Contact: [email protected] Club Grounds: Tarago Recreation Area and Tarago Showground
Pony Club Structure Pony Club NSW divides clubs into Zones. A number of Zones join together to form an Area. Our pony club is part of Zone 27. In Zone 27 there are 8 pony clubs. They include: Taralga, Crookwell, Marulan, Goublurn, Braidwood, Breadalbane, Gunning and Tarago Both the Club and the Zone have a President, Secretary, Treasurer and Chief Instructor.
Fees Joining Fee: (subject to amendment annually).
Riding Member: $130
Non Riding Member $50
- This fee includes the Pony Club NSW affiliation and insurance fees.
- Tarago Pony Club requires all Riding members under 17 years to have a parent/guardian on the grounds at all times when the junior members are in attendance.
- Financial Members: Voting right is one vote each per associate (17 years & above) and Senior financial members.
- Fees are payable for the calendar year i.e 1st January 2022 – 31 December 2022
ONLINE PAYMENT ONLY VIA JustGo - https://pca.justgo.com/Account.mvc/Login?ReturnUrl=%2f - Grounds fees may be payable if Tarago Show Ground is used and are payable on the day you attend. You will be notified of this fee prior to the day.
- Membership of the Tarago Sporting Association Inc is advisable to maintain use of the Tarago Recreation Area ($8.00 single or $16.00 Family per year). Membership forms: http://taragosportingassociation.org.au/wp/#
Uniform: Competition Uniform (Formal Uniform)
Beige/fawn/oatmeal jodhpurs – available at Saddlery
Light blue cotton long-sleeved dress shirt (not polo shirt)
Royal Blue tie
Royal Blue woolen jumper /woolen V neck vest/ spray zip up jacket
Club saddle cloth
Rally Uniform (Informal Uniform) Same as competition, except Polo shirt and work shirt is substituted for Long-sleeved shirt and tie. Black jods accepted.
Where To Purchase Uniform Royal Blue Polo Shirt short sleeved with or without logo – with logo available from Tarago Pony Club direct $35
Long sleeve royal blue work shirt with or without logo – with logo available from Tarago Pony Club direct $60
Kids – long sleeve royal blue work shirt with or without logo – with logo available from Tarago Pony Club direct $50
Saddle Pad – Official Tarago Pony Club Saddle Pad – Royal blue with lime green binding and TPC lettering on both sides in corner. $90 available in pony/horse size from Tarago Pony Club
Hat - trucker style royal blue with TPC logo on front - one size fits all (more so for adults) - available from Tarago Pony Club direct $15
Long sleeve cotton light blue shirt button up at front, royal blue vest, royal blue tie, royal blue spray jacket or jumper - available from Best and Less, Lowes etc
Jodhpurs and jodhpur boots - available at saddleries
What to wear when? - see 'Uniform Information' Rally days: Informal uniform Gymkhanas: Formal uniform Zone Competitions: Formal uniform State competition: Zone uniform Regional Schools: Formal uniform
Rally Days
When are they held? Pony Club rally days are generally held on the 1st Saturday of every month, even through the school holidays (except Christmas holidays).
Who Can Come to Rally Day: You must be a financial member of the Pony Club Association of NSW to participate. A responsible adult must accompany each child at each Rally Day. Only Pony Club riding members are permitted to ride at rallies (senior riding members over 25 years, are only permitted to ride with the Chief instructors approval for instruction or demonstration only and can not compete with child riders). Riders are also not permitted to ride others members’ horses at the rally without the permission of the horse owners, parents and chief instructor.
Times: 9:30 am – 3:30 pm (approximately)
How the Day Runs: Generally 1 session is held in the morning with a break for Lunch is around 1:00pm and there is one session after lunch. These are indicative times and can vary on the day.
All parents and riders must assist with unpacking and packing up equipment, show jumps etc, at start and conclusion of rally BEFORE leaving the ground.
Note: at all times you must stay with your allocated group and walk your horse between lessons.
What happens on a Rally day?: There are lots of different activities that you may participate in at rally day including showjumping, dressage, cross country, troop drill, mounted games, sporting, polocrosse, horse care and theory.
****Riders must present themselves for gear check at 10:00am in troop lines in front of the clubhouse.
All riders must remain unmounted until gear checked by a club official and advised to mount. If you ride to pony club you must dismount as soon as you arrive.
When all riders have been checked, they will be organised into groups for their first session.
Size and composition of groups depends on many factors including – which members are present, which instructors are available, what activities are organised. Generally riders of similar ability and/or age are grouped together.
