Dear New MTPC Members
& Parents of New Members,
As the
D-level advisor, I welcome you to the fun and learning of Middle TN Pony
Club. When my son joined MTPC, I too was feeling as confused and
overwhelmed as you may be feeling now. I found the attached
new member booklet provided an
excellent summary of Pony club's major activities and the rating
system. The booklet provides description of the major events that you
will want to schedule on your family calendars:
 | Quiz which is scheduled for Sat, February 16, 2008 at the Cool Springs Marriott Hotel Conference Center |
| Fox Hunting - (an hour drive south of Franklin) |
| Eventing - April 15 at Percy Warner Park's Equestrian Center |
| Regional Rally - 4th week of June 2008 in Lexington, KY (Kentucky Horse Park) |
| D Camp - July at Percy Warner Park |
The next
upranking can be found on the club calendar. At this
time new members will demonstrate their horse skills to move from an
unranked (U/R) standing to D-1, or D-2 for those with sufficient
confidence and experience. Upranking is not an event to be feared.
Upranking is not a competition against other pony clubbers (that would be
called a Rally). Rather the pony clubbers will demonstrate their
horsemanship per the defined standards that are listed on the attached "flowchart".
The upranking knowledge questions are all presented in a oral format - no
written test. You can find all the answers in the green book, Level 1
USPC Manual of Horsemanship found in most tack stores, commercial
bookstores, or on-line vendors such as Amazon.com.
One other
event that needs a prominent place on your family calendar is the
preparation session for the Regional Rally.
During this period, you will bring your horse or pony
to the Percy Warner Park stables for an intensive training session where
you will learn & practice all the horse management (i.e. barn chores) and
riding skills for the Regional Rally. Your mount will stay overnight at
the park's indoor stables for this week, but the people go home each
night. Attending this Rally prep week is a mandatory if you want to
compete at the Regional Rally. (You can participate in prep week if you
cannot attend the Rally.)
Please ask
many questions until you understand to your satisfaction. Pony Club has
such a wealth of experiences that it takes awhile to fully comprehend.
E-mail is usually the best form of communication with a club of over 50
members, please check it regularly. Over half of this membership is at
the D-level, so you are not alone. You will have many friends very soon.
You are also welcome to call me at the below numbers.
Web sites to
know:
http://www.ponyclub.org - national's web site
http://www.midsouthponyclub.org/pages/main.htm - our region's web site
