COR News - Previous issues

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

The Central Ontario Regional Youth Rep for 2010 is Ali Sprague, who serves as Branch Youth Rep for the Kawartha Pony Club. Here's what Ali had to say in her nomination papers, to introduce herself.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ali Sprague from the Kawartha Pony Club. I have been a member of Kawartha for seven years and their Youth Rep for the last two. The opportunities for education, growth and friendship make me want to encourage others to do the same.

My background is mostly in dressage with my ten year old TB/QH mare, Kaya. I currently have my C Level and ride at First Level. We plan to start eventing this year to gain experience in different areas. I would also like to work toward my coaching licence. I really enjoy helping the younger members reach their goals both in education and riding. With that in mind, I would like to be COR's youth rep in order to reach out to other clubs.

We wish Ali well and look forward to her participation in this year's Regional Committee meetings.

Central Ontario Region has received a grant of $1,820 from the Ontario Equestrian Federation. Thank you, OEF! And thank you, Karol Shipley, who put together the grant application.

Highly educational, though not a part of the formal COR program, has been a series of "Shop and Learn" nights organized by the Maple Pony Club and held at a local Greenhawk store. These proved popular, not least because Greenhawk offered a discount to Pony Club members attending these mini-workshops. Here is a brief report from Mike Stephenson, Maple's DC, on the second one.

Hi everyone....what a fabulous turn out this evening...the Pony Clubbers came out in force to support our second Greenhawk Education and Barn Night.

Well we had 51 members and parents....My count is not perfect on the breakdown, but I estimate that there were eight from TNY, seven from King, 20 from Maple, five from Rising Star, seven from Centaurus, three from Whitchurch and one from Uxbridge....I apologize if I did not get that count exactly right...not everyone put their club's name on the sign-in sheet...but suffice to say, it was a great turn out.

Thanks to Katie Stephenson who held a D2 Testing prep session, Kyra Holmes who held a very popular bandaging session and Emily Mitchell who held a D, D1 level Quiz Visuals session. Thanks to all three of you....I think all of the club members got a lot out of your lessons and I saw many parents in the shadows as you went along...clearly they were interested in learning as was I.

How would you like to take some time off from (a) school and (b) winter, to go riding in Spain? What's that? Some of you could tolerate it? Well, that's exactly what happened to Rising Star Pony Club member Emily Lindsay. Here is her account of what most of us - or at least those of us who can ride - would count as a dream trip.

I am on a student exchange program in Seville, Spain, organized through ISE (International Student Exchange). They come to the school to talk about the program. Most kids go on this exchange in grade 10 but there are some that go in grade 8 right through to grade 11. I left Canada on February 12th ( first day of the Olympics) right after second semester started. I have worked with my teachers and am doing school work while I am over here. Some of my classes are the same here as at home, like gym and commtech. As part of the exchange we had a girl come and stay at our place for three months as well. Some of you might remember seeing her as she came to Banquet with me. Her name is Belen, I am staying with her family now, just outside of Seville.

The country is beautiful and so are the horses. The horses are very well trained - the school horses can do first level dressage (pc). In some parts of the city people offer horse and carriage ride to the public. We got to see the centre of the city in a horse drawn buggy, it was amazing. Over here dressage is the main discipline, but they also do show jumping and endurance; I have yet to see ANY eventers. I am taking lesson over here, they are very different from home. The barn is very big, it has over 40 horses all in box stalls (there is no turn out for the horses). My favorite horse here is Etiope (he is one in the pic). He is a TB cross. Most of the School horses are cross breeds just like at home. There are some Andalusians but not in the lesson barn. The style taught is different. My coach believes that every horse should wear a curb bit, even if they do not need it. The lesson reminds me of a trail ride. Whatever the horse in the lead does the rest just follow. All the horses side pass and leg yield pretty much on their own. At first look you would think the riders are fairly advanced as the horses all go around in frame. But then I found out with the big bits in it is just a false frame to kept the kids from pulling on their mouths. The horses don't jump much here, hopefully next week I will get to jump bigger then 12".

In Spain there is so much to see and do, if you like old Roman architecture some of the buildings are amazing. We saw a book from the 1600s in one of the churches - really cool. We even went to the beach in Portugal last week. Very different then anything I have ever seen before. Spain would be an awesome place to go for a vacation. Next week is a huge celebration in Seville called "La Faria"... Everyone dresses up in traditional clothing, including the horses. I think it is going to be amazing to see. I have only seen pictures and the horses have flowers on their bridles.

I arrive back home on May 7th... Just in time for the first PPG meet. Can't wait to get home and start practicing PPG's again.

Carolyn Russell-Poliquin, a proud C level member of the Oshawa Pony Club (who just received her ten year membership award from National), has been accepted at the University of Western England, Hartpury College, to study Equine Sport Science starting this September. Hartpury College has an elite athlete program for dressage, showjumping, and eventing, AND Carolyn had just been offered a spot on the Hartpury Equine Academy for elite dressage riders. This is a huge accomplishment for her and her horse, Cornucopia.(aka Corbin). They were the 2008 second level provincial junior champions, rode the FEI JUNIOR level in 2009, and are schooling fourth level movements now. They have been recognized by Dressage Canada with Achievement awards in 2008 and 2009 for second and third levels. She was recognized by COR with year end championships several times in the past four years. She is representing COR at this year's National Dressage Championships in BC, and then will be off to England with her horse to study and train. Well done, Carolyn!

Here is a report forwarded to me by Helaina Rothenberg of Centaurus, on behalf of Rhonda Hutcheson. Thank you, Centaurus!

On Saturday, April 10th, five members of the local Centaurus Pony Club attended a Western Ontario Region Tetrathlon mini-meet hosted by Headwaters Pony Club in Orangeville. The sport of Tetrathlon includes pistol shooting, swimming, cross country running, and horseback riding. As a pre-season tune-up, this meet did not include the horseback phase.

Alyson Weedon placed second overall in the Novice B division, her strongest event being the running.

The Novice division was the largest division of the day, and Rebecca McDowell, Patricia Rothenburg and Andie Munro demonstrated the Club's consistency by placing seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. Munro's strongest phase was swimming, while Rothenburg and McDowell tied for second in the division for the running phase.

Nicole McDowell placed fifth in the Green Junior division, with an impressive result in the shooting phase. That's Nicole running in the picture to your left. This was the first time any of the girls had competed in shooting.

Last Fall, just after putting out the Fall 2009 edition of CORBits, Your Humble Editor got sick. It may or may not have been the H1N1 flu, but if it was, there was no help available for it, at least in Toronto. On one of his rare excursions out of his sick bed, Yr. Hmbl. Ed. dashed off an e-mail about the situation to his Virginia relatives. Some of them forwarded it to their friends, and some were kind enough to suggest that it should have a wider audience. Since you, gentle readers, are the only wider audience to which I have access, and since we are a bit short of material this edition, here is an abridged version for your amusement (hopefully).

Liz says she has let you know I have some kind of bug. We don't really know what I have, just what I don't have. I don't have the regular flu, because we have had our shots for that. And we are really hoping it's not the H1N1 flu, the so-called Swine Flu, because that is potentially much more serious, and also because our various governments have seriously dropped the ball on getting the vaccine for it out to the public.

First, the federal government decided to sole-source the vaccine, and when you sole-source anything you really, really need, production problems follow as surely as night follows day.

Second, the local Toronto government decided to distribute the vaccine only through central clinics, not in workplaces, schools and family doctors' offices, as they had done successfully with regular flu vaccine for decades.

A few days before the first clinics were due to open, a healthy young 13 year old hockey player began feeling ill near the end of his game, and he was dead before morning from H1N1. This was headline news and caused a panic across the country, including, it seems, among the organizers. They decided to open a limited number of clinics early, and asked that only those in high priority groups go to them. In Toronto itself, with a population approaching three million, they opened two (2) clinics, which were promptly overwhelmed. Gosh! who could have seen that coming? And because they opened up before they were ready, they had neither the staff nor the vaccine supply to deal with the rush. People were lining up for four hours in the rain before the clinics opened, only to be told to go home ten minutes after the opening because there was only enough vaccine to get to some point far ahead of them in the line. Now, I might line up for four hours for a vaccine that I knew would save me from otherwise certain death, or for front row seats at the Second Coming, but nothing less. And if I had lined up for four hours in the rain with my pre-schoolers, and then got sent home, I would be tempted to come back with a "Close-Shave-On-U" do it yourself guillotine kit (some assembly required; tumbrel sold separately).

They did eventually open more clinics, but still could not keep up with the demand. So the next step was to make sure those in line fell into one of the high priority groups and send all others away. It turned out, however, that there were different definitions of "high priority" depending on who you were. Everyone agreed and accepted that health-care workers had to have the vaccine first of all. They have to be able to look after the rest of us if this turns into a real pandemic. But members of hospitals' Boards of Directors, who venture into the administrative wing of a hospital about once a quarter and never get near a patient? Hmm. Not so good. Then it turned out that vaccine was being diverted from Canadian clinics to give to Taliban prisoners of war in Afghanistan. Okay, as signatories to the Geneva Convention, we are honour bound to look after the health of our POWs, but surely they could have come a little lower on the priority list. We have not yet vaccinated our troops!

The argument used there was that the POWs were in crowded conditions and people in close proximity are vulnerable to a quick spread of the disease. Well, once that argument came out it spread like wildfire. Inmates in prisons got vaccinated. Members of professional sports teams got vaccinated, including the Maple Leafs and the Raptors. Now we have officials at private boarding schools saying that their pupils should come before the general public because they live so close together. The jury's still out on that one, but the government may listen! The people who make the priority decisions have probably not done their own grocery shopping for years, though some of them may have children in private boarding schools.

The Federal Minister of Health in particular is ill-equipped to understand crowding, not only because her current position means that she travels around Ottawa in a chauffeured limousine, and around the country by private jet, but also because of her background. She is an Innu from Nunavut. The Innuit are the people we used to call Eskimos, but they don't like that term anymore. And Nunavut used to be the Eastern part of the Northwest Territories, but got split off about ten years ago. The first thing you need to know about Nunavut is that it's enormous - over 800,000 square miles, slightly bigger than Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy put together, with Andorra, Liechenstein, Luxembourg and Monaco sprinkled on top for garnish. And scattered over that vast territory is a total population of 29,500 people - about one for every 27 1/2 square miles. They couldn't infect each other by telegram up there! What the heck could the poor Minister of Health know about crowding? Crowding in Nunavut is when you can see a tiny dot on the far horizon that might possibly turn out to be another person (of course, it also might possibly turn out to be a polar bear, so most of the time you don't stick around to find out). If she wants to understand crowding, the Minister of Health should go to the Bloor-Yonge subway station here in Toronto, where the main east-west line intersects the main north-south line, any weekday morning. There, every two minutes, she would see a number of people roughly equivalent to the entire population of Nunavut get off one train and onto another, and be replaced on their original train by about the same number. There they sit and stand, packed in like sardines, half of them sneezing and the other half coughing. The people who make decisions about crowding should have to hold their meetings on one of those trains.

By the way, speaking of dropped balls and Nunavut, here's another one that might interest you. The territorial capitol of Nunavut is a village called Iqaluit. Notice there is no "u" after the "q", a construction alien to both of Canada's official languages. But it is important to leave it out, because Iqaluit, without the "u", translates as "place with many fishes", whereas iqualuit, with the "u", means "one who does not properly wipe his bottom". The Prime Minister's Office accidentally included the "u" in some press release not long ago, the Nunavut press shared the joke with their southern colleagues and of course our newspapers were all over it and the whole country had a good laugh. The really silly thing is that Inuktitut, the Innuit language, has its own alphabet and doesn't use our Roman letters at all. So why the capitol's name could not have been rendered as "Ikaluit", leaving the "qu" version for the Great Unwiped, I shall never know. My guess is that decision needed months of deliberation by a committee of highly paid bureaucrats and consultants (all of whom have already had their H1N1 shots). But I digress.

I am very unhappy about being sick. But I am trying to keep my sense of humour up, and not show bitterness. If what I have does turn out to be H1N1 and it kills me, then I might allow myself some bitterness. I don't think that's going to happen because (a) I seem to be feeling a bit better every day, and (b) I have had no urge to oink. If it does, however, my fall-back plan calls for some serious haunting. Those bungling bureaucrats and me-first line-jumpers shall smart for their sins! I shall pursue them through their dreams to the end of their days, wielding a gigantic made-for-use-on-brontosauruses hypodermic needle, which I shall plunge dozens of times a night into their improperly-wiped bottoms.

Of course, I do have to end on a serious note. While the situation in Toronto has been badly handled, our system does have one saving grace. In time, all Canadians who want to be vaccinated against H1N1 will get their shots, free of charge - not just those with private medical insurance or the means to pay for the vaccination at steep rates.

Your humble editor is pleased to report that the H1N1 did not carry him off, and he is still on the right side of the grass.

Comments and criticisms are welcome, letters to the Editor are invited and news of your activities is really needed for the next issue.

At the Central Ontario Annual General Meeting on Saturday, November 21, the following people were elected or acclaimed.

Regional Chair/National Director - Sue Foell (Regional Chair has a two year term, while all the others are for one year; Sue is starting her second year)

Regional Assistant Chair - OPEN (this is meant to be occupied by someone from one of the northern Branches, to make sure they are represented at the highest level)

Active Member Rep(s) - To be determined by vote of the Branch Active Members if more than two nominations received

Visiting Commissioners - Nancy Codlin, Barbara Grimm, Bill Murray, Marg O'Neill and Karol Shipley

There are two points to be made about the above list. First, it is meant to let you know whom to pester about what. And second, please note how many people are doing more than one job, and how many jobs are open. Apparently there have been some complaints heard about our slimmer than usual 2009 program of activities, but the reason the program was slimmer is that the number of people available to help out was smaller. Everyone is busy, but we hope everyone will also try to help COR in whatever way they can. And if they can't help at all, then we hope they don't spend a lot of energy complaining - energy that might have been better spent doing. Here endeth the first rant.

National Quiz was held in the lovely city of Vancouver this year. We were on a combined AB team with BCLM. Team A5, as it was called, consisted of two Quiz veterans and two Quiz newbie's, which was a great match. Casey Leroux, the Western Canada Youth Rep and Amanda Brooke were on our team. Katherine's mom, Tina, was our awesome chaperone this year.

Saturday morning was the written test. Almost every competitor agreed that this year's test was a fair yet tough challenge. There were lots of questions on anatomy, nutrition, and barn building specifics. The afternoon had the games, which was a lot of fun, as always!

Saturday night we were taken on a lovely boat cruise of Vancouver Harbour. This was probably the best possible way to see the city, and it was a lot of fun! We saw the famous Seawall in Stanley Park, the Olympic Village, Granville Island, where we would go on Sunday, and the Science Dome. The weather was fantastic, with no hint of rain, and with the scene of the mountains and the city skyscrapers, it was certainly an impressive view!

Sunday morning we had the I.D. portion. It went quite well, with Katherine achieving one of the only perfect scores of 15 at a table. There was a large variety of items this year, and it was all balanced out.

Sunday Afternoon we went to Granville Island, a marketplace on the waterfront. We spend almost two hours there, and that was not nearly enough time! there was so much to see, including the cheese market, the Emily Carr Institute, which is an art school, the various street performers, the arcade, the candy stores, the toy stores… there was just so much stuff!

At the end of the day, we had the Awards Banquet. Team A5 had a great team placing of 6th, and Kyra was 2nd individually. Katherine did not place in the ribbons, but we were all very proud of her score considering it was her first time at National Quiz and she had to go as an AB!

This year was a lovely year, and we are both looking forward to qualifying to go to National Quiz in Halifax in 2010, in conjunction with International Quiz. We both encourage every club to send as many kids as they can to Regional Quiz, because the opportunity to compete all over Canada is amazing! Thanks to everyone who made it happen!!

This November 6, nine Central Ontario Pony Club members had a once in a lifetime opportunity to assist Their Royal Highnesses, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the opening of the Royal Winter Fair. Along with Pony Clubbers from the Western Ontario and Saint Lawrence-Ottawa Valley Regions, they provided a ceremonial guard of honour.

From left to right in the picture, Sarah Cowie of the King Pony Club (rider), Rebecca Simmons of the Durham Pony Club (rider), Emily Lindsay of the Rising Star Pony Club (rider), Kayla Weber of Rising Star (groom), Karen Foell of the Toronto & North York Pony Club (groom), Jenna Meeser of Rising Star (groom), Meaghan Lloyd of Durham (groom), Jennifer McKeen of the Oshawa Pony Club (rider), Laura Austin of the Kawartha Pony Club (rider) and Shelby Heinbuch of the United Counties Pony Club in SLOV (rider). Standing in front of all of them is J.P. (pony).

Ms. Heinbuch, by the way, was NOT showing at the Royal anyway. She trailered her pony all the way from the Ottawa area just for the opening ceremony, then took him home again. Who says Canadians are no longer interested in the monarchy?

Your Humble Editor was not a member of the selection committee, but he understands that there were many strong applications, and that the selection committee had a hard time choosing the lucky nine.

Yr. Hmbl. Ed. has also heard a rumour that the acceptance e-mails prompted much squealing and running in circles. And that was just the Moms!

Finally, we hear from Gayle McPherson, President of the Royal Winter Fair and one of the newest Honourary Life Members of the Canadian Pony Club, that the Royal couple were quite complimentary about how well all the Pony Clubbers and their mounts were turned out. Congratulations to all from Y.H.E., and haven't you got something to tell your grandchildren about!

Year-end awards are always an important part of any Fall issue of CORBits. Before we get to our Central Ontario awards, however, it is a pleasure to report that several Central Ontario members have been honoured by the national organization this year.

One Active Member and one Affiliate Member received Sandra Sillcox Memorial Awards. They were Christy Chamney of the Maple Pony Club and Katie Stephenson, formerly of Maple and now an Affiliate.

Katie and her Dad Michael also accepted the award for the top showing in the Ride for 75 program, on behalf of Maple. (Durham, Rising Star, Uxbridge-Scugog and Kawartha also finished in the top ten Branches, making it five from Central Ontario and five from the rest of Canada - well done all!)

Gayle McPherson, President of the Royal Winter Fair, was made an Honourary Life Member. We have Ms. McPherson to thank for all those Royal tickets we get every year (and also, we suspect, for the Riding With Royalty opportunity). At right we have Ms. McPherson introducing Prince Charles at the opening ceremonies for the Royal.

Kyra Holmes of Maple was chosen to be Youth Director on the National Board, representing Eastern Canada.

Last but certainly not least, Karol Shipley, former Central Ontario Regional Chair, received the Canadian Pony Club Chairman's Award for her efforts as Chair of the 75th Anniversary Committee.

