Mohicans." ("Cowboys beat Indians" - Is that related to "Dog Bites Man"?)

Members of our teams that competed at National Quiz in Winnipeg were recognized. They were:

C Team - Kitty Baker, Toronto & North York Pony Club; Roanne English, Napanee Pony Club; Kate Evans, Maple Pony Club; Maya Kenedy, Eglinton Pony Club.

A/B Team - Allison Birdsall, Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club; Megan Mattos, Kawartha Pony Club; Ann Revill and Meridith Smith, both Napanee Pony Club.

Maya Kenedy had the highest score among the Central Canada Zone competitors, and was named to the five-member Team Canada that took on Team U.S.A. in an Oral showdown. The result? Please think back to the Olympic hockey gold medal games and you will have the answer.

Last but not least, the Karen Meuleman Award, for sportsmanship, helpfulness and contribution to Pony Club, went to Jesse Loucks of the Kawartha Pony Club.

The discerning reader will have noticed that some Pony Clubbers' name appeared more than once in the "Honours List." Special congratulations are due to:

For some unaccountable reason, the following awards were not presented this year:

Best Water-Fight Starter -Champion was a tie between Brittany Emery and Maddie Baker, both of the Toronto & North York Pony Club, for their fine work at National Tetrathlon. Reserve was Charlie Durward; space does not permit listing all the occasions on which Charlie displayed his skill in this event .

Best-dressed at the Awards Banquet - 96-way tie for Champion; space does not permit listing all those who tied for this award.

Flirt of the Year (Male) - Champion was Charlie Durward, with no Reserve (no contest, either).

Flirt of the Year (Female) - 796-way tie for Champion; space does not permit etc etc.

Note: It has been suggested that, next year, Champion and Reserve be declared for Flirt of the Year by Division, as follows.

Pre-Training, Training, Entry, Novice, Starter, Beginner, Preliminary and Intermediate.

For older siblings, Moms, Dads, friends, relatives, fan-clubs, volunteers, officials and assorted hangers-on:

Bob Inglis, who was Announcer at both Regional/Zone Rally and National Tetrathlon, tells what went on behind the scenes, between the two events.

After the Rally on Saturday, some of us went to Jan Jamieson's house in Bridgenorth (thanks, Jan) to stuff entry packages for National Tetrathlon which was to start Sunday. Things ran late, and it was past 11 on a hot August night when Carmen Cotter, who organized National Tet, her daughter Courtney and I reached the Hospitality office of Trent University in Peterborough, led there through the dark back-roads by Mary-Debra Blakeley (thanks, M-D). Trent rents out its dorms during the summer, and National Tetrathlon competitors and officials were housed there. Most of them did not arrive until Sunday, but those of us from outside the Peterborough area stayed over instead of driving all the way home Saturday night and all the way back Sunday morning.

We were worried that that the person waiting for us might be annoyed at our late arrival, or that the office might even be closed.

Far from it. Not only was the office open, we were welcomed by a young lady who was as cheery and chirpy as a tree-full of chickadees. I didn't get her name, so she must be known as Ms. Chickadees. She showed us which dorms we were in, which keys opened the doors to the buildings and which the doors to our rooms, apologized for the burned out lights and the swallows' nests, and went back to her office.

My key to the outer door worked, but the room key was a problem, as frisky students had taken all the numbers off the doors. I had to keep trying until a door opened, hoping the other rooms were empty. They were, thank goodness.

Now I must say a word about the Trent dorms. They were striking from the outside and had won architecture prizes. That's where all the money and thinking went, though, because the insides were something else. "Goofy" comes to mind. Room lighting is the best example. When you open the door from the corridor, there is no light switch within reach. There is only a desk lamp on the far side of the room. BUT, there is a big doorstop on the floor, invisible in the darkness and right on the path to the desk - ideal for stubbing toes and tripping the unwary. Beside the desk lamp there is a switch for the only overhead light in the room, cleverly located inside the closet.

The next night, Carmen found that her room had an "added attraction" in the form of a bat. Not a World Series-type bat, a Dracula-type bat. It scared Carmen, but not as much - so she says - as it scared the Trent security staffer sent over to deal with it. On the list of things you are hoping for in a room to sleep in away from home, bats in the bedroom would usually come even a bit lower than toe-stubbing door-stops or goofy lighting. Okay, 'way lower.

What do you do when you find a bat in your dorm room and the security staff doesn't know how to de-bat it?

A. Lay a trail of Purina Bat Chow down the stairs and hold the outside door open.

B. Point it towards the wedding party who kept revelling until 3 o'clock in the morning. Any neck among them offered the chance to get fed and tipsy with one bite - surely an offer no self-respecting bat could refuse.

Think carefully about your answer, kids. This question could be part of Regional Quiz next Spring. How about it, Ms. Burke? No? NO? I can't believe it. Well, kids, I guess you can relax. (Sigh.)

Anyway, being all out of Purina Bat Chow, Carmen chose Option C, and slept on the floor in Debbie Baker's room (thanks, Debbie).

I was out getting some air and hopefully checking the river for strays from the wedding party when I heard a shout. I went to investigate and found Carmen with steam coming out her ears. Here is what she was shouting about.

She had been in her room when her cell-phone rang with two bad-news calls. First, one of the horse-lenders called to say that he had not realized his horse was going to be asked to go twice, he did not want his horse to go twice, he planned to come by with his trailer and take the horse away to make sure it did not go twice, etc etc etc - this on the first day of the event.

Next, she got a call from one of the out-of-province competitors to say he had changed his flight plans and would need to be picked up at the Toronto airport at quarter past noon - this at about 8:30.

She tried to call Del Zelmer of Western Ontario Region, who was picking people up from the airport (thanks, Del), but found that the phone in her room did not work.

She then tried to use her cell-phone, but it did not work inside her room because the walls were too thick or the lights were too bright or something (I don't understand cell-phones). She and Del could not hear each other and she could not deliver the message.

So she ran outside with her cell-phone and called again. She got through, and she and Del could hear each other, but just as she started to give him her message her phone's battery died.

At this point, however, she found that she had left her keys in her room and locked herself out of the girls' dorm.

I can't tell you what she shouted. It was a naughty word, probably the naughtiest word you could think of - younger readers, please don't think of it - so naughty, in fact , that I almost went back to the guys' dorm and washed out my own mouth with soap.

Instead, I went to help Carmen. We saw a phone booth, but it turned out to be an internal Trent-only phone (of course).

Luckily, Courtney Cotter stuck her head out of her room's window to see what all the ruckus was about, and Carmen was at least able to get back into her dorm. Getting the word to Del Zelmer remained a problem, however.

We decided to go to a nearby service station, looking for gas for our vehicles and a pay phone. It was called Crazy Carol's Gas & Wash. (Really. I am not making any of this up, and I have the gas-bar receipt to prove it. Isn't that the ideal name for a service station right outside the campus of a major university? Those who might confine themselves too closely in the ivory towers of academe just have to set one wheel outside the campus and the sign "Crazy Carol's Gas & Wash" will bring them back to the real world. But I digress again. One thousand pardons, I abase myself before you, etc etc.)

Hey, what do you know? Crazy Carol's had both gas - well, duh - and a phone over by the air hose.

Unfortunately, as soon as Carmen got on the phone, some fool in an old muscle car with a clapped out muffler pulled right up alongside and proceeded to put air in all his tires without turning off his engine.

Maybe Del Zelmer, in Mississauga, could hear this guy's car - without the phone connection - but he sure couldn't hear Carmen. I imagine the conversation went something like this.

Carmen (as Del heard her): "Thud-thud-thud …at quarter past… thud-thud-thud… on flight number… thud-thud-thud-thud … Terminal number… thud-thud-thud … you get that?"

