Dear Members, Parents and Carers,
As the Government starts to ease us out of Lockdown, Southdown Hunt East Pony Club are excited about the prospect of resuming ridden rallies. We recently ran a series of Zoom Stable Management Rallies which have been very well attended and it's been lovely to reach so many of you virtually - but we can't wait to start seeing our members again in person.
However, I am emailing you all to tell you of some difficulties facing our branch of the Pony Club. For a variety of reasons, not least the impact of the COVID pandemic, our membership numbers have significantly declined. Some members have moved to neighbouring branches and some have not renewed their membership. This year our membership is lower than normal, 5 years ago we had over 200!
As your District Commissioner, I feel very passionately about the future of this branch. I have followed in the footsteps of my mother, Margaret Sheffield who was DC for 24 years and involved in the Pony Club for most of her life.
This week I met with the Committee and we have all agreed that we need to take action now to keep our branch alive for future generations. We have fantastic facilities and venues on our doorstep and we don't want our young equestrians having to travel to branches further afield.
But we cannot be the Pony Club branch we want to be, without the help and support of you, the parents and carers of our members. This Branch is yours and we need you to be an active part of it.
For this reason, the Committee are asking the following:
? Would you like to become a Committee Member and help shape the SDHE branch of the Pony Club?
? Could you become a rally or event organiser? We need people to come forward to take on the organisation of rallies in different disciplines, either as a one off or a series of events?
? Would you like to be involved with the organisation of this year's Pony Club Camp? We are hoping that residential camps will be allowed to go ahead this year and we need volunteers to come forward to be involved with the planning, organisation and running of camp. We want to ensure our camps are kept fresh and relevant and welcome your ideas and suggestions.
The Committee would very much appreciate you becoming an active volunteer. People are often worried about the time commitment but the more volunteers we have, the more evenly this workload can be spread. There are no paid members of staff in Pony Club Branches - everything is run by volunteers offering their skills, time and experience. What a branch can provide for its members is dependent on having willing and enthusiastic volunteers.
The Southdown Hunt East Pony Club values its members and we need you to make it the best it can be. Please join with us to make this Branch one that everyone in this area wants to be part of.
The Committee is currently preparing a survey to better understand what our members want from their membership so we can set priorities. We are organising some ridden activities over the Easter Holidays and will be asking our members to get involved online sharing pictures of themselves and their ponies on our private Facebook and Instagram pages. After this long enforced separation we want to start to get to know each other again!
For more information or an informal chat please contact myself, Candy Robbins, Polly Thom or Lorna Thwaites.
With best wishes
Anne Cook, District Commissioner, Southdown Hunt East Pony Club
As the Government starts to ease us out of Lockdown, Southdown Hunt East Pony Club are excited about the prospect of resuming ridden rallies. We recently ran a series of Zoom Stable Management Rallies which have been very well attended and it's been lovely to reach so many of you virtually - but we can't wait to start seeing our members again in person.
However, I am emailing you all to tell you of some difficulties facing our branch of the Pony Club. For a variety of reasons, not least the impact of the COVID pandemic, our membership numbers have significantly declined. Some members have moved to neighbouring branches and some have not renewed their membership. This year our membership is lower than normal, 5 years ago we had over 200!
As your District Commissioner, I feel very passionately about the future of this branch. I have followed in the footsteps of my mother, Margaret Sheffield who was DC for 24 years and involved in the Pony Club for most of her life.
This week I met with the Committee and we have all agreed that we need to take action now to keep our branch alive for future generations. We have fantastic facilities and venues on our doorstep and we don't want our young equestrians having to travel to branches further afield.
But we cannot be the Pony Club branch we want to be, without the help and support of you, the parents and carers of our members. This Branch is yours and we need you to be an active part of it.
For this reason, the Committee are asking the following:
? Would you like to become a Committee Member and help shape the SDHE branch of the Pony Club?
? Could you become a rally or event organiser? We need people to come forward to take on the organisation of rallies in different disciplines, either as a one off or a series of events?
? Would you like to be involved with the organisation of this year's Pony Club Camp? We are hoping that residential camps will be allowed to go ahead this year and we need volunteers to come forward to be involved with the planning, organisation and running of camp. We want to ensure our camps are kept fresh and relevant and welcome your ideas and suggestions.
The Committee would very much appreciate you becoming an active volunteer. People are often worried about the time commitment but the more volunteers we have, the more evenly this workload can be spread. There are no paid members of staff in Pony Club Branches - everything is run by volunteers offering their skills, time and experience. What a branch can provide for its members is dependent on having willing and enthusiastic volunteers.
The Southdown Hunt East Pony Club values its members and we need you to make it the best it can be. Please join with us to make this Branch one that everyone in this area wants to be part of.
The Committee is currently preparing a survey to better understand what our members want from their membership so we can set priorities. We are organising some ridden activities over the Easter Holidays and will be asking our members to get involved online sharing pictures of themselves and their ponies on our private Facebook and Instagram pages. After this long enforced separation we want to start to get to know each other again!
For more information or an informal chat please contact myself, Candy Robbins, Polly Thom or Lorna Thwaites.
With best wishes
Anne Cook, District Commissioner, Southdown Hunt East Pony Club
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