Entry - Champion was Solstice Pecile of Kawartha, with Samantha Lobbezoo of Brooklin the Reserve.

Starter - Champion was Meg Scott of Victoria, with Emily Pearson, also of Victoria, the Reserve. Third place went to Jessica Rowe of Durham.

Pre-Training - Champion was Jenna Crone of Rising Star, with Rachel Scott of Victoria the Reserve. In third was Meg Scott, also of Victoria. Fourth place went to Laura Austin of Kawartha, with Jenna Meeser of Rising Star fifth and Janel Semple of Kawartha sixth.

Training - Champion was Alexandra Sprague of Kawartha, with Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa the Reserve.

First Level Division A - Champion was Johanna McKeen of Oshawa, with Janene Howran of Kawartha the Reserve.

First Level Division B - Champion was Meaghan Lloyd of Durham, with Rebecca Simmons, also of Durham, the Reserve.

Third Level - Carolyn Russell-Poliquin of Oshawa was the Champion with no Reserve.

The Wes Goff Award for high points of the year went to Alexandra Sprague of the Kawartha Pony Club.

Pre-Entry A1 - Champion was Kimberley Moriarity of Maple, with Alexandra Saltouridis of Brooklin the Reserve.

Pre-Entry A2 - Champion was Rachel Scott of Victoria, with Victoria Papp of Ajax the Reserve.

Pre-Entry B - Champion was Dalton Wright of Durham, with Patricia Rothenburg of Centaurus the Reserve.

Pre-Entry Schooling - Champion was Karen Foell of Toronto & North York, with Shay Lucas of Maple the Reserve.

Entry - Champion was Jenna Meeser of Rising Star. There was a tie for Reserve between Kaisha Barber of Durham and Laura Austin of Kawartha.

Starter - Champion was Taylor Ryan of Whitchurch, with Maggie Brims , also of Whitchurch, the Reserve.

Beginner - Champion was Sarah Smith of Maple, with Samantha Lobbezoo of Brooklin the Reserve.

Novice - Champion was Emma Bradbury of Centaurus. There was a tie for Reserve between Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa and Emily Lindsay of Rising Star.

Championship ribbons were actually presented after the final meet in July rather than at the banquet, and the exploits of our A and Masters teams have been reported in previous issues, but it is still appropriate to honour the winning teams here.

At the A level, a combined Uxbridge-Scugog/Simcoe team won the Regional championship. The members of this team were James Cruikshanks, Crystal Geer, Jane Stephenson, Emily Stubbings and Rachel Stewart (Simcoe).

In the Masters competition, Uxbridge-Scugog also finished on top, with a team comprising Kendra Abbey, Mori Cruikshanks, Sean Cruikshanks, Jesse Durward and Samantha Macdonald.

The Durham Pony Club team took the honours at the B level. Team members were Kaisha Barber, Jake Durack, Jessica Rowe, Michelle Treen and Sarah Treen.

At the C level, Temiskaming was first, with a team including Reid Archambault, Spencer Brisson, Kiara Crawford, Ashley Maille and Lynnsey St. Louis.

As noted earlier in this edition, Kyra Holmes of Maple was the leading A/B competitor at our Regional Quiz, with Katherine Earle of Ajax the top C, and off they went to National Quiz in Vancouver. Emma Lemay-Nedjelski of Ajax was the top D2 individual.

In team competition, Maple won at the A/B level, Ajax took the honours at all of the C, D2 and D levels, while Durham was the D1 Champion. Centaurus won the project competition.

The winner of this prestigious award for 2009 was Daina Strickland, for her work in reviving D Rally.

This program comprises two awards, one to a purebred Welsh and one to a half Welsh. The purebred Welsh winner for 2009 was Sec. D Welsh Cob Stonecroft Geraint ap Dilwyn (a.k.a. Winston) owned by Lisa Hossack Scott and ridden by Janene Howran of Kawartha Pony Club. Winston and Janene were partnered in Dressage, at the First level, in Central Ontario Pony Club as well as at Bronze level Dressage shows. The half Welsh champion was Wabi Brook Tarragon, owned by Emily Lindsay, ridden by Olivia Gionet in Show Jumping and by Emily in the A level and by Jaide Johnson at the C Level, Prince Philip Games.

This year the award went to In the Ribbons, who belongs to Jenna Meeser of the Rising Star Pony Club. Here is the nomination that won "Ribbons" the award.

My pony’s name is In the Ribbons, but at home, we just call her Ribbons. She is a beautiful 14HH bay pinto mare who has really helped me grow as a rider. I didn’t learn to ride until I was 14, so I was a little older than the average rider when I started out.

My family purchased Ribbons back in March of 2007. This pony has helped me to try a lot of new things and made me more confident. Everything I learned about riding, I learned on her. My first dressage test I ever rode was on her in the Starter level, which we placed 3rd on my Starter test 2. At the end of 2007, I was fourth overall for the Starter division. Last year I went to two dressage qualifiers and competed at the pre-training level, where we finished 6th overall for the year.

Along with dressage, I tried some eventing outside of pony club, which Ribbons was not a huge fan of, but she still did it, because I asked her. She is a very obedient pony.

Last year I tried Show Jumping with her and absolutely loved it. We did our best and even with it being our first year, we came out with pretty good results. The first time we went we got a 5th in Table A, 2nd in Power and Speed and 4th in Equitation. After that I went to the other two qualifiers, but I was unable to attend finals. Still, luckily, I ended up fourth overall for the Entry division at banquet.

This year was especially fun because we tried PPGs for the first time together. The year before I borrowed a pony from our DC, but this year I wanted to see if she would be good at it. Plus, if I was going to do PPGs, I had to do the Masters level, which many people know is the hardest…so I was nervous. To my surprise she was amazing. Usually she is a little cautious of new things, but she took to PPGs like a fish to water. I still couldn’t believe that she liked it so much, so we had an animal communicator come out and “talk” to her. She said that Ribbons runs really fast, not because she is scared, but because she is having fun! I thought that was funny and could relate to how fast she went and how she didn’t want to stop…I thought it was fear of the props, but apparently it was joy.

This year we have also had a lot of great results with Show Jumping. At all of the qualifiers I have been champion and I am really proud to own such an outstanding pony. It is her hard work that got us there. We now have a very strong connection and I trust my pony beyond belief. My mom’s friend has little children who love to go for pony rides. Her oldest daughter has just turned 5 and she is determined to ride all by herself this summer and she wants to do it on Ribbons. I have full faith in her and I know she fills their little hearts with happiness.

One of my favourite days with Ribbons was when I entered her in our local fair for the western games. She earned a ribbon in the egg stomp, which was a lot of fun. We were just out of the ribbons in the musical stalls game, and we gave everyone there a good laugh. There was my Ribbons pony cantering around the ring in collection, her head in a pretty frame, while we competed against all of the western quarter horses who were going a million miles an hour. There was no question who the dressage horse was out there, she just looked so cute!

Outside of shows and riding, Ribbons is a character in our barn. She is the first one to nicker hello to you in the morning when you come outside, and she has been a second Mom to our little companion pony we bought to keep her company. Ribbons always lets the other horses know when meals are almost ready, with her steady neighing and nickering from her stall. She is sassy, and can sometimes be a bit bossy, but she is also the cuddliest pony in the world when she wants to be. Ribbons has no trouble letting you know what she likes. She even lets me die her tail to be pretty for a show, or just for fun! I absolutely love her!

Unfortunately, I am outgrowing my wonderful talented pony which breaks my heart. She was the first pony that I have ever shown with and tried new things like dressage, eventing, show jumping and PPGs. We are at the point where we have to decide what is best for her, whether it be staying with us, or finding a new home where some other new rider can experience the wonderful things she has to offer. I sincerely hope that you will consider Ribbons for the Royal China Memorial award. Ribbons’ is a brave, helpful, loving and reliable pony, which are all attributes that I believe make her a remarkable pony!

Karen Meuleman was a member of the Leitchcroft Pony Club branch who was part of a severe motor accident on her way to enter a dressage show in March 1989. This memorial award was created by the Leitchcroft Pony Club branch in memory of Karen. As the branch is now retired, due to the sale of the property known as Leitchcroft Farm, the branch has given the award to the Central Ontario Region.

Recipients of the award can be of any level within Pony Club and from any branch within the Region. The winner will be a member who best meets the ideals of Pony Club in his/her participation in activities, sportsmanship and effort, support of others and progress in riding and horsemanship during the current year. There is a trophy that remains with the Region with a plate with the winner's name engraved upon it. The winner is presented with a commemorative gift and an award card.

This year's winner is Taylor Ryan of the Whitchurch Pony Club. Her nomination form read as follows.

At Whitchurch Pony Club, Taylor Ryan is Pony Club. She exemplifies all the Pony Club ideals of sportsmanship, encouragement and attitude. She is a leader at WPC. Having joined the club five years ago, Taylor has faithfully attended all activities. In fact, I think she has a 100% attendance record over those five years! However, it's not about the attendance; it's about the attitude.

Taylor is currently our most senior member. Over the past two years she has taken an active role in mentoring the younger members of the club. As a barn-based club almost 100% of our members ride out of Whitchurch Riding Academy. Taylor can be found on most weekends cheerfully going about her barn duties and all the while encouraging younger members in their flat work, their jumping and in their horsemanship. At every event, Taylor takes an active leadership role. When competing, she cheers on each WPC member even if they are competing against her. If they win, she cheers loudly, if they do not, Taylor always finds something positive in what they've done and points out their accomplishment not only to the rider but to the entire club. Her encouragement has made many a discouraged rider feel better about themselves and their abilities.

This past year Taylor organized and led two clinics for members that resulted in our members obtaining two badges: Barn Safety and Handling and Grooming. She has organized games nights for our members, supported them in their riding goals and constantly encourages riders to join the pony club.

Last Christmas Taylor organized a barn night at Greenhawk and coordinated the event by sending out reminders, putting up sign up sheets and following up with all members on their attendance and the benefits of going as a group. In total over 30 members and parents attended the event.

Taylor has participated in many Pony Club disciplines including dressage, jumping, rally, and quiz. At these events Taylor supports those competing with and against her from the other Pony Clubs. As well, she helps younger members prepare teaching them how to groom, how to braid, and most importantly how to tame the butterflies in their stomachs!

Last year Taylor finished 6th overall in the Entry Division on Sammy's Girl. At the start of this season Taylor put together a personal plan for her riding. She decided to focus on jumping at the Starter level. This season Taylor participated in two of the three qualifiers and was eligible for the Show Jumping Finals. At Finals she finished as Champion! Interestingly, the first thing Taylor said when she received her trophy was 'This is going to look great in the Pony Club lounge; it belongs to all of us'. (As a barn based club, we have a lounge at Whitchurch Riding Academy). The entire WPC was thrilled to see her achieve her personal goal. We know that Taylor will make everyone at the club feel as if they were a part of her accomplishment.

We're nominating Taylor because of her enthusiasm, her love of the horse and her support of her fellow riders to both in and outside of her own pony club. To us, Taylor Ryan is Pony Club!

This is actually an Ontario Equestrian Federation Award, presented at the OEF Annual Banquet. COR gets to nominate one person per year, and this year the award went to Bill Murray. Congratulations to Bill!

In closing, Your Humble Editor would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Ecstatic Eid, Delirious Diwali, Karefree Kwanzaa, Sensational Saturnalia, and All-the-Best to Anyone-I've-Accidentally-Left-Out

We don't always publish a Summer CORBits, but we have lots of material this year, so here goes.

Most Pony Club news is about competition - show jumping, dressage, Prince Philip Games, tetrathlon and rallies (not to overlook quiz). But some people may not know that education is an equally important part of Pony Club. Each Pony Club Branch has study sessions to go along with the youngsters' lessons and coaching, and most Regions offer educational clinics on a variety of topics. As D Rally approaches, the first experience with cross-country courses for many of the young riders, the Central Ontario Region tried to help prepare them by organizing a clinic with well-known eventer Jessica Phoenix. Christy Barnes, Central Ontario Education Chair, sends this report, which has also appeared in "English Rider".

"After many weather-related delays, Jessica Phoenix finally met our Central Ontario Region riders July 17th. Jessica invited us in and looked after us in style, with even her mother and grandmother helping out on the barbeque. Ten riders from the Maple, Uxbridge-Scugog, Toronto & North York, and Rising Star branches rode, each with their own goals, problems and expectations. While the day started off hot and sunny, the last group of the day rode under threat of a downpour and spectators collected sweaters and rain jackets, just in case.

"For some, the day would have been positive without jumping a fence, since the chance to get up close and personal with a cow doesn't come every day, but Jessica quickly focused on each rider's weaknesses. She encouraged every rider to affect their horse's way of going in some way - to go forward, to relax, to balance, or to slow down… and each horse improved! One or two horses had to be gently reminded that a jump was for jumping over, not for looking at; one pony had to learn that stopping after a jump is much better than "barrelling" on to the next one! Jessica first built up the skills to use, then confidence by introducing each exercise in small steps.

Above we see Jacob Daniels of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club riding Cricket. Cricket seems to regard the little drop with quite a bit of suspicion, but Jacob eventually did get him to go forward.

As a footnote, four of the kids who took part in this clinic also rode in D-Rally, and none of them had any jumping faults on the cross-country phase. All completed it safely, which is the main thing, and two went completely clear - only minor time faults for the other two.

Many thanks to everyone who sent me photos of this clinic after "English Rider" asked for some. This one was by Daina Strickland, an Uxbridge-Scugog Mom.

COR riders covered themselves with glory at the National Dressage Championships held in Salmon River, Nova Scotia, August 14-16. The 2008 National Dressage Competition was not held last year; therefore the 2007 and 2008 provincial champions were invited to the 2009 Competition to vie for their respective national titles. Unless otherwise noted, all these placings are among 2008 qualifiers. Here is the tally.

- Janene Howran of the Kawartha Pony Club was 2007 group Champion in the Pre-Training Division

- Devon Cassel lof the Springwater Pony Club was Champion of the Starter Division

- Johanna McKeen of the Oshawa Pony Club was Reserve Champion in the Second Level competition, the highest level offered

- Jennifer McKeen, also of Oshawa, was Reserve Champion in the Training Division.

Well done, all. And again, many thanks to those who sent me photos when I asked for them to go along with press releases to the local newspapers covering these Branches, especially to Theresa Cruschieri, who downloaded extra software to get some still from her camcorder. This picture of our COR representatives, though, was sent by Patrick Foote of the Nova Scotia Region.

Here is a report from Kyra Holmes of the Maple Pony Club, who represented Central Ontario at the National Show Jumping Championships.

This year National Show Jumping Medal Finals were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the lovely Birds Hill Provincial Park.

Thursday, for the horse draw, the owners rode all of the horses, and riders were asked to pick one out from the group. There were about 20 horses brought in for 15 riders. I rode with a lovely pony named Chip, who was about 14 hands and a piebald. All the riders were in the same boat, with local members riding borrowed horses as well.

Friday morning we went back to the barns at Birds Hill, braided all of the horses and got ready for the flat ride. Chip and I had a nice flat ride, and I was happy with the result. We rode the gymnastics after lunch, and I was pleased with our ride. That night all the pony clubbers went to Assiniboia Downs, the thoroughbred track in Winnipeg. Canadian Pony Club sponsored the fourth race of the evening, so all 15 riders got to go into the winners circle to watch the race, and then we met the winning jockey.

Saturday morning we got ready for the medal round. Chip and I had a great ride and we moved up to sixth place, just out of the top four, but I was very happy with that placing. After lunch the top four did the switch, and the results were held until the banquet, to keep us all guessing!

That night we had a banquet, where they gave out all the ribbons and thanked everyone. What a wonderful weekend, and I couldn't have asked for a better time!

After a year long hiatus, D Rally has returned!!!!! On Sunday August 9th, 28 Pony Clubbers, their mounts, grooms and of course some fantabulous volunteers gathered at Foggy River in Mount Albert for a day of fun in the sun ... and in the rain. Despite the hour long hold that occurred due to electrical storms (even the gods just couldn't hold in their excitement that D rally was back!) the day could not be deemed anything but a success. Thanks to the new format of the rally, the day included some Pony Clubbers that would otherwise not have been able to take part as riders. I have to say, seeing nine ponies and riders warming up for their Cross Country was one of the cutest things I have ever seen! And the smiles on the riders faces as they crossed the finish line is, in my opinion, what Pony Club is supposed to be all about. Hopefully the happy smiles and the fun that was had will bring out greater numbers next year.

The D's aren't the only ones who have had some rally fun this month. The weekend of August 14th-16th heralded the date of the WOR/COR ABC rally. Or, as it turned out, the WOR/Maple ABC rally. I will come out right now and admit that I went strictly as a spectator. Which was nice since this is the first Rally I have been to that I got to shower at the half way mark. But I digress. Despite the loneliness that Maple felt being the sole CORians at Checkmate, they trudged forward to have one heck of a weekend! Now Maple does have a reputation - we are known as loud and can seem a bit obnoxious when out in large numbers, but as a completely biased party, I think we are also brimming with sportsmanship. This weekend was no different. They cheered and laughed the loudest but they also worked the hardest. While that last one can't be proven, the fact that our grooms walked away with three out of the five top honours in the grooms awards, including first place going to Kiara Crosby, speaks for itself. Speaking of ribbons, well Maple did not fail to display the talent of the COR region. The final scores came out with Maple taking home six firsts, five seconds, one third, three fourths and two fifths individually, not to mention six out of six clear rounds in stadium. As for the team awards (keep in mind that all teams are made up of mixed clubs), Maple came home with two firsts, two seconds and a third. More exciting than the ribbons, the clean rounds and the insane cheering was the fact that on both Friday and Saturday night, Mapleopoulos was not the last camp to quiet down and go to sleep, and we were only told to keep it down once! Most of you readers may not realize what an accomplishment this is; if you want to understand the full immensity of it, I guess you will just all have to come and take part in ABC rally next year. (Photo by Mike Stevenson of the Maple Pony Club)

A team from the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club won the National Masters Games Championships August 23 near Cannington, Ontario, defeating teams from the Western Ontario, Alberta North and Nova Scotia Regions.

The competition comprised four sets of five races each, with the teams riding different ponies in each set. None of the Uxbridge-Scugog team members' own ponies were used, so all teams rode borrowed ponies exclusively. It soon became clear that it did not matter who was riding which ponies, Uxbridge-Scugog was clearly the dominant team. It won 16 of the 20 races, placed second in three and third in one, amassing 95 out of a possible 100 points (five points awarded for each first place finish). The members of the Uxbridge-Scugog team are Kendra Abbey, Mori Cruikshanks, Sean Cruikshanks, Jesse Durward and Samantha Macdonald.

This marks the sixth time in the past eight years that Uxbridge-Scugog has won the National Masters Games Championship (I was sooo tempted to add "In other news, the sun is expected to rise in the East tomorrow", but I didn't).