Luckily, next to Crazy Carol's was a Tim Horton's. It didn't have a pay phone but it did have coffee and Timbits®, and of course any morning looks a little brighter with some Timbits in your tummy. Besides, it was a bat-free zone.

Well fortified with Timbits, Carmen set out to find some material so everyone could hang their keys around their necks and nobody else would lock themselves out. I went to the Trent Hospitality office to see about the room phones. It turns out the whole system was shut down for the summer, but the ever-cheery Ms. Chickadees let me use her own cell-phone. She would not even let us pay for the long distance call. (Thanks, Ms. Chickadees.)

On reading this in draft form, my wife Liz said my remarks about Trent were so catty it looked like I was shooting for the Golden Bowl of Cream. I still have the odd issue with Trent's dorms, but providing somebody like Ms. Chickadees to look after the customers makes up for a lot. So I withdraw my remarks - and there go my chances for the Golden Bowl of Cream for another year. (Sigh.)

Anyway, I did reach Del Zelmer, and he did hook up with the young competitor at Toronto International, and got him to the competition, where he did quite well by the way.

The rest of Carmen's day was fine - until she found Mr. Bat whooping it up in her room, of course. (Maybe Mr. Bat had dropped in on the wedding party for a nip or two - so to speak - before getting into Carmen's room.)

Oh yes. Everyone had a horse, even the second set of riders. All's well that ends well.

We did temporarily misplace one of the out of town chaperones at the Toronto airport, but that's another story.

Carmen will not be back as COR Tetrathlon Chair next year - not because of these events, nor this story (we cleared it with her, except for this part). I think it is because she knew there was no way to top this year's effort and wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. And that she did. Thanks, Carmen.

Late note: Carmen Cotter was this year's recipient of the Chairman's Award as Central Ontario's Volunteer of the Year.

December, 2001

It hardly seems possible that another whole pony club season has gone by since our last issue. Illness, pressure of business and a couple of dandy computer melt-downs got in the way of our normal in-season articles. We also found ourselves somewhat short of material from the Branches. Temiskaming Branch has been diligent about sending us copies of their excellent newsletter, "Pony Tales." Edited by Debbie McMahon, it's newsy, packed with information for members and parents, and illustrated with a variety of photos and other graphics. Our thanks go to Debbie for sharing it with us, as well as the top notch quality. We are sure other Branches produce great newsletters, too. Please send them to us so we can share your news with the rest of the Region.

Year-end Awards

Our third annual year-end awards banquet was held at Gallantry's in Pickering on November 16. For starters we need to say a big "Thank you!" to those who spent so much time organizing this affair. We are not going to name all the names because we would be sure to leave out somebody and hurt their feelings, and that is the last thing we want to do. Let's put it this way: If Karol Shipley filled the role of Santa Claus for the evening, certain members of the Youth Executive were very lively elves. As usual, a great time was had by all.

Aside from having a good time and stuffing ourselves like Christmas geese a few weeks early, we were there to honour Central Ontario members who had distinguished themselves in competition during the past season. Here are this year's winners.

Dressage Chair Marg Anne Quinn prefaced the presentations with a brief outline of how the winners were chosen in a transition year.

"The Central Ontario Champions and Reserve Champions are chosen from our qualifiers, invitationals and the dressage finals. The two highest scores at the two levels are used. The rider with the highest average of the four tests is Champion. Kurs are an average of two tests. In some cases our recognition has been limited because of changes in defining the levels. For 2001, Central Ontario shows used bi-level testing, while the Zone Championships used uni-level testing. This year all our competitors were champions, but we would like to take a moment to recognize those who stood first and second in their respective levels.

Level 1 (Beginner 2-3) - The Champion was Lauren Pinder of the Victoria Pony Club who rode Mr. Tuff Stuff, and the reserve was Kayley Fountain, also of Victoria, whose pony was Thunder.

Level 2 (Beginner 2, Basic 1) - The Champion was Jordan Thompson of the Durham Pony Club on Brave Heart, with Tiffany Kift of the Oshawa Branch in Reserve on Otto.

Level 3 (Basic 1-2) - The Champion was Heidi Breen of Tynedale riding Tynedale Harry, with Casey Barton of Victoria the Reserve on Jim Dandy.

Level 4 (Basic 2-3) - Larissa Grabowski of Durham took the Championship on Full Monty, with no Reserve.

Level 5 (Basic 3-4) - Megan Mattos of the Kawartha Pony Club was Champion aboard Mayhem, and again there was no reserve.

Level 6 (Basic 4, Medium 1) - Sarah Rae of Victoria was Champion on Gentle Ben, with her sister Jenny the Reserve riding Avalon.

Basic 2 Kur - Larissa Grabowski and Full Monty added a second Championship, again with no Reserve.

Entry Level - The Champion was D'Arcy Hutcheson of the Centaurus Pony Club, riding Miss Tiggywinkle, and the Reserve was Julia McGill of Durham on D'Artagnan.

Pre-Training Level - Durham's Jordan Thompson and Braveheart won the Championship, with Kitty Baker and Irish Willie of the Toronto & North York Pony Club in Reserve.

Training Level - Amelia Jones of Victoria was Champion riding Resolution (no Reserve).

Preliminary Level - The Championship went to Ashley Minion and Taylor Made of the Kawartha Pony Club. The Reserve was Jennifer McGuire of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club, riding Prestigious.

Starter Division - Lindsey Forkun of Uxbridge-Scugog was Champion on Generals Mission, and Madison Reeves, also of Uxbridge-Scugog, was Reserve aboard Pandora.

Beginner Division - Katie Murray of Durham was Champion on Honey Bee Sweet, with Eliza Gravel of the Temiskaming Pony Club the Reserve on Rubik's Cube.

Novice Division - Katie Shipley of the Pickering Pony Club was Champion riding Lochnigar, and Nadiya Osmani of the Sudbury Pony Club was the Reserve on China Doll.

Intermediate Division - Michael Durward of the Uxbridge-Scugog Branch was Champion riding Gerrie Maguyre. There was no Reserve.

Advanced Division - Champion was Kate Webb of the Simcoe Pony Club riding Merlin, with Kevin Durward of Uxbridge-Scugog in Reserve on Jack.

This discipline does not have year end awards based on cumulative results, but did recognize Central Ontario' representatives at this year's National Tetrathlon. The following pony clubbers were presented with medallions:

Junior Girls - Brittany Emery of Toronto & North York; Kendal Lehari of Toronto & North York; Katie Murray of Durham; Jordan Thompson of Durham.

This is another discipline that does not have year end awards, but recognized the members of our winning teams at the A and Masters Levels.

A Level - Our Central Ontario Champions were a mixed team representing the Durham, Pause Awhile and Simcoe Branches. That team comprised Emily Price riding Lily, Tyne Sowerby on another Trigger, Katie Murray on Mandy and Emma Wieland on Breezy. A pony named Summer was used in some races

Masters Level - This level saw another mixed team as Champions, with representatives from the Huronia and Toronto & North York Branches. The members of this team were Amanda Whitehead, Anthony Denis, Megan Taylor and Gail Atkinson. They switched from pony to pony during the games, and the ponies were Chester, Misty, Dancer and Halo.

C Team - Tiffany Kift of the Oshawa Pony Club; Kayla Wilkins of the Victoria Pony Club; Megan Mattos of the Kawartha Pony Club; and Stephanie Meyer of the Napanee Pony Club.

A/B Team - Charlotte Richmond of the Timberline Pony Club; Christy Barnes of the Pine Ridge Pony Club; Christine Meyer of the Napanee Pony Club; and Ann Revill, also of Napanee.