You must sign in at the start of the day and sign out at the end of the day
Wet Weather Policy: Rally day will usually go ahead with theory work if mounted activities are impractical. If in doubt please contact one of your committee members for clarification. Please look at our facebook page and email for cancellations.
What the Rider Should Wear:
Well fitting approved helmetAS/NZ 3838, ASTM F1163, EN 1384 (manufactured prior to 2016) or VG1 approved riding helmet
Reasonably smooth soled, elastic sided ridingboots which meet the requirements in the Handbook.
Jodhpurs and Club Polo Shirt (Informal uniform)
What You Should Bring: Foods for your horse, bucket for water, secure headstall and lead rope, and a rug in winter. Tack should meet Pony Club criteria, be well fitting and in good condition. You may need to check the suitability of your equipment (especially bits) before coming to a rally day.
Lunch: A canteen runs every rally day providing cooked food for lunch at a reasonable cost, morning tea, cordial, tea and coffee. All members are to help out in the canteen during the year. Numbers for food will be required via bookings online prior to the date.
Parking: Car parking is provided at the recreation ground carpark for cars. Float parking will be allocated on the day. It is a requirement of Pony Club NSW that a horse free parking area be provided - therefore no horses are to be tied up on the vehicle side of the hitching rails or to floats/trucks. You are not to ride your horse in the parking areas. Do not block the unloading ramps for trucks.
There are eight horse yards at the rec area. Booking is essential via [email protected]
Competitions
During the year there will be many competitions held which members can attend. The main type of pony club competition is the gymkhana.
The gymkhana is an opportunity for all riders to go out and compete against other riders, from other clubs. Gymkhanas usually have ring events (hacking), sporting and jumping. They are a great way for riders to get experience in competitions and build up confidence. While horses/ponies need to be plaited and presented for gymkhanas, do not let this deter you, as help is always available if you are unsure of what to do.
Workers/Volunteers
As you can well appreciate pony clubs are only successful with the assistance of the parents of the riders. We would all love to sit each rally day and simply watch our own child. Unfortunately, if everyone in the club took this stance, especially our instructors, nothing would be done and none of the children would get to ride. Therefore, it is particularly important that every parent of every rider pitches in, every rally day and does their bit to assist in the running of pony club. Rally day jobs include;
Helping in the canteen
Cooking the BBQ
Assisting to put out equipment
Putting equipment away
Packing up the club house after lunch
Assisting instructors especially with activities like sporting (putting flags out, timekeeping) and jumping (picking up pole when they are knocked).
Conduct of Riders
Pony Club is a youth organisation therefore policies of:
No Alcohol
No Smoking
No Swearing
apply to adults and children. Please visit www.pcansw.org.au to view these policies.
When Mounted:
Please arrive on time. Late arrivals are disruptive and may result in being left out of a session.
Be considerate of each other and especially of less experienced and younger riders when riding near them.
Walk at all times unless specifically advised otherwise by an instructor.
You may not leave a lesson without asking permission from the instructor.
The instructor appreciates it if you thank them at the end of the lesson.
You must only ride where and when advised by an instructor – definitely not around the clubhouse or the car parks.
Unmounted:
Horses are easily spooked and everyone who comes to pony club needs to be sensible around horses. Small children should be supervised at all times and are not to sit/climb on any of the railings or jumping equipment.
No dogs are allowed.
If a parent wishes to discuss an aspect of a lesson with an instructor, please wait until the end of the lesson.
Children should be courteous and co-operative and be keen to learn and have fun. Parents should remember that Pony Club operates for the benefit of the children
Pony Club Rules
Safety of horse and rider is paramount in pony club. Hence there are strict rules governing most aspects of membership. These rules are designed to prevent accidents and injuries. It is in your interests to acquaint yourself with the rules as soon as possible. If in doubt, please ask a committee member or refer to the “Blue Book” (available on the PCA website www.pcansw.org.au).
Communication: -
NEWSLETTER - The Club publishes a tri monthly newsletter, which keeps members informed of club activities, dates of rallies and all relevant club news. Space is also available if parents wish to advertise to buy/sell ponies, equipment etc. The newsletter is generally forwarded to members each month via email.
WEBSITE - The Clubs Website is updated regularly. It contains Newsletter items and valuable information including changes to this year’s calendar and any additional new dates.
MEETINGS - are held at the Loaded Dog Hotel in Tarago and all associate and adult members are encouraged to attend. Please view your newsletter and the facebook page for these details.