Our COR representatives finished a mere six points behind a team from Alberta North Region at the National PPG A Championship held in Vancouver. The final standings were Alberta North 91, COR 85, BC Lower Mainland (East Maple Ridge) 77, BC Lower Mainland (Vancouver PC) 72 and Nova Scotia 69. Well done to our riders - James Cruikshanks, Chrystal Geer, Jane Stephenson, Rachel Stewart and Emily Stubbings.

NOTE: We are hoping for photos of both the Masters and A Championships, and will add them if/when we get them.

The wind billowing through my hair whilst cantering o'er the meadow is more pleasing to me than a day of reading and re-reading.

Oh woe is me, am I ever to succeed in the comprehension of these confusing parodies? Time and time again I rewrite. "Hello?" Not happening!!

This poem reminds me of the time my daughter Stephanie had to skip a riding lesson to study for a philosophy exam, thus putting Descartes before de horse.

The competition season is still a little off (though we hope you are all working hard to prepare for Quiz) but there is still some news to report and some thank-you's to be made.

Revised COR Rules & Regulations Approved at Canadian Pony Club Annual General Meeting

The extensive revisions to our Regional Rules & Regulations made at the March meeting of the Regional Committee have now been approved, along with those made in 2008 which were inadvertantly not presented for approval last year. They will be posted to the website soon (if they haven't already been - Teri Lindsay is pretty quick!) and I am sure you will all have them completely memorized before long. If time permits, there will be recitation contests every night at Working Rally (just kidding, but wouldn't that be good for ending the parties by putting everyone to sleep?). One of the main changes was to allow a lot more than before to be done by teleconference, so that the Northern Branches can participate more easily and fully in the business of the Region. One of the other important changes has to do with the position of Regional Youth Rep - see "Congratulations!", below.

Several Central Ontario Pony Club members have achievements for us to salute in this issue.

Several organizations have supported Pony Club in general and Central Ontario in particular for many years, and they deserve our thanks.

First, the Ontario Equestrian Federation - In addition to bursaries such as those noted above, the OEF has given very welcome grants to the three Ontario Pony Club Regions for many, many years. Fairly often, we get the largest grant given to any of the OEF's member associations. This year alone, Central Ontario's share amounted to nearly $3,000 - $2,886 to be exact. Many, many thanks.

Next, a tip of the hat (ha ha) to Apple Saddlery, which has donated merchandise to be used at our Pony Club shows for years now, maybe decades. If you don't already have an Apple Saddlery hat, practice harder, and you might win one this season.

Last but not least, a long overdue thank you to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Karol Shipley writes, "I am sure most pony clubbers don't know that, mainly through the efforts of Gayle McPherson, the RAWF has donated free tickets to the fair and the Royal Horse Show to the Ontario Region Pony Clubs for 14 years now. At 500 to 600 tickets a year for the 3 ontario regions, that amounts to a total donation estimated at $234,000. Gayle started the first pony club in Manitoba (Assiniboine) with Doug Catto. She then came to Ontario and was with the Caledon PC. Gayle is now the first woman to serve as President of the RAWF, a wonderful achievement. Many, many thanks to her for so many years of supporting our members and volunteers who go to enjoy the show every year...on what a lot of us now unofficially call 'Pony Club night at the Royal. The http://www.freewebs.com/yorkuequestrian/index.htmRAWF is further supporting CPC this year on our 75th Anniversary with an additional donation towards tickets for the youth conference participants in November 2009."

Those of you enrolled at York, or about to graduate from high school, may be interested to learn that former Pony Club member Alicia Cantin has started a York University Equestrian Show Team at her barn, Constellation Farms. There are also teams at Brock, Guelph, Laurier, McMaster, Toronto, Trent, Waterloo and Western, and they do compete with each other at the Beginner, Novice, Intermediate and Open levels - NOT necessarily the same as Pony Club levels with the same names. All shows are on a catch-ride basis, but York team members may train on their own horses if they are at Constellation, or use one of Alicia's horses. So if you are away from home at university and cannot get to Pony Club activities, here is a way to keep your hand in. Alicia reports that the team has a mini-horse for a mascot, and that the girls are making a sweater for it. For more information, go to one of the following links:

Our kick-off article this issue is just a tad overdue. The clinic on which it is based took place when Spring was only a few days old, but our first appointment to do this story, including an interview, was torpedoed by cellphone problems, and then show season was upon us - both Di Langmuir's and our own. Better late than never, we hope.

On March 29, COR held a jumper medal clinic with Di Langmuir. Di is a Level 2 coach whose students now compete on the Ontario "A" Circuit. She is the current President of the Ontario Hunter-Jumper Association. But she is also an alumna of the Guelph Pony Club, and instructed at the Eglinton Pony Club back when it was located at Leslie and John Streets in Thornhill, and later when it was at what is now RCRA.

To start with, this clinic had a problem - an unusual problem for COR clinics and educational activities most of the time - that is, squeezing in everyone who wanted to come. Diane McGill, COR Show Jumping Chair, estimates the audience at something over 120 people, of whom about 80 were active members and the rest a mix of parents and coaches. The clinic was held at the McKeen family's place, so thanks are due to them and to the Oshawa Pony Club. Diane McGill reports, "The day went off without a hitch, the weather was fantastic, no one got stuck in the mud or snow, the facility was wonderful, lunch was great and Di was perfect. She covered so much information in a very informal and often humorous way. Everything from dress, attitude, respect to horse and helpers and of course the technical aspects of riding medals. The break down of the clinic was also good, with the "classroom/lecture" portion first, then the explanation and importance of walking and counting the course and then the test rides. There was opportunity at all portions to ask questions which was very important. Although the parents asked most of the questions, Di was able to cover and confirm what the Show Jumping committee has been trying to get across for a few years now, only she managed to do it in a few hours. The riders for the day were Allison Loveridge and Lady, Michelle Treen and Garnett (both from the Durham Pony Club) and Brigid Goulem on Poco in the 2 foot group (Kawartha Pony Club), Johanna McKeen and Millie, Jenn McKeen on Mya (both Oshawa Pony Club) and Rebecca Simmons on Mo (Durham) in the 2foot 6" level and Rebecca Adrian and Dusty (Kawartha) rode in the 3 foot group. These types of clinics can be tough on the riders as they are very much in the spot light, and we thank them for being our guinea pigs for the day. Having them ride was a very effective way to demonstrate her information."

The 2008 National Tetrathlon took place July 28th - August 1st in Ottawa, Ontario and was hosted by St. Lawrence-Ottawa Valley Region. Twenty five competitors from coast to coast travelled to compete in this five day competition. The competitors stayed in the heart of the Nation's capital at Ashbury College where the shooting and running portions of the competition took place. We were very fortunate to have the riding portion take place at Nepean National Equestrian Park.

Kristen Wavryk, Maple Pony Club, was the lone competitor representing Central Ontario Region (her sister Amber was off in Europe learning English?!?!? and improving her French). Kristen competed as a Junior and had a personal best in shooting with a score of 171, winning the high point award and beating the senior competitors as well. She placed fourth overall in the individual competition, scoring 4,064 points. Kristen was also on a mixed team with competitors from Calgary, Nova Scotia and Ottawa, and this team placed second overall.

With Tetrathlon barely over, five of the competitors, including Kristen, rushed off to compete at National Pentathlon which took place August 1st - 3rd in Guelph, Ontario. Pentathlon also includes epee fencing and at the national level, only competitors 19 years and older are allowed to compete in the riding phase (stadium jumping only). Kristen competed in the Youth A division (15 and under) and placed 3rd in the shoot and the fence, and 2nd in the run, with an overall 3rd place finish. Where Tetrathlon takes place over two or three days, Pentathlon is completed all in one day, starting with the shoot at 7:00am followed by fencing, swimming, riding and finishing with the run at the end of the day. It was a busy, but fun filled week for these tetrathletes/pentathletes and we were able to see Joshua Riker-Fox, a former Pony Clubber from Delacour, Alberta compete at National Pentathlon before travelling off to compete at the Olympics.

In 2009, both National Tetrathlon and National Pentathlon will take place in British Columbia, so let's see if we can get some more representation from Central Ontario!

On Saturday, April 19, 2008 at Kawartha Downs Race Track, members of the Kawartha Pony Club were treated to a Clinic on the Race Industry by Jim Huck, Race Secretary and a number of volunteer drivers, trainers and a blacksmith.

The members and parents were given a very thorough clinic on what happens at the race track with the following areas being covered:

All the Pony club members had the opportunity to jog a horse out on the track in the two seater jog carts. A very special opportunity was to meet and drive with the youngest female trainer in Canada at 16 years old, Elaine Reid.

Kawartha Pony club would also like to thank the following people for volunteering their time to speak with our group:

What do you get when you take a Pony Clubber, a camera, a backpack and a whirlwind trip through Europe? You get some amazing memories, a lot of pictures and a very interesting photo album.

Like all good graduates, when I finished my last year of University I planned a trip to Europe with a friend. Unlike other graduates whose only concern is how far they can make their money stretch, my primary concern was how long I would be leaving my horse for. However, I made up for missing my creature by becoming a stalker of all things horse related wherever we went. Thankfully I was blessed with a travel companion who acknowledges my sickness as part of my charm - however that did not stop her from making fun of me on a daily basis.

Despite the mockery, Europe really is a treasure trove for the horse obsessed and not always in the places that you would expect. We didn't do any barn or horsie day trips despite the fact that we were in London during Badminton. Nonetheless, it seemed that just about everywhere you looked there were horses. In London there was the Queen's guard performing their various roles and tasks. In Paris, there were Police horses everywhere from their barns (happily situated within minutes of our hostel), to the streets outside of Notre Dame, to the palace grounds at Versailles. Carriage horses seemed to abound in Italy, from outside the gates of the Vatican to the base of the leaning tower in Pisa.

Even when there weren't horses, there was horsie paraphernalia. We found a monument to Animals in War while wandering the streets of London and there are statues in Hyde Park. Past Monarchs are memorialized at the Tower of London by their horses and armour and the British Museum holds the amazing statues from the Parthenon among countless others. The city of Paris is littered with breathtaking statues, many with horses, as are the grounds of Versailles.

The Louvre, among the beautiful paintings and statues many with horses, also has bits. Yes that's right, bits! And yes I have pictures. More bits were found at the Vatican Museum along with a number of chariots and many more statues of horses were discovered on our wanderings through Rome.

There were other discoveries made in Europe. Like the fact that the house of Windsor can be traced back to a guy named Egbert. That good Gelato should be considered one of the seven wonders. That there are pigeons everywhere you go - not kidding, there were pigeons in every city we visited, some were just more obnoxious then others. I also reconfirmed the knowledge that my obsession with horses is an age old one that entire civilizations have been memorializing in various media for centuries. So Moms and Dads out there, when your kids would rather clean a stall then their room, encourage it. Who knows, they could end up with a painting in the Louvre one day.

On Sunday September 28th, the hills of Burketon were alive with sounds of laughter and hoof beats. Fiddlesticks Farms and Durham Pony Club had the pleasure of hosting the second Pony Club LE TREC competition. Forty one riders entered the show- 21 D's, 12 D 1's and 8 C's. The weather cooperated beautifully and despite a chill in the morning air and some threatening clouds in the afternoon we were all able to stay dry.

This year we chose to have all phases mounted. The younger riders were especially happy about this. They were permitted to have two adults with their team for Phase A, the orienteering and check point phase. This allowed for a safe and enjoyable way for the children to complete the trail. The parents did not need a work out that night after all of the walking they would do that day. The D1 and C riders also rode as teams. The maps were challenging and those who knew how to read a compass faired much better. The horses and riders really seemed to love this part of LE TREC. The trails were primarily wooded while the C's also spent some time in the hilly meadow area. One team became very lost but kept their wits and good spirits and were able to get back on track. Although none of the teams managed the optimum time some did come very close.

Phase B- the control of gaits, proved to be a challenge for some again this year. It is not as easy as it looks to trot slow and walk fast when it counts. We toned down the penalties from the National Rule Book and subtracted ten for each error rather than assigning a zero score. This allowed the riders some room for error while still maintaining some scores in this Phase. A nicer way to score and no tears this year( yes!) .

After a short lunch break we all hit the trails on foot to walk Phase C. This was approximately a two km walk but it did not dampen the spirits of any of the riders. The younger D riders have boundless energy, and chatted and giggled the whole way. We provided some challenges here. The stations all had a task that required the horse and rider i.e. no questions. This seemed to be well received. We had a wooden trail bridge for the D1's and C's to do, had them opening gates and jumping. The D's only had one small log to jump, which according to them was not nearly enough. The C's had five small cross country type jumps on their trail. We did have one rider in a Western saddle which is permitted. She was concern edinitially but in true Pony Club spirit completed the course Western tack and all.

Scoring takes a long time for this competition. Many thanks to Mike Stephenson for offering to do that for us. We have some ideas to help speed this process along for next year. We have to remember that this is still a very new competition and there is much to learn. The do's and don'ts of LE TREC are still to be totally determined.

There is a great deal of preparation for Le TREC and Durham Pony Club parents and members really pulled through to make it come together. The day of the competition also required many volunteers and we were able to count of several people from other clubs, as well as friends of Durham Pony Club, to help with this. That's what I love about Pony Club, there are always many volunteers that you can count on

Bill and Nancy Murray were very generous to allow us to invade their piece of paradise and we appreciate it. Thanks you to the competitors who left the field and trails as you found them. Thumbs up to LE TREC. Let's try to keep this as an annual competition.

The annual COR Awards Banquet was held October 25 at the Newmarket Optimist Hall, hosted by the Rising Star Pony Club. Unfortunately your humble Editor was unable to be there this year, but all reports have been positive and we understand that Rising Star deserves our thanks. Our information is not quite complete at the time of writing this edition, but here is what we have so far.

Show Jumping - Here are the Champions and Reserves for each Division, based on points accumulated over the 2008 season.

Pre-Entry A2 - Champion was Rachel Scott of the Victoria Pony Club riding Peanut, with Michaels McLachlan of the Brooklin Pony Club and Nevada the Reserve.

Pre-Entry B - Durham Pony Club riders finished one-two in this Division. Dalton Wright was Champion on Pollyanna, and Kaisha Barber was the Reserve on Sundance.

Pre-Entry Schooling - Jane Stephenson of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club was Champion on Irish Park's Turf Fire, and Andrea McGill of Durham was the Reserve on Roll the Dice.

Entry - Christine Oldridge of Victoria was Champion on Sophie. There was a tie for the Reserve between Stacy Bootsma of the Rising Star Pony Club on Reecez Pieces (and as the guy who puts out the press releases, I can tell you that this pony also should win a prize for having its name spelled the most different ways from show program to show program throughout the year, and I only hope we have it right this time) and Maggie Brims of the Whitchurch Pony Club on M and M.

Starter - Kassandra Sloan of the Oshawa Pony Club was the Champion on Finders Keepers, with Samantha Lobbezoo of the Brooklin Pony Club the Reserve on Ride 'Em Harley Style.

Beginner - Patrick Kossa of the Whitchurch Pony Club was Champion on Milo, with Carrie Doorenspleet of Durham the Reserve on Gold Rush Frontier.

Novice - Another one-two finish by one Pony Club, this time Oshawa. Champion was Jennifer McKeen on Mya, and Reserve was Stephanie Rutherford on Royal Court Jester.

Intermediate - Andrea McGill of Durham made another appearance at the podium, this time as Intermediate Champion riding Phoenix Rising. The Reserve was Kyra Holmes of the Maple Pony Club riding Heart and Soul.

The Gillian Towrie Memorial Trophy for Starter Division high points went to Kassandra Sloan of Oshawa. The Year End High Point Award went to Jennifer McKeen, also of Oshawa.

Games - Our A Champions were the "USSTs", whose members were James Cruikshanks, Stephen Hall and Jane Stephenson, all of Uxbridge-Scugog, along with Emily Stubbings of the Simcoe Pony Club and Meghan Midwood of the Toronto & North York Pony Club. Finishing second were the Rising Star "Sandybacks", made up of Stacy Bootsma, Emily Lindsay, Rhiannon McCarren, Chloe Raitt and Jenna Meeser. These teams went on to the National Championships in Western Ontario, where the "USSTs" finished first and the "Sandybacks" second (in a tie-breaker with East Maple Ridge, BC). COR rules!

At the Masters level, our Regional Champions were from Uxbridge-Scugog (what a shock!), the "Electric Six", made up of Mori Cruikshanks, Sean Cruikshanks, Samantha Macdonald, Jessica McVittie and Jessica Lloyd. This team went on to win the Zones and placed a close second at the National Championships in Alberta North, only two points behind the new Champions, the Vancouver Pony Club. Our second place team Regionally was the "Draters", whose members were Rebecca Simmons, Carrie Doorenspleet and Amanda Treen, all of the Durham Pony Club, plus Jocelyn Donaldson of Uxbridge-Scugog.

The winning B team was from the Maple Pony Club. The members of the B Champions are Laura Hicks, Riikka Kojola, Megan O'Hara, Lauren Sergejewich and Molly White-Williams. Rising Star finished second, but unfortunately we do not have the names of the members of that team.

Our Central Ontario C Champions were Maple #1. The members of Maple #1 are Sunny Willert, Alice Pintaric, Jen Stoltz and Kiara Crosbie. The Temiskaming "Sapphires" finished second; again we unfortunately have their names.

It was with great excitment that our COR ABC members where once again offered an invitation to join our WOR friends at ABC Rally. It was held August 15th -17th at the historic event grounds of Checkmate. COR was represented by six riders from the Maple and three fromToronto & North York Branches and eight grooms from Maple, Rising Star and Toronto & North York Branches. WOR supplied each team with extra grooms to allow for one groom per rider and a head groom.

After weeks and weeks of daily downpours and drizzle, we all packed our vehicles with every type of waterproof clothing (of the two-legged and four-legged type) as well as waterproof tents for slepping and extra shelters for eating/meeting. I personally could have used an 18 wheeler to pack all the extras "just in case" in true Pony Club style. (I am embarrassed to confess the one thing I forgot was my sleeping bag, but alas a horse blanket will do in a pinch!) We arrived Friday afternoon and after settling the horses in we set up our tents in a gentle mist trying not to let the rain dampen our spirits.

6:00 pm arrived and the competition began- with the stable management and trot-up. Our COR riders and grooms looked professional as the horses were evaluated at the trot-up. The Grand River grooms shone when they proved they could make a white tail sparkle and shine! ( and it stayed like this all weekend!)

The next morning saw competitors awakening to a SUNNY sunrise energizing all for the day's event. Dressage was in the morning and stadium jumping in the afternoon.