Last but certainly not least, the Karen Meuleman Award, for sportsmanship, helpfulness and contribution to Pony Club, went to Dawn O'Neil of the Ajax Pony Club.

May, 2001

Central Ontario Region is off to a great start to the 2001 season. Our schedule is full, and there are many choices for member participation. As we did last year, we urge all members, parents and volunteers to download the rules for the various competitions from our web site. Since members are responsible for knowing the rules for the competitions they enter, each of you should have a copy to study and to take along to competitions. Parents and volunteers should also be familiar with rules. For example, only the DC or designated representative is allowed to enter a protest if there is a question of the way the rules have been applied. We have found, over the years, that most of the problems that arise do so because someone didn't know really the rules, thought they should be written some way other than they are, and got very upset without real cause. Our volunteers and officials work very hard to apply the rules as written, as fairly as they can. This isn't to say mistakes never happen - we're all human. We can save ourselves confusion, upset and conflict if we do our homework before the show.

Working Rallies

The southern Working Rally was held May 18 to 20 at Bethany. We had 100 participants registered for this one, same as last year. As in previous years, spaces filled up very quickly and there was a waiting list.

The second Working Rally will be hosted by Sudbury Branch at Foothills Farm June 1 to 3 for Sudbury area Branches.

There was to have been a Working Rally hosted by Temiskaming Branch at Wabibrook Equestrian Centre on May 19, 20 and 21 with clinicians Martha Griggs and Kate Farrell. This rally was to have serve members in the north western Branches. Unfortunately, registration was insufficient to go ahead. Temiskaming will hold clinics instead.

The Working Rally format, with instruction in all disciplines plus stable management, has grown in popularity over the past four years. Must be a testament to the value our members feel they receive from attending. It does appear, however, that there isn't enough interest in the North to warrant holding two Rallies up there.

Regional Quiz

Our Regional Quiz was held on April 28 at Sutton District High School. Congratulations are due to all competitiors who showed up determined to demonstrate their horse-related knowledge. Special congratuations are due to those who earned spots on the COR teams for National Quiz (Pacific Odessey - Thanksgiving weekend in Victoria BC). Our A/B team will consist of Heidi Breen (Tynedale), Charlotte Winder (Timberline), Anne Revill (Napanee) and Christina Meyer (Napanee). Our C team will consist of Becky McQuaid (Tynedale), Tiffany Kift (Oshawa), Kayla Williams (Victoria) and Megan Mattos (Kawartha). Good luck in Victoria, girls. We're sure you'll do us proud.

Quiz Chair Catherine Burke reports that project judges Gwen Boyles and Carmen Cotter had a really tough time because the projects were so good this year. They couldn't decide a winner and declared a tie between Sudbury and Oshawa. The projects were of different topics and the knowledge and enthusiasm from the groups was very evident. Well done!

Prince Philip Games/Masters Games

The first meet was held at Durward's farm on May 13. The weather was windy and chilly but nowhere near as bad as for the first meet last year. If you haven't seen a PPG or Masters competition, you really should attend the next meet on June 3 (same place). The games are great fun for riders, ponies and spectators, with cheering encouraged. The skills these players must develop have to be seen to be believed. Come on out and cheer them along.

Horse Riding Safety Act

MPP Tina Molinari (Progressive Conservative Thornhill) has re-introduced into the Legislature a private member's bill entitled Horse Riding Safety Act 2001. If passed, this legislation will require riding establishments to ensure that all riders under the age of 18 wear appropriate footwear and approved riding helmets when mounted. There would be additional safety measures required under this act. The Ontario Equestrian Federation and the Association of Riding Establishments of Ontario have endorsed the proposed legislation. Central Ontario Region Visiting Commissioner, Bruce Brown, an Executive member of both OEF and ARE-Ont has worked with Ms Molinari on this project. Messages of support to Ms Molinari and/or your own MPP could be helpful in getting the legislation passed. Pony Club has made it mandatory that it's members wear approved helmets and appropriate footwear for lo these many years. We'll keep you posted on developments.

Get Well Soon, Linda!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Linda Denis, Huronia Branch DC and National PPG Chair. Linda was injured in a riding accident in April (yes, she was wearing a helmet and boots) when her young horse spooked, threw her and stepped on her. She was in Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto for about two weeks, but is home now. We hear she is coming along well with help from family and friends. Regional Chair, Karol Shipley, visited Linda taking flowers and a card from the Region with her.

In Memoriam Tommy Thompson

Many of us, especially those on the Regional Committee and/or involved with Dressage have had the pleasure of working with Visiting Commission Toni Thompson. Toni has a long history in Pony Club as founding DC in several places, Regional Dressage Chair, judge and resource to us all on dressage matters. She was one of the organizers for the World Cup Dressage competition when it was held in Cedar Valley Ontario (now the York Equestrian Centre) in 1986. Always at Toni's right hand was her husband, Tommy. Alas, Tommy passed away in December 2000.

Tommy was always a help when his family got involved with Pony Club in North Bay, Sudbury, London and finally during our stay of 21 years in Thornhill when he helped with functions taking place at Leitchcroft and some Regional activities such as the Tetrathlon, etc.

Initially these activities were generated by our own children but they finished with grandchildren, particularly Kiristen Thompson who was a member of Leitchcroft and then Toronto & North York. The other members of the family, over the years, were Jim, Phil, David and Jennifer, our four children, then with Jessica and Clifford Jackman of Ottawa, children of our daughter, Jennifer, as well as Kristen, daughter of our son, Philip.

He (Tommy) was always so supportive to me, his wife of almost 50 years, with all my horsey activities. I think the most outstanding activity was when I was Director of Competition for the World Dressage Championships in 1986 when he helped for hours with timetables and working in the Competition Office from dawn to dusk. At the time he had just retired from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. (Note: I have heard from FEI judges that this was an unusually well run competition - Liz Inglis).

He was not a horseman but he was a very good sounding board for all the usual horsey trials and tribulations and was always unflinching with praise when someone in the crowd succeeded in a goal whether passing a Pony Club test, winning a Championship or Judging a high level show.

Families like the Thompsons are the backbone of Pony Club, whether as members, volunteers, Regional officials or supporters in the background. They deserve to be cherished wherever they are found, and for sure, Tommy's memory is cherished.

We Have Another New Branch!

Welcome to the Brooklin Pony Club.This new Branch is located in the Brooklin area just north of Whitby, and is based at the farm of Pony Club alumna Tiffany DeWitt.

Melissa Webster Benefit Show

About a year ago, Melissa Webster, Kawartha Branch alumna and daughter of COR Treasurer Elaine Webster, was seriously injured in a car accident in Alberta. Melissa continues to fight bravely and tenaciously to regain as much mobility as possible, but still must use a wheelchair.

On May 26th a benefit horse show was held at Saddlewood with proceeds going to Melissa. It's great to see her home community and Branch working so hard to help her. Central Ontario held a raffle for Melissa at our AGM. We're all rooting for her.

May/June, 2000

It's been awhile since the previous issue of CORBits. Your editor has been very busy with the CPC AGM, preparing proposals for a National Communications program, developing questionnaires for Regional Chairs and Regional Communications Chairs and launching the new CPC newsletter, National Notebook. With things finally getting sorted out at that level, I can now catch up on the news in COR.

National AGM

The Canadian Pony Club Annual General Meeting, held in Guelph March 31 to April 2, attracted a sizeable turnout from the COR Regional Executive. This year, CPC invited Regional Chairs - or where the Regional Chair is also a National Director - Regional Vice Chairs to the entire meeting, paying part of the costs of attendance. Both of COR's Vice Chairs, Bill Murray and Tracey McVittie, were on hand for the Regional Chairs meeting (Friday evening) and all of the Board meetings as well as the AGM proper on Saturday afternoon. The idea behind the invitation was to give these Regional officers the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how the National Board works, to get to know each other better and to network with others from across the country.

Also on the Friday evening there was a mini National Disciplines Chairs Conference led by National Disciplines Chair, Barbara Grimm. National Dressage Chair, Daina Strickland (COR) and National Rally Chair, Sara Brown (COR) participated with their usual enthusiasm.

The AGM proper, held at the Large Animal Clinic of Ontario Veterinary College, on the Saturday afternoon saw additional COR members such as Gwen and Christy Barnes show up to participate. Awards presentations are always a highlight of the AGM, and this year, COR Visiting Commissioner Sandra Sillcox was among those presented with an Examiner Emeritus Award for her long service to Pony Club.

At the conclusion of the business portion of the meeting, we were taken on a tour of the facility by Dr. John Baird, former National Show Jumping Chair and a faculty member of OVC. We went from the intake and assessment area, through the surgical area, to recovery room to convalescent areas, while Dr Baird described how things work. According to people from other parts of the country, we in Ontario are very lucky to have such a facility for our horses when they're seriously ill, as there is nothing quite like it elsewhere in Canada. Dr Baird, a native of Australia, says there's nothing like it in Australia as well.

This year's AGM was very productive, and likely to lead to a stronger Pony Club in Canada. Minutes and reports have just been issued by e-mail, so if you're interested in learning more, please call Karol Shipley to arrange to have some or all of this forwarded electronically.

Regional Quiz 2000

This year's COR Regional Quiz attracted 120 competitors from 20 Branches. The youngest participant was the 7-week-old nephew of OPTOC Chair Catherine Burke. Mummy was one of the project judges with Carmen Cotter of Timberline Pony Club. Need we say that this very good natured baby, attracted a LOT of attention!

Overheard: This year's projects show deeper, more extensive research and better knowledge than usual. Most impressive!

As usual, Quiz provided the adults present the opportunity to catch up on news of old friends, especially those of emeritus status.

The Quiz Stations this year were most enjoyable and challenging. Topics included "What's in the box" a test of memory, "Assemble the bridles" a test of knowledge and dexterity, "Famous horses and riders" general equestrian knowledge, "What's wrong" a challenge to spot the errors on a miniature jumper course, and "What doesn't fit".

Congratulations to all those who competed and especially those who have made the teams for the National Quiz. And thanks to all the volunteers, led by Quiz Chair Robyn Van Berkel, who contributed to the success and enjoyment of the day.

We Have a Cover Girl in our Midst

Regional Chair, Karol Shipley, got a big surprise recently at the Rolex Three Day Event in Kentucky. She visited a news stand at the event, and low and behold, there was daughter, Katie (Pickering Pony Club) and her lovely grey, Overtime, on the cover of the May 2000 issue of "The Horse"! Big surprise. Seems the picture was taken last year when Katie was schooling Overtime at Checkmate. If you want to take a look, the cover can be found at www.thehorse.com. A case of "You never know who's taking your picture or where it will end up"?

USPC in "Practical Horseman"

If you can find a copy of the April 2000 issue of "Practical Horseman" magazine snap it up. There are several articles on the United States Pony Club in it, and it will give you a good chance to compare the ways in which they operate as compared to COR. You might find some good ideas to copy where CPC rules and bylaws permit.

Dressage Update 2000

Dressage Chair, Nancy Codlin, has asked that the following information for Dressage competitors be included here.

To qualify for the Eastern Canadian Dressage Championships, COR riders must attend at least 2 COR Pony Club qualifying dressage shows and obtain 2 scores of 55% or over in 2 consecutive levels at both shows. Riders must ride the 2 consecutive tests at the same level as they rode in their qualifying shows. The Regional Dressage Chair will record all the scores from the COR qualifiers. Competitors do not need to submit tests in order to be eligible for the Eastern Canadian Championships. The number of entrants is determined by Championships show organizers.

New Medical Form: At all dressage qualifiers, riders will be REQUIRED to have the new medical form ON THE PERSON and VISIBLE. Riders can put the complete form in a baggie OR purchase plastic pouches (200 of these armbands are being purchased by COR from CPC supplies) and attach. Preferably the baggie/pouch is on the arm or boot. (Riders in other disciplines take note; you, too, will need these forms. Each discipline has its own rules, so you will have to check requirements.)

Beginner Tests: Please note that the Victoria show will use Beginner tests that are in the 2000 COR rules, NOT those sent out with the entry forms.

Show Jumping

Since no Branch has volunteered to host the Regional Championships, COR itself will host. Watch for further information as it becomes available.

Working Rally

Regional Chair, Karol Shipley, reports that this year's Working Rally went very well, and a good time was had by all. Gwen Barnes, Testing Chair, brought back a large number of "lost and found" items we would like to return to their owners. If you left something behind at Working Rally, please call Linda Denis at 705-726-4170 to arrange for pickup.

Oshawa Branch reports that they still have Working Rally 2000 crests available for $5.00 each. If you're interested please contact DC Lynn Kift at horseguy@planeteer.com.

Regional (C) Rally

Chair Jan Jamieson reports that there have been no inquiries regarding preliminary level, so that division may be dropped this year. She still needs volunteers: 2 for tack check, a warm-up ring steward, stadium crew, 2 stable management judges. In addition, the facility we have booked (Lane's End , near Bobcaygeon) has asked if Pony Club can supply 6 - 8 volunteers to assist at their event. The entry deadline for Regional Rally is June 23 - if there is inadequate interest by that date, Rally will be cancelled.

A Testing 2000

Central Ontario Region is hosting RA testing July 12, 2000 and HA testing July 13-14, 2000. There are two candidaates each from COR and WOR. All tests are happening at Lane's End, near Bobcaygeon. B level examiners and B2 level Pony Club members should consider auditing at least one day. If planning to attend, you must contact Gwen Barnes for details (gbarnes@sympatico.ca).

B/B2 Testing 2000

Examiners Clinic (Northern Ontario)

January, 2000

Happy New Year! Happy New Millennium! May all of you in Pony Club enjoy a happy, successful, safe future in everything you do.

Much has happened since the previous edition of COR Bits, so a recap of the last part of 1999 is in order. Here goes:

National Rally

From all accounts, the first National Rally in several years was a big success, taken all in all. COR members, parents, Regional Officials etc are to be congratulated for their efforts, especially Sara Brown (more about her later). Teams members from Alberta wrote an interesting and glowing account for "Horses All", the newsletter of the Alberta horse world, commenting on both organization and the high quality of the horses they rode. Thanks, Alberta!

As always there were a few hitches and glitches from which we can learn, but nothing serious. Never worry about something from which one learns, is my motto.

National Quiz

As always, COR sent teams to National Quiz, held this year in Nova Scotia. While our teams didn't sweep the medals, they did have a good time enjoying down east hospitality.

CPC Semi-annual General Meeting

This meeting was held in Toronto on November 5th, 6th and 7th, 1999. Judging by the minutes, this was a very busy and constructive meeting, with many issues discussed and decided. The Semi-Annual is the meeting at which elections are held so that National Chairs have ample time to think, plan and prepare for the coming season.

Our new National Chair, replacing Jacky Cooper, is Virginia Buchanan-Smith of WOR. For those of you who don't know Virginia, her trade marks are sanity and good manners!

Our new National Vice Chair is COR's Karol Shipley. Can you see a good team shaping up here?

Also of interest to COR members, four people from COR were elected to other Chairs:

Sara Brown was elected National Rally Chair (end result of her hard work on National Rally?)