The grooms also enjoyed a fun round in the stadium ring. At day's end our Rising Star Groom Emily Lindsay was leading in the Grooms Competition.

The next morning was even sunnier and warmer for the roads and tracks phase followed by the cross country phase. It was a lovely day for the ride and the footing was awesome! Our teams continued to put forth their best efforts throughout the competition.

Entry Level -4th Laura Gilligan and Nightlite (TNY) , 6th- Karen Foell and My Little Romeo, 8th Kristen Wavryk and Flubber Bunny (Maple), 9th Erin McLaughlin and Heineken (TNY).

Pre-Training -1st Sophie Kaplan and Kye (Maple), 3rd Sarah Nason and That Kinda Girl"(Maple), 4th Jennifer Nason and Faolin Ruadh (Maple), 5th Kyra Holmes and Heart and Soul: (Maple).

Grooms- 3rd -Emily Lindsay (Rising Star),3rd Emily Mitchell (Maple) 5th Riikka Kojola (Maple)

We would like to thank all the WOR ABC Rally organizers, the chaperones, parents and volunteers, whom together made this a great experience for our members. A special "Thank-you" to Lyn Morris for warmly welcoming us and helping to find us grooms to complete our teams. Finally a well-fed thank-you to the ladies who looked after feeding us. Lots of tasty meals and treats were enjoyed!

A/B Level - Maya Kenedy, Kyra Holmes, Christy Chamney and Alicia Cantin all of Maple.

C Level - Johanna McKeen and Stephanie Rutherford, both of Oshawa, Stephanie Kalgoris of Ajax and Jenny Isaacs of Maple.

D2 Level - Nikki Clark of Centaurus, Katherine Earle and Emma Lemay-Nejedelski, both of Ajax, and Samantha Morandin of Centaurus.

As everyone knows, Central Ontario hosted this year's National Quiz - and hats off to Margie Kenedy and her team for the great job they did. Nationally, at the A/B level, Maya Kenedy of the Maple Pony Club finished second on an individual basis, and the Central Ontario A/B team, shown at right, also finished second. The only Central Ontario member to compete in the Affiliates division, for competitors 21-25 years old, Katie Stephenson of Maple, also finished second. The other members of the Central Ontario A/B team were Kyra Holmes (11th individually), Alicia Cantin (14th) and Christy Chamney (19th), all members of the Maple Pony Club. Carolyn Wight of the Northumberland Pony Club formed part of a mixed Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Central Ontario team that finished seventh, while she finished 18th individually.

Central Ontario's C level competitors did not do quite so well, finishing tenth as a team and with no individual ranked higher than 30th. But by all accounts they had a great time.

This year the Chair's Award went to Margie Kenedy and Sally Chamney for their magnificent effort in staging the National Quiz. It took them 18 months of preparation, e-mails and phone calls to develop a working group as well as volunteers for the event and finished with four days of no sleep - but awesome feedback from all participants,volunteers and parents. A well deserved award.

Thanks to Marie Howran for this report, and to Howran Hills Farm for sponsoring this award, new for 2008.

On behalf of the Welsh Pony and Cob Association of Ontario, Howran Hills Farm sponsored the Central Ontario Pony Club, High Point Award for Welsh Ponies, Cobs and Half-Welsh participating in Pony Club events during the 2008 year.

These High Point Awards are intended to recognize the versatility of the Welsh Breed and their suitability for riders of all ages.

The winners of these awards demonstrate the Welsh qualities that Welsh breeders hold dear, ponies of substance, with true Welsh character and versatility.

In the Purebred category for 2008, there was a "Tie" for the Champion Position. To award the ribbons, the total number of events attended was used to break the tie.

Section A Welsh Mountain Pony - PPF Garnet - 45 points - Ridden and owned by Michelle Treen of the Durham Pony Club.

"Darnit Garnet" participated in Show Jumping qualifiers, Show Jumping Finals, Working Rally and Le Trec.

Section. D Welsh Cob - Millgate Braveheart - 45 points - owned and ridden by Johanna McKeen of the Oshawa Pony Club..

Section D Welsh Cob - Stonecroft Geraint ap Dilwyn - 29 points - owned by Lisa Hossack Scott and ridden by Janene Howran of the Kawartha Pony Club.

"Winston" participated at Working Rally, Show Jumping Qualifiers and Show Jumping Finals.

Wabi Brook Tarragon - 72 points - owned by Emily Lindsay of the Rising Star Pony Club, ridden by Emily Lindsay, Skalar Norman and Olivia Gionet.

Tarragon participated in three PPG events, Dressage qualifiers and at PPG zones.

This is another new award this year, generously donated by Edwine Hugnholtz, owner and operator of Stillwoods Farm. It is for the best job schooling and training a green horse or pony. The first winner of the Stillwoods Farm Award was Emily Lindsay (lots of exercise for Emily going between the Rising Star table and the podium), for her work training a five year old Clydesdale-Thoroughbred cross named Trinity. Here are excerpts of Emily's entry for this award.

I got Trinity in March 2008 to do a favour for a friend. I thought this would be a good chance to try eventing on a horse, as well as try to qualify for National Medals next year. (My pony is 13HH..) When I got her I realized how green she really was. She either had very little to no training on her or she had forgotten everything.

When I got Trinity in March she was green and did not know how to canter. Before each lesson we would lunge her to help me get the bend, before I rode her. This went on for about a month, and then we started to ride her without lunging her first. She was getting better and was learning how to canter. She was very stubborn and strong but we worked through it now she is responsive and respectful (most the time). For the first three months we worked hard and long. I had two lessons a week and was riding her at least 4 -5 times each week. Then she was going so well we started jumping her over little things no bigger than 2”. As soon as she was ready we started trailering her and a friend to Cedar Peaks for lessons with Anne Zander on the cross-country course. There we also had lessons in dressage and stadium. In the spring I was having three lessons week on Trinity and sometimes a show on the weekend. In the summer because of my Mom's business we have to move away from my coaches, but still I rode her three times a week and once a week on the cross. When we got back we now have lessons twice a week at Cedar Peaks. We are jumping 2”6’ to 2”9’ in our lesson to get ready for the event coming. I have learned that working with a young, green horse requires a lot of patience and persistence, I found out (sometimes the hard way) that green horses have to be rode differently then my trained pony. You have to help them out with some things like balance. Working with Trinity was a lot more work then I though when I agreed to take her, but it has been a lot fun and I have learnt a lot. I will be very sad when I have to give her back at the end of next season.

My first show was at Wits End. This show was a combined training event (not with Pony Club). It was dressage and jumper. We did a walk/trot dressage test, and since there was no real walk/trot division I didn’t get any placing. It was just for experience for Trinity. Next, I went to the Simcoe dressage show in the pre-training level. I got a fourth and a second in my two tests that I rode. After that, it was the Uxbridge-Scugog, Show Jumper Qualifier at Blue Star. I rode in the starter division. I got a first in the medal, but was eliminated in the other two rounds. The next show was the Brooklin Show Jumper. Here I got a seventh in the Table A, a fourth in the Power and Speed as well as a fourth in the Medal. We went to Show Jumping Finals at Ajax. I got a fourth in the Power and Speed, also a fourth in the Medal. My last show was at Foggy River. It was a short course and I got fourth in dressage and went clear in the jumping portion. So, I got third overall in the entry division (this was a non-Pony Club event). I am also working towards going to the Grand View horse trials in October.

This trophy, new this year in honour of a well-loved pony who has gone to the great pasture in the sky, is to recognize the pony/horse that a Pony Clubber rides in any discipline. The winner is chosen based on a short essay. Once again, the winner was Emily Lindsay of Rising Star. Here is her winning essay.

My pony's name is Tarragon. He is 13hh, 18 years old bay reg. Welsh. I got him when he was 12. We borrowed him for 2 years and then bought him from a pony club family. Tarragon was a surprise to me, because he was my tenth birthday present.

I rode my first dressage test ever on Tarragon at a Pony Club dressage qualifier and we came 2nd and 3rd at Entry level in 2003 and in 2007 we were champions in the Pre-training division.

In the years in between he has taken me lots of places and we have accomplished many things together. With Tarragon I have had a lot of fun showing, playing, going on trail rides, galloping through fields, sometimes bareback and bridleless. He has taught me to ride, to jump, and have fun. When I go to the field and call his name he comes to me. (he won't do this for anyone else, not even my mom). He is my best friend.

Tarragon has done "A" PPG's for 2 years, one of those years that team made it to the National competition. He played at the B level before that. Last year we won the pre-training division for dressage, and I lent him to another Pony Cluber who didn't have her own pony and they were reserve champion in the starter division. Also he was on the national pre-training drill team for 2007 and 2008. Tarragon was reserve champion for the entry division in Show jumping in 2007. Through out his years in pony club he was champion at D Rally at the D1 level. Also he has taken several beginners through a dressage test and came out in the ribbons. In 2006 he took the year off from doing PPG's to do the Trillium Hunter Shows. He was 6th in his division (medium pony) in the Zone and went to championships at Palgrave and placed 2nd. (He & I like Pony Club shows much better)

Tarragon also teaches young kids to ride. He is in a summer camp program, for the 9 weeks of the summer. In the winter he is teaches lesson to beginners he is extremely good. He just took a beginner to her first show ever and she was Res. Champion in the cross rails division.

I have, very sadly, outgrown Tarragon. I will continue to ride him for fun and to play PPG's on and he will continue to be my best friend and will forever be my first pony that taught me everything I know. And he will continue to teach young pony clubber all he knows.

I hope you will consider Tarragon for your award. He is what I consider the perfect Pony Clubber Pony!! He takes good care of his younger riders but will still do what I ask him to.

Recipients of the award can be of any level within Pony Club and from any branch within the Region. The winner will be a member who best meets the ideals of Pony Club in his/her participation in activities, sportsmanship and effort, support of others and progress in riding and horsemanship during the current year. There is a trophy that would remain with the Region with a plate with the winner's name engraved upon it. The winner would be presented with a commemorative gift and an award card.

This year's winner is Rebecca Jones of the Springwater Pony Club. Here is her nomination form, submitted by her DC.

Springwater Pony Club would like to nominate REBECCA JONES for this award. Rebecca is the most senior rider in our club as well as being our Youth Rep. Rebecca is currently at the D2 level and her main goal is to become a C before she leaves for university next year. Her riding interests include, dressage, show jumping, tetrathlon and rally.

Rebecca has been the ideal role model for all members. Below is a list of Rebecca's outstanding contributions to our club.

1. At the Durham/Uxbridge SJ at Blue Star this year, our coach had a personal tragedy and was unable to attend this meet. Rebecca took it upon herself to scratch from the competition so she could coach our team. She showed a tremendous amount of leadership and helped the girls through the day especially through the emotional times.

2. During working rally this year, Rebecca stepped up to be the "leader" to the other first time attendees. She was terrific in explaining the process of how rally and working rally works and made sure the kids understood everything.

3. Rebecca has stepped in to coach lessons whenever needed and is always willing to help out.

4. She is excellent at working with riders with various cognitive and physical challenges.

5. Rebecca has always showed leadership during our pony club meetings. She has led the girls through many activities while the parents had their meetings.

Overall, Rebecca's team spirit, sportsmanship and overall general attitude make her a valuable team member and a worthy recipient of this award. Rebecca has an infectious personality that makes her very enjoyable to be around.

"Spring" may be a bit optimistic at the time of writing this, since it is cold and blowy outside today. It seems clear, however, that we have entered Stage 1 of Spring in Canada. Did you know that Spring has four stages in Canada? It's true! I heard about it on the radio a few years ago so it must be true. The four stages are:

Stage 1: This usually kicks in about mid to late February, when the days really are getting a little longer, and the birds are starting to sing again. We start thinking about Spring, and that is Stage 1.

Stage 2: As the month of March comes in, roaring or baa-ing as the case may be, we start really looking forward to Spring, and that is Stage 2.

Stage 3: As April wears on, cold and rainy and doing its best impression of November, we start complaining about how late Spring is this year, and that is Stage 3.

And while we're at it, hands up everyone who thinks having Leap Day in February is a total rip-off. This is another argument I heard on the radio last week, and I couldn't agree more. I mean, whether February has 28 days or 29, it's always going to be the runt of the litter, right? Why not add the extra day to a nice, deserving month that could use it. There are several perfectly fine months that have only 30 days right now. Think of it! The powers that be could have given us an extra day in June, or September, or even April (April needs an extra day to get its act together; see "Stage 3", above). But nooo, we get an extra day of February, with extra snow. I guess those who celebrated Groundhog Day by roasting one of the dratted critters for dinner can use the extra day to finish off the last of the leftover groundhog casserole, but to them, the rest of us say, "Freeze it, for goodness sake!"

On re-reading the above paragraph, I realized that we have been dealing in half measures here. Let's think bigger. Right now most of the world is using the Gregorian calendar, while a minority have stuck with the older Julian calendar. And let's face it, as calendars go, they are both pretty clunky. Here is a chance to unite everyone by getting them to adopt the new, much better-planned CORian calendar. In the new calendar, May, June, July, August and September would each have 32 days. That is seven more than they have now. Where do those seven days come from? Easy. We cut back November, December, January and March to 29 days each, thus making winter shorter and, just as a bonus, giving February less of an inferiority complex. February, April and October can stay as they are. As for Leap Year, every four years June would get an extra Sunday, and just for this once it would come between Wednesday and Thursday, to give the horses a little time to rest between the activities scheduled for the regular Sundays at each end of Leap Week (well, since it is Leap Day of course we would schedule an extra show jumping qualifier for it, wouldn't we?). Ta da! Perfection! Now all we have to do is get the rest of the world to go along with this obviously far more satisfactory arrangement. Let's start a petition.

Our call for news from the Branches has not met with much response, but here are a couple of items from around Central Ontario.

On Saturday, January 26, 2008 at Oakcrest Farms, members of the Kawartha Pony Club and the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club were treated to a Dressage presentation by Belinda Trussell and Royan II, the horse that she rode at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

The members and parents were given a tour of Belinda's facility and had the opportunity to ask Belinda questions about all aspects of her career.

Emily Stubbings, a member of the Simcoe Pony Club, is scheduled to leave for Botswana on March 9, as part of the Canadian Mounted Games team. Here is a message from her DC, Bev Rice (I had planned to run this earlier but was hoping for a bit more material).

Emily Stubbings is a 12 year old member of the Simcoe Pony Club. Emily has been involved with Simcoe since the 2000/2001 season and has been heavily involved in many of the pony club disciplines including Dressage, Prince Philip Games, Quiz and D-rally. This past summer Emily was scouted at a Prince Philip Games competition by Jim Dunn who coaches the Canada Mounted Games teams and was invited to try out for a spot on an International team that would be travelling to Botswana, Africa this coming March. After a lot of hard work and dedicated training, Emily has been invited to join the team and travel to Africa not only to compete but to work with other youth teams there and teach them gaming techniques while on horseback.

The cost of this entire trip is close to $5,000 and we have decided that as a club, that Simcoe Pony Club would like to make an effort to assist the family in raising the funds that will allow Emily to follow her dream and participate on the International team. The youth in equestrian sports are the up and coming riders for the future so we are reaching out to equestrian organizations, equestrian retailers/wholesalers, and equestrian enthusiasts who would like to help us assist Emily to reach her goal of being a team member on this International team.

If you would like to help us to help Emily reach her goal, please contact me and I will gladly accept your donation.

We thank everyone for at least taking the time to read of Emily's accomplishments in hopes of getting her to Africa with the Canada Mounted Games team.

COR held its second annual two-day conference for District Commissioners, ADCs and other members of Branch Executives on January 19 and 20, with a Regional Committee meeting on the afternoon of January 20.

Aside from discussing scheduling and rule changes for our own activities, we also had a repeat presentation on insurance from the Canadian Pony Club insurance broker, Mike King of InterCity. A former Pony Club member, Mike explained very clearly the reason for all the paperwork that some of the DCs seem to find so burdensome, and patiently answered many questions. Despite this, several Branches have still not filed the required information and have had to be suspended. If you are not sure whether or not your Branch is suspended, go to the home page of the COR website and click on the "Suspended Branches" link. If a Branch is suspended, it is not allowed to conduct any Pony Club activities, and its members are NOT, repeat NOT, covered by the Pony Club insurance policy. What that means is, if a suspended Branch does do something, and, heaven forbid, an accident should happen, the DC and other members of the Branch Executive are on their own. These days, if an accident happens, some lawyer will sue everybody who was in the same time zone when it happened, on behalf of the parents and the child. What I did not know until this session is, whatever the outcome of the original lawsuit by the parents, the child can launch another one once he or she reaches the age of 18. If you go ahead with "Pony Club" activity while under suspension, you are betting your house - and that bet may stay on the table for a long, long time - to avoid the trouble of filling out some forms. As a risk vs. reward proposition, it does not make sense.

An educational clinic was held for active members on January 19, featuring a morning session on equine dentistry and an afternoon session on parasites. The clinic was attended by 28 active members, with a visit by delegates to the main conference in the afternoon (all those planning to serve noodles for dinner quickly had their minds changed by assorted disgusting creatures floating in formaldehyde: main hobby when alive - oozing). On March 1 there will be another clinic, this one with a session on poisonous plants and another on corrective shoeing.

COR is hosting National Quiz this coming Thanksgiving, and Margie Kenedy gave a presentation about it on the morning of January 20. Margie is bursting with plans, and got some offers of help from Branches represented at the conference, but could use lots more. Please get in touch with her to help make the 2008 National Quiz the most exciting ever.

This past March 5th to 9th I participated in the Ontario Winter Games in Collingwood. I was allowed to participate in both Fencing and Shooting, which are both part of the Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon (fencing, riding, shooting, swimming, and running). This is a slight variation of Tetrathlon but with fencing added, and tetrathlon has a heavier focus on riding (Pentathlon only has stadium jumping).

This was my first year of fencing (epée) and I much enjoyed learning these new skills. I was quite honoured to be selected to participate in these 2008 Ontario Winter Games. There were over 3000 athletes in 23 different sports (including hockey, figure skating, snowboarding, and badminton. etc.) In fencing there were almost 100 athletes competing in epée, foil and sabre. Although I did not finish in the medals, I fought hard and was proud of my accomplishments. In the team portion, my sister Amber and I (as well as two other female fencers) finished in an amazing second place in epée. We lost only by two points.

In addition to my sister and I, there were two other pentathletes (Mathea Stephens and Garnet Stephens) participating in fencing. The four of us are all Tetrathletes! Fencing is quite new to all of us and, I have to admit, was a bit difficult to pick up, but I believe we all did well and tried our best. Unfortunately, as Penthaletes, it is difficult to be good in all five sports, and even more difficult competing against other athletes who are experts in their sport.