Liz Inglis was elected National Communications Chair (expect Bob to provide advice and backup)

First "Annual" Awards Banquet

We tried this as an experiment, thinking kids might prefer receiving awards on a special night rather than just a part of an AGM. So, on Friday November 12th we threw a dinner and dance. IT REALLY WORKED. The turnout was great. Food, catered by Nancy Codlin, was delicious and abundant - a real invitation to pig out! There were many, many door prizes to be won. We all had a great time. Many thanks to Karol Shipley and the Pickering Pony Club (table decorations), Bill Murray, Audry Robbescheuten and all the volunteers who worked hard to make this a successful evening. Before the night was half over, people were talking enthusiastically of making it an annual event for real. Anyone willing to volunteer for the committee for next year's banquet?

Annual General Meeting

COR's Annual General Meeting was held at Windfields Farm on November 27th. Once again, Nancy Codlin provided catering services (delicious). Reports were received, and volunteers thanked for their hard work and dedication to Pony Club. The key piece of business at this meeting was the election of the Regional Committee for 2000. Here's the lineup:

Regional Chair/National Director	Karol Shipley
Vice Chair South	Bill Murray
Vice Chair North	Tracey McVittie
Finance Chair/Treasurer	Elaine Webster
Recording Secretary	Audry Robbescheuten
Membership	Barbara Grimm
O.E.F. Representative	Carol Burke
Communications	Bob & Liz Inglis
Dressage	Nancy Codlin
Education	Georgia Gale-Kidd
Quiz	Robyn Van Berkel
PPG	Linda Denis
Working Rally	VACANT
A/B/C Rally	Jan Jamieson
D Rally	VACANT
Show Jumping	Sandra Roshinko
OPCTOC	Catherine Burke
A/B/C/D Testing	Gwen Barnes
Tetrathlon	Carmen Cotter
Properties	Cheryl Marsella
Youth Representatives	Kevin Durward, Christy Barnes, Beth Murray
Visiting Commissioners	Bruce Brown, Nancy Codlin, Helen Mackin, Sue Robinson, Sandra Sillcox, Helen Smith, Burle Summers, Toni Tompson

In mid-December, Pony Clubbers were saddened to hear of the death of famous show jumper, Big Ben. A memorial message has been posted on the main Pony Club web page.

And into the Future ...

The year's barely begun and we're already into the new programme. January 15 will see a Testing Forum at 8:30 am, COR Regional meeting at 10:00am and COR Executive following. The forum and Regional meeting are at Spencer Hall as usual. The Testing Forum is in preparation for the National Testing and Education Workshop scheduled for early February in Winnipeg.

The CPC AGM will be in Guelph in April. We expect that a number of COR people will attend, since it's within driving distance.

Our competition schedule is taking shape - see COR main page. We anticipate as successful a year as last year, maybe even better.

August, 1999

Congratulations to National Dressage Chair, Daina Strickland (nee Codlin) and husband Tim on the birth of their son, Bryson Allen on August 14, 1999. Proud Grandmother, Nancy Codlin our Regional Dressage Chair, is sure that Bryson will become a Dressage rider in a few years. We're sure the Durham Pony Club will welcome him to its ranks for any discipline when he turns 6 years old!

Weather permitting, COR D Rally will take place on Sunday August 29th at Dreamcrest Equestrian Centre. A notice has gone out to all DCs and R Rally Chairs across the Region.

All riders who were scheduled to participate July 31st have first opportunity to compete again, including those who had to scratch due to lameness, etc.

Each club was to have contacted Carmen Cotter (e-mail cottercg@earthlink.net ) with its list of riders and levels as soon as possible.

Here's hoping we'll be rewarded for our patience with fine weather and a grand competition.

It's all coming together! At latest report, we have the horses we need (although spares wouldn't go amiss) and last minute arrangements are being nailed down. We can always use extra volunteers, adults for various purposes and C-level and up Members to act as Captains, should someone have to drop out. As always, the person to talk to is Sara Brown sbrown@hep.ca Good luck to all competitors from across Canada. We hope you all have a wonderful time.

Thanks to Sara and her team - all those who volunteer before, during or after - who loan horses - who sponsor divisions - who contribute to the first National Rally in several years. Your work is appreciated greatly.

Because we had one less Dressage qualifier this year as compared to previous years, we have decided to hold a Dressage Schooling Show to give riders one last chance to qualify. Rules state that a rider must have attained a score of at least 55% in each of two shows. One show must be a Pony Club Qualifier, the other can be another show such as a Trillium or Schooling Show.

The date of this Schooling show is September 12th and information has been sent to all Branches.

The Show will also be a clinic opportunity for older Members who are not riding.

COR is hosting Canadian Pony Club's National Rally August 22-27 at Saddlewood Equestrian Centre. Response (registration) from across the country is good, according to COR Rally Chair, Sara Brown. To make this annual competition a true success, however, your help is still needed.

We need to BORROW HORSES. This is a major need, since eight horses previously promised have been withdrawn. If you lend your horse, it will be ridden by a C2 or above rider at the Pre-Training level. You are welcome to participate with your horse during its stay at Saddlewood. You will receive a limited edition souvenir T-shirt. You may attend all clinics: Stadium Jumping course design with Danny Foster, Cross Country Course Design with Hugh Moreshead, and others. You will receive a photo of your horse on the cross country course. And you will know that the Pony Club member riding your horse will treat it with care and consideration.

We also need JUMP JUDGES, TIMERS and other adults capable of filling in where needed.

There will be a "finishing touches" workday on August 22nd for tasks such as flagging jumps, numbering and other last minute tasks. Any time anyone can give will be greatly appreciated.

Eventing is the discipline that needs the largest number of volunteers to run the competition, with a multitude of task large and small to be done. so please help.

If you can contribute to anything on the list, please e-mail Sara Brown atsbrown@hep.ca. Her hard work in organizing National Rally deserves our support!

The deadline for Early Bird Registration for the Millennium Conference is August 15th, 1999. There's a substantial saving to be had if you register before then.

Organizer Pam Nuth reports that Europe has promised substantial numbers as has the US Pony Club and is concerned that if COR members leave things too late there may not be space. She also reports that the list of probable presenters is growing.

For details, registration forms and forms for reserving hotel rooms, please follow this link to the Millennium Conference web site: http://www.ponyclub.ca or call Pam at 613-831-2844.

As reported in May, Sherry Hill of Temiskaming was injured in a very serious accident. We're happy to report, according to information received at the PPG Regional Championship, that Sherry is recovering well, back in the saddle and hoping to resume training in August. We're all rooting for you, Sherry.

Also at the PPG Regionals, we heard that Larissa Grabowski of Durham Branch was injured in a more recent accident. We were very sorry at the news, and sorrier still to hear that Larissa won't be riding for a year. We send our best wishes, with hopes that recovery will be faster than expected - but don't rush things!

To me, PPG day has always meant cute pony day, and the Regional Finals were no exception. What a bunch of stars! I got to present the ribbons to the C teams (with pats to each pony) and found it a treat.

Kudos to Tynedale, Uxbridge-Scugog and Simcoe for the "cows" they made and donated for the milk race. Who would have thought cows would have such character and personality! Shall we have a contest for the most enchanting cow?

We were really lucky in that we beat severe thunderstorms in the area by just enough time to get the meet over with and the ponies back in the trailers.

Congratulations to the winners at all levels, and to those riders who will be contending for the National PPG team.

Our spies tell us that COR members gave a good account of themselves at the Eastern Canadians held at Black's Equestrian Centre in WOR. COR Dressage Chair Nancy Codlin says she was very impressed with the COR riders in Dressage, and that all our riders, both Dressage and Show Jumping, were good ambassadors for our Region. She had good things to say about the way riders coped with the heat and looked after their own and each other's horses. Show Jumping Chair, Catherine Burke, agrees with this assessment and adds "A marks for patience". Congratulations to all who placed in either discipline..