The same day I finished fencing, I was rushed over to the shooting venue which took place in Meaford, about 20 minutes away. We stayed and competed at an army base which was quite the experience. Every morning we were wakened to the national anthem at 06:00 hours, although most of us slept through it! It was also strange knowing that eyes were constantly watching you, as if they have never seen a girl our age before! Can you imagine?? Anyway we shot twice, once Friday for team competition, and on Saturday, for the individual competition. I did pretty well and ended up fourth overall in my division; our team didn't too well, but that's okay. It was fun and a great experience! At shooting, almost half the air pistol competitors were Pony Club members from COR, WOR and SLOV who also compete in the sport of Tetrathlon.

What I enjoyed most about my first Ontario Winter Games was the new friendships I made and the old friends I saw. Everyone was really friendly and we had a great time playing 'Guitar hero' and 'Rock Band' in our spare time. It was fun to compete in this environment where everyone was so supportive of you and was really striving for you to win. I was glad to have the chance to participate in these games and experience the fun. It wasn't just about the competition, but getting this unique opportunity to get out there and try your best at your sport.

COR and COR members had a very eventful season with many highlights. Here are a few samples, reported in roughly chronological order.

Maya Kenedy of the Maple Pony Club returned victorious from the United States Pony Club Championships and Festival at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, where she was a member of the Canadian Quiz team. The other members of Team Canada were Amanda Penner (Manitoba Region), Clara Sellers (SLOV) and Kristen Bueckert (Saskatchewan). Canada defeated teams from the United States and Great Britain in a multi-phase contest the weekend of July 28-29.

First up was the "Barn" phase, in which competitors were asked individual and team questions testing their practical knowledge in horse management. Next was the "Mega Room" phase, or Identification Tables. Eight tables of ten items were presented, each with a three minute time limit in which the competitors had to identify and correctly label each object individually. The classroom phase followed, consisting of seven rounds of individual oral questions. The written phase encompassed several topics, ranging from poisonous plants to conditioning. The final phase, "Stations," was similar to the "Mega Room" phase, but was completed as a team and required them to apply their knowledge of many different aspects of horse care and competition. The Canadian Team took the gold medal with 727 points, placing first in every phase, with the United States 67 points behind to win silver, and Great Britain taking the bronze four points behind the USA.

Teams from the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club won both the national PPG A and masters championships this year, as they had in 2006.

For a change, COR was not represented at the masters level by the 2007 edition of the famous "Cowboys". Instead, the "Black & White" team won the regional, zone and national championships, competing in Nova Scotia for the national title. As shown at right, the members of the "Black and White" team are Samantha MacDonald, Kendra Abbey, Jocelyn Donaldson, Coach Jeff Couch, Mori Cruickshanks and Mitchell Hall, along with one of the Nova Scotia organizers, unfortunately not identified.

In September, the Uxbridge-Scugog "Eh" team completed the sweep on behalf of COR in Edmonton. The members of the "Eh" team are James and Sean Cruikshanks, Chelsea Geer, Stephen Hall and Jane Stephenson, coached by Michelle Cruikshanks. Because of an injury to Ms Stephenson, the other four riders had to ride every race - 20 games, five per session. They faced the challenge straight on, and after the first two sessions, had a mere two point lead over one of the local teams. However, they hit their stride in the afternoon sessions, and won seven out of ten races during this time - enough to widen the gap over the mixed Alberta North team to seven points. In all, the Uxbridge-Scugog team won 11 of 20 races, and finished second in another four - an exceptionally strong performance.

Here is a report from Andrea McGill about the National Show Jumping Championships.

"This year I had the honour of representing Central Ontario Region in the first National Medals competition. This event was hosted by the Alberta North Region in Edmonton, Alberta from June 28- July 2. The competition consisted of a flat ride test, similar to a dressage test, but taboo to call it that according to Billi Solverson, the National Show Jumping chair, a gymnastics phase and an over fences phase. The horses were drawn from a pool generously provided by local Pony Clubbers. There was a vast array of talent and unfortunately the first horse I drew was incredibly green and not well suited to the competition. After riding her in the flat phase she was considered unsuitably to continue. I then had the pleasure of sharing a horse named Aqaba, but had only five minutes to get to know him before my gymnastics ride. It didn't go as well as I had hoped, but he was alot of fun to ride and certainly much safer. By the time we did the over fences phase I had figured out some of his quirks and we had a great ride, finishing second. After these phases were completed the top four went onto the "switch" phase. I had tied for fourth, but Aqaba could not be ridden by two people so the tie was broken based on the first phase. The switch was very interesting and I would loved to have ridden in it, but I was happy with fifth overall considering the horse I started with.

"We billeted with a great family for the entire time, were able to shop (twice!!) at the West Edmonton Mall and the weather was fantastic. I made friends at this show that I will have for a long time. It was a great experience and I would encourage any Pony Clubbers who feel their horse is ready to try a 3 ft and over division to try to get to a National competition. Thanks COR for allowing me to represent you. Andrea McGill"

The 2007 National Tetrathlon was held August 6th - 9th in Lacombe, Alberta, just north of Red Deer (Alberta Central Region, and hosted by Alberta South).

COR was represented by two Maple Pony Club members: Amber Wavryk, competing in the Senior Division, and Kristen Wavryk, competing in the Junior Division. A total of 34 competitors attended from across Canada.

Amber, who attended Nationals last year as a junior, placed fifth overall out of 17 competitors with a fifth in the shoot and the swim, 11th in the run and seventh in the ride. She rode a 17 year old, 16.3hh mare named Solitaire, a veteran of many Pentathlon and Tetrathlon competitions, and successfully completed a 15 jump stadium course (including a triple and a double). Other than a stop at the water, she had a very successful cross country round as well. That's Amber in the picture on your left.

Kristen, attending Nationals for the first time, placed fourth overall out of 16 competitors with a fifth in the shoot, 11th in the swim, second in the run and eighth in the ride. She rode a cute little 13.3hh dapple grey mare name Mustang Sally from B.C., and successfully completed a 12 jump stadium course, but had one stop on cross country at a "maxed" bench.

Their combined team of COR and Alberta South placed eighth ,which was an exceptional feat as one of the Alberta South participants was only able to compete in the shoot. Unfortunately, she had a fall in stadium and was unable complete the rest of the competition.

Your humble editor has to be especially humble about Le TREC. He originally thought that this fun day would not even be interesting enough to the media to warrant a press release, was just going to cover it in CORBits, and was only persuaded to send out an announcement at the September 15 regional meeting. This announcement release drew excited replies from Publishers of the Equine Canada newsletter, "HorseLife", and "Pets and Animals" magazine. Both asked for stories and photos, and both got them (different ones, and not those used below). At time of writing this CORBits, we do not know what "Pets and Animals" has in mind, but "HorseLife" is devoting two pages to our COR Le TREC Fun Day in its November issue.

In the picture on the right, Lauren Sergejewich, Shay Lucas and Mega O'Hara of the Maple "Thoroughbreds" D team struggle with "Thread the Needle" in Phase A. They have to hold hands while passing the hula hoop around and over each person, until it is back where it started. Molly White-Williams, the remaining Thoroughbred, seems happy that she doesn't have to help her teammates hoop it up, so to speak. Phase A included plenty of games, with prizes for every contestant. Perhaps Molly is gloating over getting a "free" prize for this station. Well, wouldn't you gloat? Yr. hbl. ed. knows he sure would.

At left, Maddy Fontein of another Maple team, the "Morgans" rides the mighty Tootles in Phase B. In this phase, each team member had to trot or canter (depending on testing level) up a slight incline marked by traffic cones, and do it as slowly as they could without dropping down a gait. Then they had to turn around and go back downhill at the fastest walk they could, without breaking into a trot. Of course, a few of the ponies decided that the traffic cones were secretly plotting to eat ponies for brunch, and took the appropriate non-action. If there had been a police officer around, some of the ponies would have been prohibited from operating a motor vehicle for the next 24 hours.

There are over 300 photos of Central Ontario's Le TREC posted on the web, between Foxprints.ca and http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc38/ellulsl2/ and it is pure coincidence that y.h.e. chose two both showing Maple members. The fact that both photos are irresistably cute may have had a little to do with it.

Central Ontario Region hosted the first ever "face-to-face" national dressage championships at Saddlewood Equestrian Centre in mid-October. Until this year, Pony Club members from across Canada have submitted tests from various shows, with the highest test scores winning the championships in each division. The obvious problem was that some judges are more liberal than others, so that it sometimes became a case of comparing apples vs. oranges.

At the Pony Club level, it is not practical to ship horses and ponies across the country, so the competitors rode mounts borrowed for the occasion. Some of the COR competitors loaned their own horses, but of course were not allowed to ride them. Friday was horse try-out day, followed by two days of competition. On Saturday, the competitors rode two technical tests for their divisions, using a different horse for each test. They also sat a written exam. On Sunday, they rode "mystery tests." That is, the competitors did not know what test they were going to have to ride, and had to work exclusively with the caller, National Dressage Chair Kasia Miedzinska. The only "clue" they got was that Ms. Miedzinska told them what gait they were to use when entering the ring (okay, entering at A was a gimme). Each rider used a different test, scoured from all over the world using the internet. Each of these tests and the exam counted for part of the total score, with two points being reserved for turn-out.

Central Ontario, as the host region, was allowed extra competitors, and generally these riders did quite well. Alycia McCracken of Simcoe was Starter Champion and Janene Howran of Kawartha placed third in this division. At the Pre-Training level, the Champion was Justine Blocksdorf of Rising Star, with Hilary Howran of Kawartha the Reserve. Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa, D'Arcy Hutcheson of Centaurus and Carolyn Russell-Poliquin of Oshawa placed third, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the Training Division. Madison Wilks of Durham was third in the First Level competition, and Johanna McKeen of Oshawa was the Second Level Champion. There were also "technical" awards, based on the Saturday tests. Alycia McCracken was also the Starter Technical Champion; Justine Blocksdorf was Technical Reserve in Pre-Training; D'Arcy Hutcheson was Technical Reserve in Training; Madison Wilks was Technical Champion in First Level and Johanna McKeen was Technical Champion in Second Level.

As well as the regular competition, Sunday also featured a special exhibition. Having competed against each other all day, these young riders spent a cold and rainy Saturday night forming themselves into a coast-to-coast CPC "air-horse" (i.e. unmounted) drill team, and developing a goofy mock-drill routine. This they performed on Sunday, after the competition, for the amusement of the judge, the spectators and (most of all, we suspect) themselves. Is that an extended prance? Is it a collected moonwalk? You must each decide for yourself.

At the presentations, the Champion and Reserve of each division had to perform a pas de deux victory lap around the presentation area at the same gait(s?), to songs by Elvis Presley, while the other competitors cheered them to the rafters.

The motto of the Canadian Pony Club is "Character, Loyalty, Sportsmanship." The show did not afford much opportunity to display loyalty, but we saw plenty of character and sportsmanship, with full measures of good humour and high spirits thrown in to leaven the mix.

Here is how Central Ontario's representatives made out at the Canadian Pony Club National Quiz, held in Alberta North on Thanksgiving weekend.

Leading the way at the A/B level was (surprise!) Maya Kenedy of the Maple Pony Club, who finished in third place among the individuals, but was less than a half point out of first. Two other Maple members, Alicia Cantin and Christy Chamney, finished 14th and 15th, respectively. These three formed a mixed Central Ontario/Saskatchewan team with the addition of Zoe Macdougall of the Heartland Pony Club, and finished third in the team competition.

Our C level representatives did not fare quite as well. Yet another Maple member, Kyra Holmes, was the top Central Ontario competitor among the individual C standings, in 19th place. Carolyn Wight of the Northumberland finished in 30th place, Stephanie Kalogris of the Ajax Pony Club was 39th, and Angie Moorcroft, also from Ajax, was 48th. The Central Ontario C team finished 9th.

Yes, for the first time ever, the readers of CORBits are invited to enter a contest. First, the usual disclaimer. If it were on tv it would sound something like this (to be read aloud as fast as you can go without breaking into a trot):

Must-be-of-legal-drinking-age-entry-forms-in-sealed-cartons-which-are-not-even-brought-out-of-the-back-room-until-you-have-paid-for-them-no-purchase-necessary-yeah-right.

No, wait! That must have snuck over from some beer contest. Ours is completely different except for the "no purchase necessary" part, and, unlike that other contest, we really mean it. There are no cartons or back rooms involved, and you certainly do not have to be of legal drinking age. To enter our contest, you just have to pretend that you are a dressage judge and write a final comment on the test form for the air-horse drill team, based on the picture above. E-mail it to your humble editor (bobinglis@technalysis.on.ca) with "CORBits contest entry" as the subject line. The funniest will be published in the next issue. If we can scare up a budget, there may even be a prize (but if you win, please try not to gloat).

We held our annual awards banquet October 27 in Peterborough, following a rare afternoon meeting of the Regional Committee. The event was jointly organized by the Kawartha and Waussnodae Pony Clubs, and both deserve our thanks for a whole lot of hard work. The dinner was up to the usual standard, the silent auction looked bigger and better than ever, and many awards were presented, as outlined below. Your humble editor cannot comment on the music or the dancing, since he and his spouse left right after the awards, to go home and study for our upcoming Codgers Third Class exam.

Show Jumping hands out awards to 10th place (when there are enough competitors) in each division. Here are the standings for 2007.

Show Jumping Pre-Entry A1: Colin Oldridge of Victoria was Champion on Snow Pony Jack Pine, with Rachel Scott, also of Victoria, the Reserve on Magic Peanut (no other placings).

Show Jumping Pre-Entry A2:

Place	Rider	Pony	Branch
Champion	Dalton Wright	Pollyanna	Durham
Reserve	Allison Loveridge	Hasty Lady	Durham
3	Kayla Weber	Dad's Fancy Prince	Rising Star
4	Lindsay Weber	Easter Bunny	Rising Star
5	Brittany Reid	Classic Combination	Brooklin
6	Allyson Kollaard	Freddy	Waussnodae
7	Kristen Hall	Willow	Brooklin
8	Michael McLaughlin	Duncan	Brooklin

Show Jumping Pre-Entry B:

Place	Rider	Pony	Branch
Champion	Kailey Rigelhof	Jellada	Uxbridge-Scugog
Reserve	Katherine Earle	Trigger Appy	Ajax
3	Brigid Goulem	Precious Poco	Kawartha
4	Stacy Bootsma	Reeses Pieces	Rising Star
5	Courtney Coons	Silverado	Ajax
6	Lindsay Tucker	Morgana	Ajax
7	Meg Scott	Chip	Victoria
8	Stephanie Kalogris	Champagne Cocktail	Ajax
9	Liz Levin	Scout	Ajax
10	Mary Reynolds	Van Gogh	Ajax

Show Jumping Pre-Entry Schooling:

Place	Rider	Horse/Pony	Branch
Champion	Johanna McKeen	Millie	Oshawa
Reserve	Meagan Christou	Hyper Power!	Oshawa
3	Jane Stephenson	Eli	Uxbridge-Scugog
4	Christine Oldridge	Air Express	Victoria

Show Jumping Entry:

Place	Rider	Horse/Pony	Branch
Champion	Kylie Figueira	Raven	Victoria
Reserve (tied)	Emily Lindsay	Tarragon	Rising Star
Reserve (tied)	Lisa Williamson	Athena	Brooklin
4	Janene Howran	Zia's Tattered Lace	Kawartha
5	Angie Moorcroft	Spice of Life	Ajax
6	Hilary Howran	MacKeeba	Kawartha
7	Kendra Abbey	Willow	Uxbridge-Scugog
8	Jessica Montebello	Apollo	Brooklin
9	Nicole Russell-Poliquin	Driving Miss Daisy	Oshawa
10 (tied)	Jennifer Pett	Thunder	Victoria
10 (tied)	Kassandra Sloan	Royal China	Oshawa

Show Jumping Starter:

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
Champion	Madison Wilks	Mega Cool	Durham
Reserve	Karen Foell	Delicately Refined	Toronto & North York
3	Nikki Ince	Maximus	King
4	Karly Coles	Rocky	Brooklin
5	Stephen Hall	Prospect's Petronus	Uxbridge-Scugog
6	Brynn Jobb	Clyde	Brooklin
7	Emily White-Williams	Flubber Bunny	Maple
8	Emily Lindsay	JP	Rising Star
9	Alyssa Stavrakos	Alyssa's Lincoln	Durham
10	Maddy Lang	Balmoral	King

Show Jumping Beginner:

Place	Rider	Horse	Branch
Champion	Jennifer McKeen	Mya	Oshawa
Reserve	Stephanie Rutherford	Royal Court Jester	Oshawa
3	Alexandra Reynolds	She's Like the Wind	Kawartha
4	Kataryna Borysiak	Midnight Magic	Oshawa
5	Jocelyn Donaldson	Monster Truck	Uxbridge-Scugog
6	Julia McGill	Dressed to Kill	Durham
7	Erin McLaughlin	Heineken	Toronto & North York
8	Jessica McVittie	Cute as a Button	Uxbridge-Scugog
9	Erin Blakeley	CoPilot	Waussnodae
10	Mitchell Hall	Prospect's Ebony	Uxbridge-Scugog

Show Jumping Novice: Rebecca Adrian of Kawartha was Champion on Narhan's Gift, and Andrea McGill of Durham was Reserve on Phoenix Rising (no other placings)

The Gillian Towrie award for overall high point total went to the Starter Champion, Madison Wilks of Durham, and Mega Cool.

This is another discipline with awards to tenth place, but again there were sometimes not enough competitors to fill all those spots.

Dressage Entry

Place	Rider	Branch
Champion	Kathleen Buchner	Waussnodae
Reserve	Allyson Kollaard	Waussnodae
3	Caleigh Johnston	Simcoe
4	Hanna Prokopetz	Simcoe
5	Jessica Rowe	Durham
6	Michelle Treen	Durham
7	Jennifer Burgess	Springwater
8	Jessica Pryke	Simcoe
9	Aidan Staples	King
10	Rachel Downey	Whitchurch

Dressage Starter

Place	Rider	Branch
Champion	Jennifer McKeen	Oshawa
Reserve	Amy Westlund	Rising Star
3	Emily Briggs	Arête de Chêne
4	Jenna Meeser	Simcoe
5	Emily Ann Stubbings	Simcoe
6	Emma Pasianotto	King
7	Kelsey McDonald	Simcoe
8	Alexandra Sprague	Kawartha
9	Kayla Weber	Rising Star
10	Nicole Russell-Poliquin	Oshawa

Dressage Pre-Training

Place	Rider	Branch
Champion	Emily Lindsay	Rising Star
Reserve	Alycia McCracken	Simcoe
3	Meaghan Lloyd	Durham
4	Janene Howran	Kawartha
5	Alexandra Reynolds	Kawartha
6	Megan Pagniello	King
7	Kataryna Borysiak	Oshawa
8	Emily Banks-Ng	King
9	Brigid Goulem	Kawartha
10	Nikki Ince	King

Dressage Training

Place	Rider	Branch
Champion	Jennifer Pett	Victoria
Reserve	Carrie Doorenspleet	Durham
3	Jane Little	Arête de Chêne
4	Hilary Howran	Kawartha
5	Christy Chamney	Maple
6	Leslie Curran	Simcoe
7	Laren Bridle	Waussnodae
8	Ilona Parenteau	Toronto & North York
9	Julia Johnston	Oshawa
10	Karen Foell	Toronto & North Yor

Dressage First Level A

Place	Rider	Branch
Champion	Rebecca Adrian	Kawartha
2	Carolyn Russell-Poliquin	Oshawa
3	Kristiana Cope	Whitchurch

Dressage First Level B

Place	Rider	Branch
Champion	Jessie Ball	Victoria
Reserve	Jenny Fulton	Oshawa

Starter Freestyle - Champion was Alexandra Sprague of Kawartha, with Emma Pasianotto of King the Reserve.