Again this year, C Rally was held at Lane's End Farm in Bobcaygeon - lovely facility, friendly people and this year, NO Rain! (Mind you, cooler temperatures would have been welcome.) As stated above in the article on National Rally, eventing is the discipline that needs the largest manpower commitment - our thanks to all the volunteers that made this year's C Rally come together. Congratulations to those competitors who placed.

Our weather luck ran out at D Rally on July 31st. While the forecast said "hot, humid with a chance of late afternoon showers" the reality was windy with severe electrical storms starting in mid morning, just after the jump judges had taken their positions on cross country. There was a big rush getting them back and both horses and humans under cover (mostly in the arenas at Dreamcrest Equestrian Centre) so as to make sure no one would be hit by lightning. After a wait of approximately two hours, organizers decided (rightly) to call off the competition. I was impressed with the good nature of competitors (none of whom scratched when offered the chance to do so), parents, volunteers and officials, all of whom just rolled with the punches, cracked jokes and kept the food tent humming. Thanks, group, for being such good sports.

Riders in all disciplines should be aware that both equines and humans can stuffer heat exhaustion when temperatures and humidity rise. Equines appreciate sponging down - soaking if need be - with cold water, especially in the girth area, and recent research indicates that cold water bathing does not cause tying up ("On To Atlanta"). Humans need to drink lots, and if feeling dizzy should apply cold packs to the neck, temples, wrists - any pulse spot. You may even want to consider ice or a cold cloth under your riding helmet as a preventive measure. Hats and sun block are a must on the ground.

There are two days of C2 testing planned within the Region, September 1st and 2nd. Any Branches with members who are interested, please e-mail Gwen Barnes at gbarnes@sympatico.ca immediately to reserve a spot.

Willing workers needed to help construct cross country fences for National Rally.

Here's your chance to learn about cross country fence building and design under the direction of international designer Hugh Moreshead. The only cost is time, attention and some old-fashioned elbow grease..

You aren't being asked to give something for nothing. One of these days you may have to build cross country fences on a farm so that your branch can do D2 and up testing (happened to me when my branch moved to a farm that had no cross country course). Maybe you'll want to do it someday so you and your friends can train for D Rally, C Rally or Combined Training Events.

Please contact Sara Brown to offer your help. Her e-mail address is sbrown@hep.ca. The next weekend is June 26-27 and the site is Saddlewood Equestrian Centre, Bethany (same as Working Rally). We need people to pick rocks, cut brush, run stuff around as well as to build. Supplies that would really be helpful include: hammers, nails and screws, cordless screwdrivers, brush cutters/hedge clippers, rope, wire, sledgehammers.

Let's all rally around to give Sara - and National Rally - the support they deserve.

Every year, the Regional Committee reviews the rules for each kind of competition we offer in an effort to make things fair, safe and (relatively) consistent with National Pony Club Rules. Where Pony Club rules are silent, Canadian Equestrian Federation Rules apply. (CEF rules for Dressage, Hunter/Jumper and Eventing can be obtained from the OEF office for a nominal charge. Perhaps each Branch should purchase a set each year. Their rules change from time to time too.)

Every year, copies of Regional rules are sent to DCs in each Branch so that they can familiarize members with the rules (could be part of the winter lecture series?).

In addition, National rules - and where they differ - Regional rules - are posted on the web where anyone can download them to have a personal copy.

It saves a lot of uncertainty and nerve strain when EVERYONE (competitors, coaches, DCs, officials and parents) is familiar with the rules before going to the competition. It's a good idea to take a copy along to refer to if a question should arise about the way things are done.

This year, let's all get on the same page with respect to rules. It'll save frustration and uncertainty all round.

2) As is done at CEF-sanctioned shows, the show goes on rain or shine unless there's a violent electrical storm that could potentially threaten the safety of horses and riders.

3) Rules can't be changed in the middle of a season. Rules must be applied the same way to everyone throughout a season. That's only fair. And if something such as weather works to your disadvantage in one show, it may also work to someone else's in the next. Things even out over time.

4) If you think the rules should be changed, the best way to proceed is to discuss your perception of what's wrong with your DC and Branch Executive. If they agree, they should put a request for change, with constructive suggestions as to alternatives, in a letter to the Regional Discipline Chair with a cc to the Regional Chair. The DC should follow up by phone with a request that the matter be put on the agenda for a Regional Executive meeting. He/she should attend the meeting to discuss the matter in terms of "here is what we think, here is why we think there should be a change, here is what we think the change should be." It's a good idea for the Youth Rep for your Branch to attend as well. Those seeking changes to the rules MUST know the rules and should also know the National and CEF rules for that discipline. We don't just do as we please. We are preparing competitors to go on from Pony Club to compete in OEF or CEF shows, and for that reason our rules must be close to theirs. Otherwise, the transition from Pony Club to Recognized will be more difficult than it needs to be. Further, the people who design the CEF rules are long-time experts in their fields, having had years of experience and knowing the whys and wherefores of how horse shows work - or don't.

Here's to a successful (however one defines the term) and happy competition season.

Sherry Hill, a member of Temiskaming Branch, was involved in a car crash near Chatham Ontario on Monday May 3. Sherry was returning from an Three-Day Event in Kentucky with Todd Sandler of Dollard-des-Ormeaux QC and Courtney Olmstead of Blind River ON.

Todd Sandler, a member of the Canadian Eventing Team Talent Squad, was killed. Our heart-felt condolences go to his family for its tragic loss.

Sherry Hill and Courtney Olmstead suffered serious injuries requiring hospitalization. We wish both Sherry and Courtney a speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with you!

At Thornlea Stables Sunday, May 2, 11:00 AM. Clinician Joanne Bouwhuis. Clinic will cover Pas de Deux, freestyle, basic dressage refresher points, show tips and new national dressage rules. Only 12 horse/rider combinations - first come first serve. Call Nancy Codlin at 905-655-8873 for information. Cost $15.00 for riders, $5.00 for observers.

This year, the Victoria Pony Club Dressage Qualifier show will offer a Pas de Deux competition as a non-core division. If you and a friend are interested designing and presenting a Pas de Deux, please ask your DC for a copy of the guidelines mailed out with the minutes of the March 27 Regional Meeting. Opportunity to do a Pas de Deux is a one-shot at Victoria, as a trial offering - however, if COR Pony Clubbers really like it and participation is substantial, that opportunity can be expanded for next year.

If you are interested in putting together a Pony Club Musical Ride, please call Nancy Codlin at 905-655-8873 before April 27. Both horses and ponies would be welcome in the Ride. If 16 to 20 riders are interested and can participate in regular practices, we would have a demonstration that could be used to promote Pony Club at other horse functions. How about it, group?

Does someone in your Branch have a green thumb, like to grow flowers in an artistic way? Then enter our contest to design and plant a championship flowerbox to decorate the ring at the Central Ontario Dressage Championships to take place on September 25 at Audley Road Stables. Your DC has the rules (mailed with the minutes of the March 27 Regional meeting). Prizes will be awarded and all entries will be used to decorate the dressage ring for the day. If you have questions, call Nancy Codlin at 905-655-8873 or ask by e-mail to tcodlin@yahoo.com .

The new tests are in. If you need them before April 24, or cannot attend the Regional meeting on that date, please contact Logan Couzens at loganf@inforamp.net .

Information on reading lists (all levels) and plans for C2, B/B2 testing were distributed to DCS with the minutes of the March 27 Regional meeting.

Working Rally north will be held May 28 to 30 at Foothills Farm in Chelmsford. They might have some space left. For information, e-mail Pat Marier at nature@vianet.on.ca .

C Rally will be held again this year at Lane's End in Bobcaygeon on July 11. It's uncertain whether or not the Preliminary course will be ready in time. Owners Sue Laverty and Ed Robertson are trying hard because they want it ready for their own Event taking place just after our Rally. Those who participated in C Rally last year will remember the very hospitable welcome we were given (except for the storm that drenched the stadium phase) and so realize how glad we are to be able to come back again this year. July 10 is cross country set up day and course walk day for C Rally. Come on out, pitch in and have a good time.

Plans are shaping up very nicely for National Rally at Bethany. A call has gone out for donation of labour and materials for the new cross country course. If you can contribute railway ties, logs, etc for fences and a few hours of your time this is a chance to learn something about cross country course design by working under the direction of Hugh Moreshead. It will be somewhat like a "free clinic" to those who contribute time/materials. The work will be done over two weekends in June so that the Technical Delegate can evaluate the course before leaving for the Pan Am Games.

Sara Brown reports that she still needs the loan of 9 to 16 horses for National Rally, all for the Pre-Training level. If you have a suitable animal and want to ask Sara Brown about what to expect if you loan it, her e-mail is sbrown@hep.ca .

There will be no Preliminary Level at National Rally. Preliminary level riders are being encouraged to go to Rally as Captains.

The riding phase for Tetrathlon has now been moved from the Toronto & North York Hunt Club to Saddlewood Equestrian Centre, on May 23. Work on the Tetrathalon course will take place the weekend before, at Working Rally South. All participating branches MUST send someone to help do the work. There is a $60 fine to any Branch that sends competitors but no workers. The shoot, swim and run phases will still take place at St. Andrew's College in Aurora on May 22. The entry package will be distributed at the April 24 Regional Committee meeting.

The 1999 season has begun. Hope all 110 of you had fun at Quiz on April 17! Congratulations to our winners (see Press Release).

Most DC's have handed in membership renewal forms, cheques, etc. so that their Branches and members are in good standing for 1999. Some of you have not, however. Please note that unless forms and money are in the hands of our Treasurer, Elaine Webster, by the next Regional meeting on March 27th, your Branch will be declared INACTIVE at the Canadian Pony Club Annual General Meeting.

As you receive memberships through the year, you must forward the appropriate forms and money to Elaine. If you do not, those late-joining members are not eligible for testing, competition, or Pony Club insurance coverage. Tests passed by riders who are not registered with Region do not count. If new members tell you that they passed a certain test in another Branch or Region, please indicate which Branch or Region when you submit membership forms, so we can verify these claims. Please call Barbara Grimm regarding testing levels claimed by new members in the case of transfers from other Branches.

The deadline for submitting applications for spring B and B1 testing has been extended to March 15.

If you are a trainee examiner and need assists to take a place on the examiners list, please talk to your DC about arranging to assist an accredited examiner during a testing taking place within your Branch.

Branches can obtain the new, up-to-date examiners list in Excel format by sending an e-mail to Logan Couzens at loganf@inforamp.net . The list will be kept up-to-date as any changes are reported.

And another reminder to DCs. An individual must be a member of Pony Club for six months before that person is eligible to be tested.

COR will host the Eastern Canadian Show Jumping and Dressage Championships in the year 2000.

At the February meeting, the Regional Committee discussed some ideas for celebrating the Millennium. Ideas included producing a pin or T-Shirt for sale within the Region with part of the proceeds going to a relevant charity such as the Equine Research Centre. We'd like to know what members think of this idea, we're open to alternative ideas and will welcome them with enthusiasm. Please send your flashes of inspiration to Regional Chair Karol Shipley . This project is quite separate from the Millennium Conference.

COR welcomes a new Branch, Muskoka Lakes Pony Club, located in the Bracebridge area. Founding DC will be Cathy Boddington. The colours of this new branch are black and gold.

Plans are nearly complete for this year's Regional Quiz. (Another reason for Branches to make sure they get their membership renewals in soon - members who aren't registered can't compete at Quiz, even if they have handed completed forms and cheques to their DCs) Quiz Chair, Robyn Hall, still needs some volunteers, so if you or your Branch can help out, please call Robyn.

This year, we may have guest competitors from some US Branches. Representatives from USPC attended the last National Quiz and thought our way of doing things was a lot of fun. As a result, dialogue is under way and an invitation has been issued to nearby Branches to send guest teams to COR's Regional Quiz. We look forward to welcoming American Pony Clubbers to one of our most popular competitions.

Those Branches participating in PPG this year are required to NAME four volunteers to help run meets or the teams will not be allowed to compete.

This is taking shape nicely, but still is not set in stone. Please check our current schedule page frequently so you can plan your 1999 competition schedule.

COR was well represented at the February National Disciplines Conference held in Winnipeg. Our own Barbara Grimm is National Disciplines Chair, responsible for planning and chairing the conference. In attendance were Karol Shipley (Tetrathalon), Bill Murray (PPG), Daina Strickland (National Dressage Chair), Nancy Codlin (Dressage), Sara Brown (Rallies), Catherine Burke (Show Jumping) and Kevin Durward (PPG - Youth National PPG committee member).

This Conference examined rules for competitions, and was responsible for formulating recommendations for change to the Canadian Pony Club Board of Directors. The Conference also gave Pony Club organizers from across the country the opportunity to build understanding of Regional differences, share ideas for dealing with problems, and spread good ideas around. Thanks, group!

Barbara Grimm wears many hats in Pony Club, and all of them well. We thought it only fitting that she be awarded the Ontario Equestrian Federation Award of Excellence at the recent OEF AGM. We don't know how we would manage without her hard work, competence and sense of humour.

This time of year, our thoughts turn from organizing for Pony Club to organizing for the holidays. We'd like to wish all Pony Clubbers, parents, volunteers and, of course, those hard-working ponies and horses, a joyous, happy, holiday season.

On November 28, COR held its Annual General Meeting at Durham College. A very friendly gathering heard reports from the various committees and disciplines, prior to elections and the year-end Dressage and Show Jumping awards . Regional Chair Karol Shipley presented her own tokens of appreciation to Catherine Burke and Barbara Grimm for their outstanding efforts through the year.

The 1998-99 Regional Executive (and branch contacts) can be found on our COR Contacts page. (Note: Only first names and last initial are shown for those who have yet to provide us with a Web permission form.)

Gwen Barnes, Logan Couzens and Georgia Gale-Kidd conducted a well-attended clinic for Examiners and BranchTesting Chairs in conjunction with the AGM. This is the second clinic of its kind this year.

During her report to the AGM, Gwen stated that there will be Regional C2 testing in 1999 due to the shortage of qualified examiners for this level. This is for 1999 only. Watch for further information in DCs packages from Region. She also asked that Branch Testing Chairs send in their feedback forms when they report Branch testings. Remember, D to C2 tests are not official until the paperwork is received by Logan.

Questions? Call Gwen Barnes (905) 342-2800 or Logan Couzens (905) 509-1225 - they'll be happy to answer.

Daina (Codlin) Strickland on her election as National Dressage Chair. Daina has served as COR's Dressage Co-Chair for the past two years, and is now following in her mother, Nancy's, footsteps as National Dressage Chair.

Barbara Grimm continues to serve as National Disciplines Chair. This position involves co-ordinating the activities of all disciplines at the National level.

Karol Shipley, our Regional Chair and National Director will add the role of National Finance Chair to her duties as a member of the National Management Committee.