Pre-Training Freestyle - Champion was Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa, with Alexandra Reynolds of Kawartha the Reserve.

First Level Freestyle - Champion was Jessie Ball of Victoria, with Rebecca Adrian of Kawartha the Reserve.

Pas de Deux - Champions were Megan Pagniello and Emma Pasianotto, and Reserves were Daniela and Julia Santarossa - all four from King.

Starter Drill Team - This was a mainly Waussnodae entry except for the final show of the season. At that point it was a mixed team comprising Kathleen Buchner, Lisa Holliday, Allyson Kollaard (all from Waussnodae), Janene Howran, Hilary Howran (both from Kawartha), Kataryna Borysiak, Johanna McKeen and Jennifer McKeen (all from Oshawa). At other shows, it was a four-person team, with Mlles Buchner, Holliday and Kollaard joined by Megan Mattos, Lauren Bridle and/or (King show only) Megan Pagniello.

Pre-Training Drill Team - The Pre-Training drill team was from Rising Star, and included Emily Lindsay on Tarragon, Amy Westlund on J.P., Chloe Raitt on Ginger Snap, Stacy Bootsma on Reeces Pieces, Kayla Weber on Dad’s Fancy Prince and Lindsay Weber on Ty Two K.

The winner of the Wes Goff trophy for season high point average was Jennifer McKeen.

Unfortunately, we must report that two dressage trophies have apparently not been returned - those for Pre-Training Freestyle and First Level Freestyle. If you have inadvertantly left them in your Branch trophy room, or on your mantlepiece, or in your attic, please get in touch with Mary Mattos.

Awards for Prince Philip and Masters Games are presented at the end of the regular COR season, but the winning teams from each division were announced at the banquet. The successes of our COR representatives at the National level have already been covered earlier in this issue.

The C level champions were from the Temiskaming Pony Club, the team members being Haylee Archambault, Sabrina Beauchamp, Angelica Brisson, Jordan McVittie and Mariana Von Cardinal.

The B champs were the Rising Star "Thundering Hooves" - Darby Mailhot, Chloe Raitt, Kayla Weber, Lindsay Weber and Amy Westlund.

At the A level, the honours went to the Uxbridge-Scugog "Eh Team" with a mixed Victoria and Rising Star team called the "Victorious Rising Stars" second. The members of the "Eh Team" are James Cruikshanks, Sean Cruikshanks, Chelsea Geer, Stephen Hall and Jane Stephenson. The members of the "Victorious Rising Stars" are Stacey Bootsma, Kylie Figueira, Emily Lindsay and Christine Oldridge. Both these teams advanced to the Central Zone Championships, where they again finished first and second, respectively.

At the Masters level, the COR Finals saw Uxbridge-Scugog teams finish one-two. The Uxbridge-Scugog "Cowboys" team finished on top, with the Uxbridge-Scugog "Black and White" team second. The members of the Cowboys are Whitney Brennan, Jesse Durward, Luke Durward, Jessica McVittie and Laura Parliament. The members of the Black & White team are Kendra Abbey, Mori Cruikshanks, Jocelyn Donaldson, Mitchell Hall and Samantha MacDonald. At the Central Zone Championships, the "Black and White" team finished on top, edging out defending national champions, the "Cowboys".

The Entry Level year-end champion was Emily Elliott of Centaurus, who rode Finnegan.

The Pre-Training champion was D'Arcy Hutcheson, also of Centaurus, aboard Keeley.

And the Training level champion was Emily Mitchell of Durham, riding Love at First Bite.

The Jamieson Family Trophy, presented to the rider competing at the highest level offered at C Rally, who completed the cross country course closest to optimum time, was also won by Emily Mitchell.

This discipline does not have year end awards based on cumulative results, but did recognize its division winners as follows. Amber Wavryk of Maple won the Senior A Girls division on Calypso; Melissa Marshall of Springwater won the Junior B Girls division on Pretty in Pink; the Junior A Girls division winner was Kristen Wavryk of Maple on Sonny Be Mine; and the Novice winner was Kayla Weber of Rising Star on Dad's Fancy Prince.

The Wavryk sisters went on to represent COR at National Tetrathlon, as reported on earlier.

This is another discipline that does not present year-end awards at the banquet, being, like Rallies and Tetrathlon, a one-shot affair. Our COR representatives at National Quiz and International Quiz were recognized, and these have been reported on separately, above.

This is presented annually to an outstanding volunteer, solely at the discretion of the Regional Chair. Last year, Regional Chair Debi Robertson gave an award to each member of the Regional Committee. This year, she felt as though she had to choose one winner, even though the choice was very difficult as so many of the volunteers had done such outstanding jobs. After much consideration, she decided to give the award to somebody who not only handled her regular responsibilities on the Regional Committee with distinction, but who also "went the extra mile" to organize something never before done in Central Ontario - our first ever Le TREC Fun Day. Congratulations and a big thank-you to COR's Education Chair, Sally Chamney. Le TREC is covered more fully, above. Suffice to say at this point that the kids who took part in Le TREC had a ton of fun, and that it took several tons of work to make it so.

Recipients of the award can be of any level within Pony Club and from any branch within the Region. The winner will be a member who best meets the ideals of Pony Club in his/her participation in activities, sportsmanship and effort, support of others and progress in riding and horsemanship during the current year. Each District Commissioner is entitled to submit a nomination, and it is usually another very tough choice.

This year's winner was Jenny Isaacs of the Maple Pony Club, and here are the reasons why the Maple DC, Jayme Holmes, nominated her (extracted from the nomination form).

"Jenny, a member of the Maple branch for over five years, has had a busy year in Pony Club. She returned to Canada from Israel in March, after working on a kibbutz and learning all about the dairy farm industry (she was not too impressed, being a vegitarian and all!).

"She got right to work helping the Maple pony clubbers, by volunteering to coach the two Prince Philip Games teams. She organized weekly practices, and helped the first time gamers to learn the rules. She organized unmounted practices to help the kinds learn new games. She traveled with the teams to each meet, being early at the barn to load the ponies and make sure everyone had their tack. Jenny made sure all the riders put into practice good horsemanship, by ensuring all ponies were cared for during the meet, and on their arrival home.

"Jenny helped several pony clubbers prepare for their first Pony Club tests this spring, coaching them on the basic horsemanship and reviewing the riding portion. She put together a lecture demo on blankets, boots and bandaging for the whole club, and did quite a lot of research for this.

"Jenny attended working rally as an assistant instructor, and passed on her wealth of knowledge to the pony clubbers attending. She enjoyed spending time with the other senior pony clubbers at this educational weekend. Jenny worked hard at her own riding, taking and passing both her C1 and C2 tests this summer. She participated in a pre-C2 clinic, and a couple of other regional Pony Club riding clinics organized for the more senior members.

"Jenny participated at the A/B/C Rally at Checkmate, placing second individually. She helped out at the D Rally as a groom, in which Maple won the horsemanship award for the first time!!

"Overall in the past year, Jenny has given freely of her time to many of our younger pony clubbers, participated on a social level with other members, and has worked hard at improving her own knowledge and skill levels. She looked after ordering the jackets and T-shirts, as well as attending executive meetings - and always participated in a positive way. In many ways she embodies the Pony Club ideal of promoting horsemanship and friendship among young horse enthusiasts. I highly recommend her for the Karen Meuleman Award."

As usual, we want to give a little extra recognition to young people who distinguished themselves in more than one Pony Club activity over the past year. There were actually a fair number of triple-dippers this year. Here are the double-dippers and triple-dippers, in alphabetical order.

That's all for now, but we may update this issue after the Canadian Pony Club semi-annual meeting and/or our own COR annual general meeting, later in November.

Central Ontario Pony Club members won six out of a total of 15 bursaries awarded by the Ontario Equestrian Federation this year, to pursue further equine training and/or education. Another two went to members of Western Ontario Region Branches, giving Pony Club a majority of this year's bursaries - an amazing accomplishment. Central Ontario winners were:

The Ontario Equestrian Federation is a not-for-profit sport governing office that provides education, leadership and support to individuals, associations and companies in Ontario's horse community. It provides its members with a variety of services, programs, and benefits, and represents their interests to the general public, affiliated organizations and to varying levels of government. In short - the OEF stands for all things equine.

Committed to youth, the OEF offers five bursaries annually to Junior OEF members wishing to pursue an equine career and/or further their competitive goals. Applications for 2008 OEF Youth Bursaries will be available beginning July 1, 2007. If you will be between 14 and 17 years old (as of January 1st, 2008) and attending a high school in Ontario in 2008, DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY!! For more information please visit the OEF website www.horse.on.ca or contact the OEF Office at 1-877-441-7112 or 905-709-6545.

How big is your pony club? Ten people? Thirty people? Two hundred people? Strangely enough, I do not know how many people. There are multitudes of children, approximately twice as many parents, some people who do not have kids in it any more and many countries.

This came home to me in a big way when in January I was visiting some of the Northern clubs in our own region of Central Ontario. I did not go as far as I could have because a lovely person from Northwoods Pony Club met me half way from North Bay. Not only did she take her own calendars but she nicely volunteered to take Temiskaming's to them as well. Therefore, the spirit is living in the north as well as around the world. Driving through the beautiful northern country, I was talking to myself. I have since purchased a tape recorder so that my thoughts could be played back to me. Now most people would thing that 938 km driving (in two days) would drive one bonkers. You would close to being correct. A person's thought processes become a little deranged when you see so many trees and rocks. In addition, road signs take on many meanings. For example, a moose warning 50 kms could mean moose in 50 kms or moose for 50 kms. With so much bush, lakes and rocks it soon becomes clear that it is for 50 kms. Did I mention the bush, lakes and rocks?

However all this mileage gives one time to think of the dedication of the northern clubs. Northwoods and Temiskaming have to drive 5 hours before arriving at one of the shows so readily available to those of us in the south. So, when you load your horse at 7:00 to be there for 8:00 they are loading their horses at 3:00 in the morning. This is probably one of the reasons you hear me go crazy when I hear people complaining about the distance they have to drive to a meeting or event.

Vancouver Island pony clubs have competitions on the mainland. Their trip includes a $150 ferry ride for the truck trailer and one person (the driver). Therefore, not only do they have the extra mileage but the extra cost as well. The cost of a Japanese pony club'r to have a horse for the day is $1,000. In addition, they cannot ride outside of an arena. Central Ontario Region encloses an area from hwy 27 in the west to Nappanee in the east. Lake Ontario in the south and James Bay in the north are the other boundaries. We currently have four clubs in the north with Parry Sound talking about starting a club and the town of Powossan thinking of doing the same. (Powossan is 20 kms south of North Bay on Hwy 11.)

There are hundreds of pony clubs all around the world, each with their own way of doing things. However, they all have the same motto and each club strives to hold this near and dear to their hearts.

So how big is your pony club? Is it the one child who is pushed and shoved to exceed and not enjoy? The whole club? The region? On the other hand, are you one of the few who sees Pony Club with the wide view camera? What a beautiful picture. And in some cases not a rock, tree or lake in sight.

October 28 was a frosty Saturday, but that did not stop a crowd of COR members (Active and Associate) from making their way to Peterborough for the annual Awards Banquet, hosted this year by the Waussnodae Pony Club. Following a yummy buffet dinner, many of the Regional Awards were presented. We are pleased to report on most of these, and also on the Rally awards that could not be presented at the banquet due to an unfortunate communications breakdown.

The Entry level Champion was Sarah Smith of Maple, with Emma Pasianotto of King the Reserve. At the Starter level, Jane Stephenson of Uxbridge-Scugog was the Champion and Riika Kojola of Maple was the Reserve. Emma Pasianotto was the Starter Freestyle Champion, with Janene Howran of Kawartha the Reserve. At the Pre-Training level, Maya Kenedy of Maple was Champion and Jennifer Pett of Victoria was the Reserve. The Pre-Training Freestyle Champion was Sarah Nason of Maple, with Hillary Howran of Kawartha the Reserve. Jenna Scott of Durham was the Training level Champion, with Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa the Reserve. The First Level A Champion was Madison Wilks of Durham, Christy Chamney of Maple the Reserve. The First Level Freestyle had only a Champion, who was Emily Boyce of Maple. And the First Level B Champion was Kayla Neil of Durham, still no Reserves in sight. The Second Level B declared both a Champion and a Reserve; Johanna McKeen of Oshawa was the Champion, and Megan Mattos of Waussnodae was the Reserve. Johanna McKeen was also the Second Level Freestyle Champion, with no Reserve.

The Wes Goff Memorial Trophy for high-poiunt average went to Jane Stephenson and Merrylegs.

The C Division champs were a mixed Simcoe/Temiskaming Pony Clubs team, whose members were Kanika Mountain, Chloe Raitt, Kayla Weber, Lindsay Weber and Amy Westlund.

In the B Division, the honours went to the Uxbridge-Scugog Blazing Saddles, which comprised Steven Hall, Kailey Rigelhof, Andrea Van Veghel, Jessica Van Vliet and Natalie Waters.

The A Division champs were the Uxbridge-Scugog Hoof Hearted team - the one whose name your humble announcer had to pronounce very carefully all season - made up of James Cruikshanks, Sean Cruikshanks, Luke Durward, Kaylin Nauta and Madison Reeves. This team went on to win the Canadian National Championship. We should also note at this point that Madison Reeves and Luke Durward tried out for, and made, the 2007 Canadian team for the International Mounted Games Exchange.

And in the Masters Division, we find a familiar name at the top of the list - this year's edition of the Uxbridge-Scugog Cowboys. The members of this team were Mori Cruikshanks, Jesse Durward, Mike Durward, Jessica McVittie and Laura Parliament. Like their younger colleagues, the Cowboys also won the Canadian National Championship.

Central Ontario sent A/B and C teams to National Quiz in Saskatchewan over Thanksgiving weekend. The A/B teams finished third and sixth, with the C team fifth. Maya Kenedy of the Maple Pony Club finished third in the A/B individual standings, with Megan Mattos of Waussnodae 12th, Allison Birdsall of Uxbridge-Scugog 17th and Katie Stephenson of Maple 24th. Among the C group, our team of Alicia Cantin (Eglinton), Carolyn Wright (Prince Edward County), Kyra Holmes (Maple) and Dawn O'Neill (Ajax) all finished in the top half of the individual standings, with Alicia leading the way at tenth.

Since there was no American team this year, the North American Challenge was between the four top individuals from each Zone in the A/Bs, and the top individuals from each Zone in the Cs. Maya Kenedy was the top individual from our Zone in the A/Bs, and her team won the Challenge.

Here we see team members displaying COR's usual high standard of dignified and ladylike (or gentlemanly) deportment.

At the D1 level, the overall winner was Kristina Brown of the Maple Pony Club, riding Flubberbunny.

The Pre-Training winner was yet another Maple rider, Sophie Kalpin, riding Blue Executive.

At the Training level, the honours went to Katie Stephenson of guess where (yes, Maple!) on Tybalt.

Completing Maple's sweep, Samantha Galway won the Jamieson Trophy, for the cross-country time closest to the optimum, riding Fair Thee Well.

At the Pre-Entry A1 level, the Champion was Colin Oldridge of Victoria riding Snow Pony Jack Pine, and the Reserve was Brigid Goulem of Kawartha on Precious Poco. The Pre-Entry A2 Champion was Cassandra Sloan of Oshawa, who rode Royal China; the Reserve was Mary Reynolds of Ajax aboard Spice of Life. The Pre-Entry B honours went to Sarah McDonnell of Ajax on Jalapeno, with another Ajax rider, Jessica Clark, the Reserve on Natasha. Carolyn Russell-Polyquin was the Pre-Entry Schooling Division Champion, with Julia McGill of Durham the Reserve on Dressed to Kill. In the Entry Division, Alexandra Reynolds of Kawartha was the Champion on She's Like the Wind, and Rachel Goodman of Whitchurch was the Reserve on Chestnut Hill Tiffany. The Starter Champion was Jane Stephenson of Uxbridge-Scugog on Merrylegs, with Stephanie Dejong of Pine Ridge the Reserve riding Cool Hand Luke. Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa was the Beginner Champion on Mya, with Rebecca Adrian of Kawartha the Reserve on Narhan's Gift. In the Novice Division, Andrea McGill of Durham was the Champion on Phoenix Rising, with Hannah Bailey of Victoria the Reserve on Let's Rumba. The Intermediate Champion was Katie Murray of Durham on Pennywise, with Emily Mitchell of Maple the Reserve on Love at First Bite. Finally, the Advanced Division Champion was Jenna Patterson of Pine Ridge on Mr. Ed, with Jennalyn Weber of Uxbridge-Scugog the Reserve riding My Prince Charming.

Although COR did not have a Regional Tetrathlon this year, we sent four Juniors to National Tetrathlon, with selection based on past performance in both Tet and eventing. The COR representatives were Kaylin Nauta, Natalie Waters and Luke Durward, all from Uxbridge-Scugog, and Amber Wavryk of Maple. Luke won the Junior Men Division, and Amber tied for third among the Junior Women, but lost a coin toss and was awarded fourth place. While Kaylin and Natalie were not in the ribbons, Regional Tetrathlon Chair Sarah Doucette-Jackman reports that all of our COR competitors did very well and were complimented by National Tetrathlon Chair Gay Hansen.

This year it is my privilege to present the Leitchcroft Pony Club's Karen Meuleman Memorial Award to a young lady who has been nominated by her Club and her District Commissioner to receive this award.

This young rider has been a member of Pony Club since she was seven. She has grown into an outstanding member of her club and is a reliable volunteer and is the first to sign up for all branch activities and is constantly there for her peers and juniors.

Nothing has been handed to this young lady. Everything she has achieved has been through hard work and initiative. She has worked many years on weekends to buy her own horse, she took the initiative and applied for an O.E.F. Bursary and received a grant to help pay for her lessons and show season.

She has qualified to go to National Quiz at C Level, she organized D Rally practices for her club and organized the musical routine at C Rally.

Her consideration, enthusiasm, dedication and hard work has proven her as a great role model for all Pony Clubbers.

It is for these reasons that Samantha Molson of Whitchurch Pony Club has been chosen to receive the Karen Meuleman Memorial Award.

Several young people distinguished themselves in more than one discipline during 2006, and these get a special salute. In alphabetical order, they are Luke Durward of Uxbridge-Scugog (PPG and Tetrathlon), Maya Kenedy of Maple (Dressage and Quiz), Megan Mattos of Waussnodae (also Dressage and Quiz), Kaylin Nauta of Uxbridge-Scugog (PPG and Tetrathlon), Jane Stephenson of Uxbridge-Scugog (Dressage and Show Jumping, plus the Gillian Towrie Award and the Wes Goff Memorial Trophy), Katie Stephenson of Maple (Quiz and Rally) and Natalie Waters of Uxbridge-Scugog (PPG and Tetrathlon).

Well, this sequence of items goes double, double, and probably covers a heck of a lot of toil, but there is no sign of trouble. Toronto & North York member Kendal Lehari took both the team and individual gold medals at the Junior Young Riders CCI 1* in Lexington, Kentucky this summer. Kendal and her mount Understudy led from start to finish, with a final score of 40.0, which was 20.4 points ahead of the silver medalist. Next year, Kendal hopes to be on the two star championship team at Young Riders.

Additionally, Kendal was named November 24 as one of the recipients of the 2006 Canadian Eventing Athlete Development Scholarships, worth $1,000. (One of the other two winners, Lisa Marie Fergusson of Langley, BC, is also a Pony Club member.)

For the past few years, Pony Club has been invited to put on a demonstration of PPG at the Royal Winter Fair. Until this year, this was confined to the tiny ring situated in the shopping concourse. On Sunday, November 13, for the first time in many years, there was PPG in the main ring, as part of the closing afternoon events (the Royal used to host the Canadian A Championships every year, and in fact the Canadian Prince Philip Cup can only be presented to the A winners in years when the Championship takes place at the Royal). COR was represented by the Uxbridge-Scugog Hoof-Hearteds, the national A Champions, and by the Uxbridge-Scugog Cowboys, the national Masters Champions. Western Ontario Region sent teams from the Guelph and Grand River Pony Clubs, both including A Division and Masters players, and with two London Pony Club members on loan to Grand River.

Our demonstration followed the popular Super Dogs show for which the stands were full - and noisy. Unfortunately, it seems that many people had come specifically to see the dogs, and by the time we got their props out of the ring and ours in, the stands were not so full as they had been. Still, it seems certain that many more people were able to watch PPG at this year's Royal than in the years when it was held in the shopping area.

It was also unfortunate that the announcer (your humble editor) did not have time to use all the biographical information so generously supplied by the team members. By the time I got to that, the teams were running their warm-up bending race, and it seemed more important to explain to the people in the stands what was going on. I am not sure that any of you, gentle readers, would want to plow through the bios for 22 kids (two of the teams brought extra players), but I do want to include a thank-you that Guelph asked me to announce, and which I didn't get time to deliver. All but one of the ponies used by the Guelph team in the demonstration were both provided and transported by Old Orchard Farm of Moffat ,Ontario, courtesy of Linda Hale, and the least we can do is acknowledge that here in CORBits. It may not be the same as an announcement to the crowd at the Royal, but it is better than nothing, I hope.

The teams played ten games, and, for the very unofficial record, the Hoof-Hearteds carried the day - handily - thus giving assorted younger siblings, cousins and friends bragging rights for the next year (at least!) in many Uxbridge-Scugog households.

Many of the reports presented to the Annual General Meeting are available for downloading from the members-only section of the COR website. Here are the reports from Debi Robertson, our Regional Chair and National Director - first the National report and then the Chair's report. These are important. Please read them and take action accordingly.

The semi-annual meetings started at 1:00 p.m. on Fri. Nov 10th and finished on Sun Nov 12th at 12:00 noon. If was a very enlightening weekend with lots of topics discussed and some interesting information brought to forward.

-I need to know your volunteer year status ie; how many years? Have you received a pin?

3. There are changes to the examiners workshop. I will let Gwen discuss with her report.

4. Like the conference we had in Toronto at the beginning of the year there will be one out west and out east for the DCs. Etc. We will be having our own.

5. 2009 is our 75th year for Canadian Pony Club. There is a ton of stuff being planned. It does not exclude what we would like to do as a Region. Your thoughts on that would be appreciated. If you have ideas for National let me know. Also we are trying to finish up the Wall of Fame and Alumni List. If you know of anyone please have them get in touch with Liz Inglis at National to update their information.

6. There was one change brought to the Affiliate membership criteria that was passed this year and that is you do not have to have been in it for the three years prior to graduation. Also a motion was received to have it completely opened up. National will have to check on our 'non-profit' status and our 'youth organization' status before this can be acted on.

8. A presentation was made by Alison Rainford to the board about the fact that PPG international are only every two years and they are wishing it to be moved back to every year. This decision was made by all the countries concerned for financial reasons. Canada will take the request back to the International Pony Club and the countries involved to see what their current status is on the issue. We knew the decision would not be received with cheering but we were not the only ones involved. Will not likely be till spring.

9. Early renewal forms for the PSO's. Can be done on-line. Make sure all the information is there. If you are mailing mark it pony club on the outside of the envelope. This needs to be done ASAP if you want the OEF to keep allowing us to do it this way.

10. Next year (2008) there will be a different consent form to sign. The risk form will include a phrase allowing for photo and name use automatically with the privacy policy attached by web site.

11. If you know of someone who would qualify for a National award, honorary life member etc. please get that name to Val at national at least 4 weeks prior to the AGM which is March 30th.

12. North Atlantic Rally Exchange (NARE) THIS IS NOT EVENTING RALLY AS WE KNOW IT. This happening in 2008. It includes clinics (possibly Trec) education, tours, billeting. Anyone in pony club that fits the criteria is qualified to apply. Watch for the application on the National site.

13. There is a new trophy that has been donated to National and it will be used to recognize all members who receive their full A status. It is called the Rockwell Princess Elizabeth Challenge Trophy. It was donated by Dick Rockwell in honour of his wife who was the first A in Canada and a Honourary Life Director and a Honourary Life Member. If you know of anybody in the past who would qualify please get in touch with Liz Inglis.

16. A committee has been struck which includes our two youth reps to look into the possibility of setting up a National Uniform to be used for international trips. All input is appreciated, so have the kids get in touch with their youth rep and she can pass on the information.

19. Calendars for next year pictures must be to "Bill"? on disc by March 10th. Older pictures can be used providing consents are in order. At this point there was no consensus to increase the order. This raised $26,000. To be ear-marked for a youth conference. It was agreed that it should not be used for operating monies. It also raised $26,000 for the branches or regions depending on what the region decided.

2006 has been a busy and successful year. The regional board members have all worked hard to bring about excellent competitions and educational opportunities. We started with the disciplines conference which brought about new rules in most disciplines and some new ideas. To Central Ontario's credit, we have lead the way in most of these changes being active and encouraging to all of our own members as well as the regions around us. This has allowed us to share our expertise with regions as far away as Nova Scotia and build bridges with our neighbors. This region is truly an awesome area to be in.

However, closer to home, as in within our own region we have some issues that need addressing. My main concern is with the DCs of the branches. They are not fulfilling their responsibilities by attending the meetings and passing on the information. When someone has to hear about our own banquet at National Quiz there is a huge problem. Every bit of information no matter how trivial to the DC must be passed on. Someone in your club wants to know about what is going on. It also showed in the lack of participation by the clubs and their parents in helping to run a regional event. These things just don't happen; they require a lot of work and assistance. Parents must realize that they are part of the team. If not then start looking else where for people to organize your events. Lack of communication also shows in the number of rude and I mean really rude parents who do not understand the rules and regs and take it upon themselves to start harassing volunteers. This will not happen again.

In January we are having our DC/parent conference. There will be no reason in the future for anyone to be ignorant of what is happening in COR. Make sure your parents and new DCs/ADCs or anyone that is the least interested attends the conference.

Financial issues have been another item that has come to my attention on several occasions this year. There should never be an occasion where a club cheque bounces. Your money must be ready to honor the cheque for your participation. I have suggested that the people running the shows stick to their deadlines so that last minute finances do not get fiddled.

Minutes of meetings. I can count on one hand the clubs who have sent me their minutes. I do not particularly like to spend my time reading these but this is an insurance issue. I have asked National for direction on this and according to them, any club not handing in their minutes is to be suspended immediately. You all know who you are and I will be making a list for publication on the site. At this point in time you need to get to me your minutes from your meetings of 2006, your branch report and your financial statement. National was going to put a financial outline on the site for you. I am not losing my house because you guys cannot read your requirements nor bother to pass on that information. Include me in your e-mail list and then it is all taken care of. I will expect something each month even if you do not have a meeting. You can send me a summary of 'we did nothing this month'.

Insurance is driving this industry crazy but it is driving this industry. You must follow the rules and regs. Read them.

Congratulations to Helen Heft, our OEF Rep, and all the people who helped with the 2005 grant application. The photo shows our 2006 Regional Chair, Debi Robertson, being presented with a cheque for $2,028 at the OEF Annual General Meeting. That is the fourth larges amount given out to anyone. Many thanks to the Ministry of Health Promotion and the OEF for their support of Pony Club in general and the Central Ontario Region in particular.

Or at least, those Branch rules & regulations. Just a reminder, those of you who do not have their own Branch rules & regulations approved by the Regional Committee as of April 1 get to use the CPC template. The CPC template may be just fine with you, but you should at least be aware of some of its restrictions, as described below by Crawford Dales, recently retired Chair of the CPC Governance Committee, and the man largely responsible for drafting the template.

• All Branch Executive Committees will become ONLY the DC, ADC, Secretary, and Treasurer and those 4 will be the ONLY ONES who are covered by the Directors and Officers Liability insurance and will be the ONLY ONES in the branch who have the authority to make or vote on all decisions except those at Branch General Meetings (which are only for elections and removal of officers).

• All branch cheques will need to be signed by 2 persons who shall be any 2 of the DC, Treasurer, or another person selected by the (possibly reduced) Branch Executive Committee. If this does not correspond to the branch’s current banking policy, there could be problems up to and including loss of access to the branch bank account.

• Voting rights at branch general meetings and elections shall be as described in the default branch R&R’s. Some branches may want something different.

As of February 21, four days before the second-to-last meeting of the Regional Committee before April 1, a grand total of two (2) Branches have provided draft rules & regulations to the Rules & Regulations Committee.

None of us - including your faithful Editor - got involved in Pony Club because administrivia is our favourite sport. But it is necessary. Any organization that wants liability insurance - or to avoid existing is a state of permanent chaos, for that matter - has to establish a framework of rules. People at the national level spent hours and hours trying to come up with a model for Branches that would fit most of their needs. But one size rarely fits all ("One size fits all" is right up there with "The dog ate my homework" in the Golden Book of Great Big Fibs), so Branches really do need to make sure they are not getting set to wear shoes that pinch.

Many thanks to King Pony Club for the CD of its "2005 in Review" and "Awards Banquet" PowerPoint slide shows.

"Put Your Children Into Pony Club: It Will Teach Them How To Handle Success!"

The main theme for this issue is our successes, starting with our Awards Banquet. COR has had a very good year, with plenty of winners to celebrate both on and off the field of play. For those of you who do not see your name in this issue, it is important to remember that success is not always measured by ribbons and trophies. The theme of our organization is "Loyalty, Sportsmanship, Character," not "Let's win every ribbon in sight." I do not know of any way to measure loyalty in general; it shows itself in individual situations. From what I saw at the Pony Club competitions I could get to this year, we are doing pretty well in the sportsmanship and character departments.

I do not mean to belittle the accomplishments of the winners we are going to list in this issue. By and large, they added skill (and yes, sometimes luck) to sportsmanship and character, and they give all the rest of you something to shoot for in 2006. Just keep in mind, though, that Central Ontario has winners - lots and lots of them - who didn't get to take home any trophies or ribbons this season.

On October 22, Durham Pony Club again hosted the annual awards banquet at the Annandale Golf and Country Club in Ajax. The evening featured delicious food, a silent auction, and lots of fun. And of course, the year-end awards, most of them based on performance over the course of the season. Here they are, in order of presentation as your humble Editor and Assistant Master or Ceremonies remembers them.

In the Entry Division, the Champion was Jennifer Pett of the Victoria Pony Club, who rode Thunder. The Entry Reserve was Emily Banks-Ng of the King Pony Club, riding Fat Chance.

The Starter Champion was Rachel Goodman of the Whitchurch Pony Club, on Ladybug. Michaela Brown of the Kawartha Pony Club was the Reserve, riding Cavalier.

Rachel Goodman and Ladybug also took the Champion's ribbon in Starter Freestyle, with Maxime Weiss of King the Reserve on Moonlight.

Jennifer McKeen of the Oshawa Pony Club was the Pre-Training Champion, riding Annie. Another Oshawa rider, Erin Thompson, was the Reserve on Everyone Loves Lily.

Yet another Oshawa rider, Rachel Welsh, was the Training Champion aboard Pippi Longstocking. Madison Wilks of the Durham Pony Club was the Reserve, riding Mega Cool.

In the Training Freestyle Division, Samantha MacDonald of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club was the Champion riding Heart of Gold, with another Uxbridge-Scugog duo, Whitney Brennan and Karoo, in the Reserve spot.

In the First Level A Division, Katie Stephenson and Tybalt of the Maple Pony Club were Champions, with Kayla Neil of Durham the Reserve on Adara.

Jennifer McKeen of Oshawa collected another Champion's ribbon, this time for First Level Freestyle, and this time riding Colwyn Tegan. The Reserve was Stephanie Rutherford of the Baltimore Hills Pony Club riding Falkenfels.

Johanna McKeen of Oshawa was also twice a Champion, in Second Level A and Second Level Freestyle. There were no Reserves in these Divisions.

The Second Level B Champion was Daina Brown of Kawartha riding Moonwalker, again with no Reserve.

Show Jumping presented not just Champion and Reserve awards for year-end results, but ribbons to tenth place, and also Champions' awards for the Regional Finals. Full details are at the end of this newsletter, but we will deal with Champions and Reserves here.

In the Pre-Entry Division A-1, the Champion was Alexandra Reynolds of Kawartha, riding She's Like the Wind. The Reserve was Kylie Figueira of the Victoria Pony Club on Go for Cool

Jessica Clarke of the Ajax Pony Club was the Pre-Entry Division A-2 Champion on Van Gogh, with Angie Moorcroft, also of Ajax, the Reserve riding Cadbury.

Jennifer McKeen and Annie collected another Champion's ribbon for the Pre-Entry Division B, with Emma Lemay-Nedjelski of Ajax the Reserve aboard Jalapeno.

Jennifer McKeen was also the Entry Division Champion, this time riding Mya. The Reserve was Lauren Kelly of Victoria on Skylark.

The Starter Champion was Sean Cruikshanks of Uxbridge-Scugog on Cennabarr, with Stephanie Crawford of the Pickering Pony Club the Reserve riding Black Edition.

Katelyn Powell of Durham took the Championship in the Beginner Division on Sundance. The Reserve was Jennalyn Webber of Uxbridge-Scugog on My Prince Charming.

In the Novice Division, the Champion was Samantha MacDonald of Uxbridge-Scugog riding Heart of Gold, with Emily Mitchelle of Maple the Reserve on Lady Marmalade.

The high point award for the show jumping year went to Katelyn Powell and Sundance, of the Durham Pony Club.

The Champions at the Regional Finals were: Kylie Figueira and Go for Cool of Victoria in the Pre-Entry Division A-1; Jessica Clarke and Van Gogh of Ajax in the Pre-Entry Division A-2; Jennifer McKeen and Annie of Oshawa in the Pre-Entry Division B; Lauren Kelly and Skylark of Victoria in the Entry Division; Kayla Neil and Adara of Durham in the Starter Division; Katelyn Powell and Sundance of Durham in the Beginner Division; and Madeleine Baker of Toronto & North York in the Novice Division.

Unfortunately, there was no A/B/C rally this year, so D Rally is all we have to report on.

At the D level, Rachel Goodman of the Whitchurch Pony Club was the winner riding her pony Ladybug. Second place went to Jessica McDonnell of the Ajax Pony Club on Champagne Cocktail, with Sarah Nason of the Maple Pony Club third riding Dillon. Rachel Welsh of the Oshawa Pony Club won the D1 Division on Pippi Longstocking. Second place went to Emma Goodman of the Whitchurch Pony Club riding Ceulan Caitlin, and Jennifer McKeen of the Oshawa Pony Club took third place on Mya. At the D2 level, the highest in this competition, the winner was Hannah Galway of the Maple Pony Club riding Phineas. Lauren Kelly of the Victoria Pony Club was second aboard Skylark, and third place went to Ilona Parenteau of the Toronto & North York Pony Club on Anastasia. This year's Stable Management Award winner was the Whitchurch Pony Club.

This was a particularly successful year for Central Ontario in Prince Philip and Masters Games.

- A mixed Uxbridge-Scugog and Durham Masters team won the national championship, with the Uxbridge-Scugog "Charlie's Angels" team finishing fifth. These two teams got to the national championship by winning and placing second in the Central Canada Zone finals. Congratulations to the Champs, Mike Durward (Playing Coach), Jesse Durward and Lorraine Smith, all of Uxbridge-Scugog, plus Katie Murray and Rebecca Simmons of Durham. Allison Pascoe was the Assistant Coach. Congratulations also to "Charlie's Angels," Allison Birdsall, Jessica Lloyd, Darlene Smith, Aly Stalk and Jade Stalk (coach's name not available). Photo from the National Masters Championship provided by Judi Edwards.

- At the A level, the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club "Fast and Furious" team took top spot in the Central Canada Zones and went on to finish second (by two lousy points) in the national A championship. The members of the "Fast and Furious" are Kathleen Barnes, Luke Durward, Kaylin Nauta, Laura Parliament and Madison Reeves. They were coached by Lisa Pascoe, 22, who was part of last year's Canadian Masters Games Championship team, the Uxbridge-Scugog "Cowboys." Other Central Ontario teams did very well at the Zone finals. A combined Temiskaming/Northwoods Pony Clubs team took third spot and the Uxbridge-Scugog "Incredibles" finished fourth with 60 points. All and all, then, Central Ontario teams took first, third and fourth in a field of six. Not bad at all!