Ten COR members earned their B certificates this summer. This is a major accomplishment, representing years of work, practice, study and effort. Congratulations to:

Christy Barnes, Pine Ridge
Denise Cleverdon, Pine Ridge
Emily Sculthorpe, Baltimore Hills
Katy Spiewak, Baltimore Hills
Katie Shipley, Pickering
Elaine Young, Durham
Darby Riseborough, Victoria
Mary Gilroy, Huronia
Sarah Roberts, Toronto North York
Maggie Turner, Claremont

This is the only other Pony Club competition we managed to get to this summer, and then only briefly. From what we saw and heard, things went very well indeed. Good weather, smiling faces, good competition. Congratulations to the organizers for a fine show.

Driving through an early morning deluge, that stopped as we came through Bobcaygeon. There had been no rain at Lane's End, although the day was grey, cloudy and threatening.

On balance, a very pleasant day, spent among friends, doing something we all enjoy. See you next year!

Our showing season is in full swing with one or more competitions each weekend. Please check the COR schedule page to find out what's happening when and where. If you're not competing on a given weekend, why, come on out anyway to cheer on those who are. We all love an audience!

Does your branch have a few members who want to be tested at the C, C1 or C2 levels this summer? Would you be willing to trailer to another branch in order to share examiners? If your branch is interested in joining forces with other branches for C-C2 testing this summer, please go ahead. This kind of co-operation makes life better for everyone and helps alleviate the problems some branches have encountered in booking examiners for these levels.

As of the last Regional Executive meeting, we heard that Oshawa, Durham, Ajax, Pickering and Huronia plan to hold a joint C and C1 testing. Napanee needs a C2. Does another nearby Branch also plan to do a C2 testing that Napanee could participate in?

The other question concerns C2 testing. Given that one must have two examiners for a C2 test, and that the number of Pony Clubbers taking this test in any given year is small, the Executive might consider administering it as a Regional rather than a branch test in the future. That is to say, it would be handled the same way that B and B2 testing is handled currently. Pony Clubbers would have to apply to Region for testing, then Region would set a date and place, and would be responsible for booking examiners, etc. Fees would be paid to Region rather than to the branch.

Please discuss the idea in your Branch over the summer, and come prepared to make your views known at one of the Regional meetings in the Fall.

Region would prefer not to take on this responsibility, and certainly can't this summer, with the competition season already in full swing. We may have to do it in the future, however.

We'd be glad to hear of any other ideas you may have for making sure that testing gets done for all who are ready and runs smoothly to boot. We're committed to maintaining standards, but are willing to be flexible on how we get there with the resources available. Feel free to communication ideas to C-D Testing Chair Logan Couzens or to Regional Chair, Karol Shipley. Logan's e-mail address is loganf@inforamp.net. Karol's is shipley@total.net.

We're in the process of collecting e-mail addresses for all Regional Executive members, Discipline Chairs, DCs or Branches etc. The purpose of the exercise is to make it easier for Pony Club volunteers and members to reach each other quickly. It will also make it easier for potential Pony Club members to find an appropriate contact person, and to find out how to get aboard.

Earlier this spring, Crawford Dales, our Webmeister, asked me to respond to a request for information left on the Guest Book by a South African Pony Club Executive member. She needed information for a friend who was moving to the Toronto area. This led to a very pleasant exchange of e-mails in which we traded information about our respective situations and about the horse world in an international sense. People from both COR and WOR gave me information to pass on - thanks group! This kind of cooperation and readiness to help a stranger speaks very well for Pony Club, I think.

As things happen and new information becomes available, we'll add to "This Month in COR". One thing about the Pony Club Website - we never stop working to make it serve our members and visitors better.

On Monday, May 18, 1998 (Victoria Day holiday), a D and C Testers Clinic will be held at Audley Road Stables, Ajax. This is for Pony Clubbers who wish to become testers, and for testers who wish to upgrade (all testers must attend clinics periodically to stay on the list). Cost is $5.00 per person. Those who wish to attend must register with the Central Ontario Region of Pony Club. Send your application and cheque to Sara Brown before May 12th. Ask your D.C. for a form - most if not all will have received forms by April 25. Sara, an A-level tester, will be your clinician.

Food is not included in registration, but Ajax Pony Club will run a food booth at this clinic, offering snacks and drinks for sale. There are many places near at hand to get lunch when the clinic is finished.

A C1 - B Testers Clinic will be held on the Saturday evening of Working Rally (May 16) at Bethany. This is for qualified examiners who wish to upgrade so as to be eligible to test at these higher levels. Registration is required, as food will be provided, but there is no cost to registrants. For further information, contact Gwen Barnes, 905-342-2800, or by e-mail Gwen_A_Barnes@pcbe.edu.on.ca.

Working Rally is a Pony Club tradition dating back to the organization's beginnings in Britain, and is particularly useful learning experience. These rallies are several days long, and include lessons in both stable management and riding. For a number of years, COR didn't organize working rallies for a variety of reasons having to do with distances, costs, numbers and non-availability of suitable facilities. Last year, we revived the working rally and held two, one in the south and one in the north. A very popular and successful step it turned out to be.

Working Rally South will be held May 15-17 at Saddlewood Equestrian Centre...registration is full, and there's a waiting list. If you have registered and can't attend, please be courteous and let Karol Shipley know as soon as possible, so someone on the waiting list can be moved into your slot.

Working Rally North will be held June 19-21 at Wabi Brook Equestrian Centre in North Bay. When last we heard, registration was healthy but there were still some spaces available. This could be a solution for members of branches between Lake Simcoe and North Bay, as well as for the members in the true North for whom it was planned originally!

There are new dressage tests this year and they will be used in all shows, so make sure you have the correct ones. Daina Codlin has revised/reorganized the Dressage Rules (no major changes) and the new Beginner tests are included in this document as an appendix. They can also be obtained from Barbara Grimm. The new CADORA tests (Basic and up) are available from the OEF in Toronto. OEF requires that you purchase a full set (Basic I to Grand Prix Speciale) at a cost of $50 - we're looking at what we can do to alleviate the financial burden.

On April 18th COR held its annual Quiz competition with 136 competitors in attendance, along with an almost equal number of volunteer officials, parents and observers. It turned out to be a lovely spring day instead of the cloudy, rainy misery we're used to for Quiz. While there wasn't much time available to spend in the grounds of Seneca College's King Campus, we did enjoy what time we could spend outside. Regional Quiz was held in Garriock Hall (an academic building) rather than Eaton Hall (the conference centre in which National Quiz was held).

Kudos to Robyn Hall and her committee for a well organized event, and to Eglinton Pony Club for doing a fine job of making sure we were well fed.

Congratulations to all competitors, and especially to the individual C and A/B winners. We are sure we'll be well represented at National Quiz in B.C. Lower Mainland next fall.

Some Consequences of Late Registrations
That We Bet Never Crossed Your Minds

The COR Communications Committee has a request to make. Please get your registrations for Pony Club competitions in to the show secretary as early as you can. As many of you know, we send out press releases announcing each Pony Club competition to magazines and local newspapers all over Central Ontario. The local papers want to know if anyone from their circulation area is entered and won't pay attention unless they have reason to believe there will be someone. If registrations come in to the secretary in a flood a day or two before the show, she can't tell us which branches are entered in time for us to tell the papers (who have sometimes been known to send reporters and photographers when they thought there was a local story in the offing) .... A few late entries from a Branch don't matter from this standpoint, but when all the entries from most of the branches are late, there isn't likely to be coverage.

Central Ontario is happy to welcome back the Maple Branch, one of our historic branches revived after many years in abeyance. Maple began in the late 1940's or early 1950s, when Jane Anne McLelland left Eglinton to set up Maple as a sub-branch of Toronto North York. Maple received an independent Charter in 1965 and went dormant in 1983. (Source: "The Canadian Pony Club" by Zita Barbara May, 1982.)

Maple sent observers to Regional Quiz in order to find out more about Pony Club activities - hopefully we'll see Maple competitors at Quiz in 1999.

COR BITS