- Not just one, but two Central Ontario riders were chose for the 2006 Canadian PPG team, which will compete against national teams from Australia, Great Britain and the United States for world supremacy in Britain next year. Shauna Chester, a member of the Temiskaming Pony Club, and Jessica McVittie, a member of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club, won their spots on the team at a national try-out camp held earlier this month in Surrey, B.C. Shauna Chester reports, "My weekend was great! When we arrived in Vancouver a judge picked up me, Jessica and another girl from Guelph, Erin. We went on a tour around Southlands. Then we went back to Margo's house, the judge. All the girls came, we met and had supper. There was Colby from Vancouver, Kelsey from Alberta, Heather from Alberta, Andrea from Ontario, Erin from Ontario, and Jessica. After supper we went in groups of two and three to our billeted families. On Friday we did try outs and vaulting. Everybody was really nervous and was making a lot of mistakes. After try outs we went to Colby's house for a B.B.Q. On Saturday everybody wasn't so nervous and rode a lot better. This day was my best day. After riding we went into a building and had our interview. That went well. After that we went to Colby's house to get ready to go to Grouse Mountain and the Spaghetti factory. On the mountain we got to see bears and wolves, and a comedy lumberjack show. It was so cold! And then we went to the Spaghetti Factory...it was so good. On Sunday we finished our tryouts, it was like a fun day but still being judged. Everybody rode really well on this day. It was so sad to say good bye to everybody when they left. I had a really fun weekend because of the experience and getting to meet everybody and make friends."

At the A level, the Uxbridge-Scugog "Incredibles" won the Regional championship, with a combined Temiskaming/Northwoods team second and the Uxbridge-Scugog "Fast & Furious" third. The members of the "Incredibles" were Whitney Brennan, Mori Cruikshanks, Sean Cruikshanks, Samantha MacDonald and Jessica McVittie.

In the Masters competition, the mixed Uxbridge-Scugog/Durham team finished on top, with the Uxbridge-Scugog "Charlie's Angels" second and a mixed Simcoe/Temiskaming team third.

The Uxbridge-Scugog "Terminators" took the honours at the B level, with a mixed Durham/Waussnodae team second and Maple third. The members of the "Terminators" were Jane Stephenson, Michael Nauta, Kendra Abbey and James Cruikshanks.

At the C level, Victoria Pony Club was first, a mixed Uxbridge-Scugog/Arête de Chêne team second and Simcoe "Chargers" third. And a good time was had by all. The members of Victoria's Championship team were Erin Pillsworth, Colin Oldridge, Jamie Figueira, Meg Scott and Amanda Jackman.

As Tetrathlon is a one-time, one-day event, its awards are usually handed out on the spot instead of at the banquet. We nevertheless recognize the winners at the Regional and National level here.

First the Regional results: Among the Senior A Men, first place went to James McCue of the Victoria Pony Club, with all other competitors in this Division eliminated at the riding stage. Kourtney Matysek of the Victoria Pony Club finished first among the Senior A Women, with Kathryn Robertson of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club second and Karen Foell of the Toronto & North York Pony Club third. At the Junior A level Luke Durward of Uxbridge-Scugog was the only finisher among the men. Samantha Galway of the Maple Pony Club finished first among the Junior A women (defending the title she won last year), with another Maple competitor, Amber Wavryk, second and Alexandra Kelly of the Victoria Pony Club in third place. Among the Novice Men there was again only one competitor to escape elimination. He was James Simmons of the Durham Pony Club. Hannah Galway of the Maple Pony Club was the winner among the Novice Women. Another Maple competitor, Kristina Wavryk, finished second, with Kylie Figueira of the Victoria Pony Club third.

We do not have team results from the Regional Tetrathlon as yet. We will post an updated version of COR Bits as soon as we get them.

Nationally, Victoria Pony Club members Zac and James McCue finished first and fourth, respectively, in the Senior Men Division. Together with a Junior rider from British Columbia, they also took first place in the men's team competition (which is based on combined scores from the Senior and Junior Divisions). Central Ontario had no entries in the Junior Men Division. Central Ontario did not fare quite so well in the Senior and Junior Women Divisions, but on a team basis came fifth and sixth. Among the Senior Women, Karen Foell of the Toronto & North York Pony Club had the best finish at eleventh. Samantha Galway of the Maple Pony Club finished fifth among the Junior Women, while Alexandra Kelly of the Victoria Pony Club was sixth.

On Saturday, May 7, members of 17 Pony Club Branches took part in the Central Ontario Region Quiz at Keswick High School in Keswick. Final team standings follow. At the A/B level a mixed Prince Edward County/Uxbridge-Scugog/ Waussnodae team took first, with Maple second and Eglinton in third spot. At the C level a mixed Prince Edward County/Uxbridge-Scugog team finished first, Eglinton came second and King was third. In the D2 competition Ajax came in first, with Whitchurch second and Oshawa third. At the D1 level, first place went to the Northwoods team, with Simcoe second and Pickering third. Eglinton took first at the D level, with Ajax second and Centaurus third. In the display projects, which are combined Branch efforts with competitors from all levels taking part, Ajax was the winner.

The top four individual competitors at the A/B and C levels qualified to represent Central Ontario at the National Quiz in Ottawa on Thanksgiving weekend (subject to the winners' availability, and unfortunately, some of these winners could not be available for National). At the D2 level, ribbons went to the top individual competitors. The top Regional Quiz individual placings were:

A/B Level - Maya Kenedy of Maple, Allison Birdsall of Uxbridge-Scugog, Megan Mattos of Waussnodae and Brian McInnes of Eglinton.

C Level - Carolyn Wight of Prince Edward County, Alicia Cantin of Eglinton, Christy Chamney of Maple and Dawn O'Neill of Ajax.

D2 Level - Kristiana Cope of Whitchurch, Emily Gillies of Ajax, Johanna McKeen of Oshawa and Jessica McDonnell of Ajax.

Central Ontario in fact sent a three-member A/B team to National Quiz, plus two more A/B competitors who formed a mixed team with a Manitoba competitor, plus a full C team. And they covered themselves with glory. Maya Kenedy placed first out of 33 A/B level competitors, and led the Central Ontario Region's A/B team to a first place finish. Other members of this team were Megan Mattos and Allison Birdsall. The other Central Ontario teams did not fare quite as well, with both the mixed Central Ontario/Manitoba A/B team and the Central Ontario C team finishing a respectable ninth. The two COR members on the mixed A/B were Philip Lewis and Katie Stephenson, both of the Maple Pony Club. The C team was as listed above.

One of the neat features of this year's National Quiz is that SLOV introduced some new quiz stations which were a big hit with everyone. Way to go, SLOV! This one is called "Kiss the Mountie," featuring Katie Stephenson as what most people would think of as a pretty unlikely Mountie. One of the reasons why your humble Editor could not resist including this picture is that, when I was DC at the Eglinton Pony Club, just after the earth's crust had cooled in the early 1990s, one of "my" pony clubbers was another red-headed Katie, Kate M. (since she has been out of Pony Club for years, she did not sign our release form and I had better not use her name on the internet without permission). And guess what Kate M. does now that she is all grown up - that's right, she's a Mountie! You just never know, do you?

This trophy is presented in honour of a member of the former Leitchcroft Pony Club, who was killed in an automobile accident on her way to enter a dressage show. Each Branch is invited to nominate a member who best meets the ideals of Pony Club in his or her participation in activities, sportsmanship and effort, support of others and progress in riding and horsemanship during the current year.

This year's winner is Dawn O'Neill of the Ajax Pony Club. Here is an edited version of her Branch's reasons for nominating her.

Dawn has been a loyal, enthusiastic and dedicated member of the Ajax Pony Club for 11 years, and has her C level. She has her Basic Instructor and is also working towards achieving her Level 1 coaching level. Dawn possesses all the requirements for this award. At Ajax, Dawn is like the big sister to all members. She is always willing to help and offer her advice to all members, including returning and new members. The members have the utmost respect for her. They look up to her with great admiration. This year, Dawn was unfortunately put in a position of not being able to compete in Regional jumper shows, as there wasn't a qualified horse for her to compete with. But that didn't stop her from attending every show in which Ajax participated, as a cheerleader supporting the Ajax entries. She was there bright and early with a smile on her face, encouraging each and every rider and congratulating them on a job well done. That says a lot about her character - it is not all about competing and getting ribbons, but the support and cameraderie among fellow members and dedication to our Pony Club. Dawn has been to all events this year, either participating as a competitor or offering support to all other members. This includes education lectures, social events, Quiz, D Rally and Regional jumper shows. She qualified to go to National Quiz this year after placing fourth overall at the C level at Regional Quiz. Dawn is one of the educational lecturers at our club. She has done an outstanding job teaching and tutoring the new members all about horsemanship, and she does it in a way that keeps the members riveted, focused and wanting to learn more. She always has a smile on her face and is always there to lend a hand and cheer you on. She has been our non-riding Captain for a few years at D Rally; she can keep the girls focused but still have fun while doing it. Dawn also teaches beginners to ride, and her enthusiasm for Pony Club has in turn helped our club to grow with recruiting new members each year. She has been an inspiration to al members with her great attitude and her accomplishments in Pony Club. She is very dedicated in sharing her knowledge of Pony Club with anyone. She has also participated in fundraising efforts for her club with great passion. She is the furst one to congratulate you on doing an excellent job, whether it is grooming your horse or riding. Dawn is what we consider to be the ideal image of an exceptional pony clubber and a great role model. We as parents are glad that our daughters are fellow members of hers and that they have the opportunity to learn from her diverse knowledge, her great accomplishments and her love for Pony Club.

This year, Regional Chair Bill Murray announced two winners of the Chair's Award - Rhonda Hutcheson and Mary-Debra Pardy. Both these ladies served as discipline Chairs in 2005, Rhonda for Rallies and Mary-Debra for Show Jumping. More than that, both were deeply involved in Central Ontario's part in hosting the Inter-Pacific Exchange and in other aspects of the Pony Club year. We join with Bill in offering a great big thank-you to both of them.

As usual, we like to give a special salute to those who won major awards in more than one discipline. This year we seem to have had a bumper crop. Starting with the " triple dippers," and after that in no particular order, here is a list of those who distinguished themselves in this fashion..

Some people may think that, with the show season all wrapped up, the fires of Pony Club in Central Ontario have been kind of damped down to a few not-too-brightly glowing embers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here are some of the things we will be covering in the next issue of COR Bits.

Once again this year, the Royal has provided tickets for Pony Club's use, to the Central Ontario, Western Ontario and Saint Lawrence-Ottawa Valley regions. We give our tickets to members who have represented the Region at the Zone, National and International level, plus key volunteers. Pony Club night at the Royal is always a good time, not only because we get to watch some neat stuff, but also because we get to say hello to friends from the other Regions. Rumour has it that some people get in a bit of shopping. I wouldn't know about that.

And for the second year, Pony Club is taking part in the demonstration area, and has a "booth" to explain who we are and what we do. Last year, PPG proved to be one of the most popular demonstrations among the spectators, who may not have liked it quite so much if they had realized how close they were to death or injury, because the space allowed for PPG was too small. One brake-failure and a pony would have been out among the food booths. This year, thank goodness, more space has been allowed, which should make for a better - and safer - show. Rumour has it that this year's booth will also include a couple of quiz stations - no Mounties to be kissed, though.

At last word, volunteers were still needed for the Pony Club booth on Saturday, November 12 and Sunday, November 13. Get in touch with Debbie Robertson or Maisie Durward if you can help out.

This takes place in Toronto November 11-15, mostly at the Board level. This isn't the CPC Annual General Meeting, where we are all invited to attend; that's in April. Parts of the meeting on Saturday, November 12 are open to those of us not gallivanting around the Royal. Several important bits of business are going to get done at the SAM, which brings us to ...

The final template for Branch Rules & Regulations is scheduled for "final reading" at the SAM. Once approved, it will be circulated to all Branches for study and adaptation. (I just know this is the news you have all been waiting for!) Branches should make sure that they adapt the template to their own needs while staying onside with the Canadian Pony Club By-Laws, the Canadian Pony Club Operations Manual and Policy Handbook, and the Central Ontario Regional Rules & Regulations. And keep in mind that, if you don't have your Branch Rules & Regulations approved by the COR Regional Committee in time, you automatically default to the template with a few blanks filled in.

Now, every Branch that I know of has at least one "Sky Lawyer" - you know, the one who questions every decision and thinks he or she knows all the rules off by heart. Here's a suggestion. As soon as the SAM is over and the final template is circulated, put that person in charge of coming up with draft Rules & Regulations for your Branch . All the documents with which they must conform are available for downloading. So hand them the template, wish them the best of the season, and take potshots at - I mean, review - their efforts at your January meeting. Such fun! (Just kidding.)

We hold our own AGM on November 19 at Durham College, with an excursion to Windfields laid on for a limited number of the Active Members (last chance to tour it before it is entirely paved over). At this meeting, we will be saying thanks and goodbye to some volunteers who have served the Region for years, and welcoming some new people onto the Committee, either as new District Commissioners or as Chairs of some activity or another.

Also at the AGM, in the afternoon, we will be debating some key issues that could affect the way we go about our Pony Club business for years to come. One of these is the balance between competition and education. Some people feel that, compared to past years, our focus has shifted too much towards competitive activities at the expense of teaching our Active Members how to care for their horses/ponies and how to ride properly. Others disagree. The AGM is your chance to put in your two cents worth, in favour of one or the other of these points of view. If you cannot make it to the AGM, you should e-mail Bill Murray, our Regional Chair, to let him know what you think. The other main issue is what the Region should expect from individuals and Branches. This includes ways of improving communication, how to slot the right volunteer into the right job and so forth. It's all useful, serious stuff and not to be missed if at all possible.

Pre-Entry Division A-1

Rider	Pony	Branch	Place
Alexandra Reynolds	She's Like the Wind	Kawartha	1
Kylie Figueira	Go for Cool	Victoria	2
Lindsay Tucker	Sock It to Me	Ajax	3
Dennis Loveridge	Sweet but Sassy Sarah	Durham	4
Lindsay Beer	Scoot to It	Centaurus	5 (tied)
Maggie Brims	Diesel Power	Maple	5 (tied)
Dalton Wright	Pollyana	Pickering	7 (tied)
Grace Loeppky	Harlequin	Maple	7 (tied)

Pre-Entry Division A-2

Rider	Pony	Branch	Place
Jessica Clarke	Van Gogh	Ajax	1
Angie Moorcroft	Cadbury	Ajax	2
Sarah McDonnell	Pumpkin Pie	Ajax	3
Jazmyne Wooley	Spooky Moon	Centaurus	4
Kady Peterson	Trigger Appy	Ajax	5
Emma Bradbury	Cassie	Centaurus	6
Sarah Patterson	Suzie	Pine Ridge	7
Nikki Ince	Fat Chance	King	8
Emma Shanks-Skinner	Flaska T Ja Tuppence	Maple	9 (tied)
Jessica Hendriks	Ameera	Centaurus	9 (tied)

Pre-Entry Division B

Rider	Pony	Branch	Place
Jennifer McKeen	Annie	Oshawa	1
Emma Lemay-Nedjelski	Jalapeno	Ajax	2
James Cruikshanks	Target	Uxbridge-Scugog	3
Jessica McDonnell	Champagne Cocktail	Ajax	4 (tied)
Kim Geisberger	Just for Fun	Durham	4 (tied)
Brynn Jobb	Springfield's Clyde	Brooklin	6
Nicole Russell-Poliquin	Driving Miss Daisy	Oshawa	7
Jennifer Shumilak	Morgana	Ajax	8
Jessica Montebello	Apollo	Brooklin	9
Lauren Kelly	Black Hat	Victoria	10

Entry Division

Rider	Pony	Branch	Place
Jennifer McKeen	Mya	Oshawa	1
Lauren Kelly	Skylark	Victoria	2
Rachel Goodman	Chestnut Hill Tiffany	Whitchurch	3
Johanna McKeen	Millgate Braveheart	Oshawa	4
Kathryn Martin	Roxie	Simcoe	5
Kristie Abe	Natasha	Ajax	6
Carolyn Russell-Poliquin	Kaladar	Oshawa	7
Emily Gillies	Spice of Life	Ajax	8
Emily Lindsay	Tarragon	Simcoe	9 (tied)
Kate Hoppe	Sassy	Brooklin	9 (tied)

Starter Division

Rider	Pony	Branch	Place
Sean Cruikshanks	Cennabarr	Uxbridge-Scugog	1
Stephanie Crawford	Black Edition	Pickering	2
Ilona Parenteau	Anastasia	Toronto & North York	3
Kate Hoppe	Beaverwoods Larkspur	Brooklin	4
Kayla Neil	Adara	Durham	5
Hanna Bailey	Let's Rhumba	Victoria	6
William Dow	Jasper	Pine Ridge	7
Katarina Borysiak	Midnight Magic	Oshawa	8
Laura Parliament	Star	Uxbridge-Scugog	9
Caitlyn Phillips	Primer	Toronto & North York	10

Beginner Division

Rider	Pony	Branch	Place
Kaitlyn Powell	Sundance	Durham	1
Jennalyn Webber	My Prince Charming	Uxbridge-Scugog	2
Andrea McGill	Phoenix Rising	Durham	3
Jenna Patterson	Mr. Ed	Pine Ridge	4
William Dow	Sky Scraper	Pine Ridge	5
Mori Cruikshanks	Aragorn	Uxbridge-Scugog	6
Christina Chamney	My Turn	Maple	7
Korie Weston	All the Right Moves	Uxbridge-Scugog	8
Whitney Brennan	Karoo	Uxbridge-Scugog	9
Alyosha Stalk	High Roller	Uxbridge-Scugog	10 (tied)
Erin Boyles	Shilo	Arête de Chêne	10 (tied)

Novice Division

Rider	Pony	Branch	Place
Samantha MacDonald	Heart of Gold	Uxbridge-Scugog	1
Emily Mitchelle	Lady Marmalade	Maple	2
Jessica McVittie	Rubik's Cube	Uxbridge-Scugog	3
Madeleine Baker	Strauss	Toronto & North York	4
D'Arcy Hutcheson	Irish Park's Fair Erin	Centaurus	5
Amelia Jones	Breezin'	Victoria	6
Kourtney Matysek	Rule the Day	Victoria	7
Maya Kenedy	Napoleon Brandy	Maple	8
Katie Stephenson	Tybalt	Maple	9
Courtney Cotter	Alley Jazz	Toronto & North York	10

In closing, even though this is being written near to Halloween, I would like to wish one and all a Merry Christmas, or Happy Chanukah, or Delightful Diwali, or Karefree Kwanzaa, or Ecstatic Eid, or Sensational Saturnalia, or All-the-Best-to-Anyone-I've-Left-Out.

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.