The
PONY EXPRESS

VOLUME 100 NUMBER 3 (September, 2000)

Once upon a time there were seven little Canadians who wished to promote the sport of English games with the Mounted Games Association. They were put in contact with Doreen Whittle, Joan Gillespie and Jill Masterton of the South Africa Pony Club and their fairytale began.

There were months of planning and emailing before chaperones Rosemary Dunn and Carol Clegg along with riders Amanda Dunn, Heather Clegg, Robyn Woods, Julia Wehkamp and Jonathon Straub (who was really an American in disguise!) landed at Cape Town. When the world was being created, there must have been a lot of smiling in Cape Town. Every view, from every angle is breathtaking. I think I took four films of photographs in the first day!

We were billeted with the regional chair Isobel Weyer and her wonderful family. We visited Haut Bay and met absolutely amazing pony clubbers and many new found friends. We rode horses in the valleys and marvelled at the sights, especially the view near Tabletop Mountain. We had surfing lessons in the Atlantic Ocean and we basked in the sunshine and had wonderful outdoor lunches as we toured the area' s wineries. We were educated on Robben Island and we learned the area’s history on the harbour tours. After long good-byes, we headed up the coast in an Intercape tour bus for a twelve hour ride. The scenery was amazing and I was lucky to spend the hours sitting beside a very nice black lady by the name of Mary Grace. She told me about life as a growing black person in South Africa. What a kind, dear lady. I will long remember our talks and I wish her well with her path in life. Again the scenery was breathtaking. I have visited many countries, but the South African countryside must be someone’s vision of paradise.

We toured beautiful Port Elizabeth, we buried our feet in the deep, warm sand of the beaches, visited broodmare farms, shopped and partied. Our short visit was filled with long-time memories. Again, we were mobile as we boarded a plane to take us to Durban. We were met at the Durban airport by the National Pony Club Chairperson extrodinaire Doreen Whittle and Regional Chairperson Dawne Nissen. We rented a van and headed up to a little town called Ballito. We were to stay the night at a hotel called the Boathouse and have some time together to ourselves. We shopped in the town, dined and walked the shores of the Indian Ocean. It was a beautiful night, very warm and tropical. Early next morning Doreen had arranged a beach horseback ride with Ricki of the Zimbali Lodge. What an experience!

Joan Gillespie kindly escorted us to the next leg of our trip up to Pietermaritzburg where we were met by Ian Marr. He and his lovely wife Cheryl treated us to a great one man theatre production that evening at a local Boys School. We were billeted with three families, the Airtons, Stanleys, and with Terry, Christine and Megan. Next morning was competition day at the Pietermaritzburg Fairgrounds. Ian was there bright and early with all the props. Everything was colour coded by lane and all props were placed, in order of play, at the end of each lane. Ian seemed a little too neat and organized for my liking. In Canada, we pile all the props in the middle of the field off to the side. Then we holler halfway through the games, “has anyone seen the balloons?”. Imagine knowing what game will be played next because it is the next prop in the prop line! Kind of takes all the fun out of it.

Day two brought us back to the fairgrounds. In the morning the Canadian MGA group gave a riding clinic. It was to begin at 8:30. At 8:25 there were 5 riders present. By 8:30 another 65 converged on us! Wow! Great turnout. Julia did the talking, (does anyone wonder why?). Amanda did the organizing, (does anyone wonder why?). Jon, Heather and Robyn did the flawless demonstrations. The group was then divided into two sections. Group one learned techniques, skills and style. Group two with Heather and Jon taught standing and running vaulting techniques.

After the clinic, the second day of the games competition began. Canada ended up handily finishing first. They were now used to their borrowed ponies and familiar with the props. The Dragon Race is similar to our balloon race, except you can’t break the red balloon until last because it is the dragon’s heart. Sometimes they even have smoke cans to imitate the dragon’s breath. The last rider stabs the dragon in the heart. Then they save the maiden (which is the fifth rider for the team) by picking them up at the end of the lane and racing for home with two riders on the pony. Our maiden in distress was Jon. Well, he is our best vaulter!
 

After teary good-byes and hugs and hugs, we boarded an early morning plane for the last leg of our trip.

Johannesburg awaited us. Jill Masterton, the National Communications Chair met us at the airport along with her son Kai. This was the part of our trip we expected to rough it. We knew once off the plane, we had a seven hour drive ahead of us, but we didn’t mind. We were going on safari! We had anxiously been awaiting this part of our trip. It was all Carol had talked about for weeks. We were prepared. We had brought hiking boots, sleeping bags, bug spray and medicated nets. We had received malaria pills, Hepatitis B shots, typhoid shots and cholera shots. Whatever the wild jungles of Africa boasted, we were ready for it. What we weren’t ready for was the lap of luxury! The run down shack of a lodge we were expecting turned out to be a huge, gorgeous abode. Vaulted ceilings of thatch, individual bedrooms with lofts, private bathrooms, private decks overlooking the wilds. It was breathtaking. Our troupe set out to view the mysteries of Africa and we weren’t disappointed. We found jackals, impala, waterbuck, warthogs and loads of birds. Jill is just finishing her game ranger’s course, so she was very knowledgeable. She taught us the names of different indigenous trees and the names of all the common birds.

Next morning, bright and early, we were off to Kruger National Park. It was about an hour away from our lodge. At the admission gate we were advised to hurry. Cheetah had been spotted two kilometres up the road. Kruger National Park is about the size of the country of Wales. There are 170 cheetahs in the park, so a spotting was very exciting. Again, we were not disappointed. There up ahead were two cheetahs! We drove through the park for about seven hours and we saw the same animals as yesterday plus giraffe, elephants, zebras and monkeys. Another great day in South Africa.

But, everyone now wanted a lion sighting. After dinner, Jill kindly accommodated us and set off once again to track lion. This time we were in the closed LandRover. Jon and Carol were positioned on mattresses atop the vehicle with search lights. We drove around for quite some time without seeing or hearing any animals. In the pitch black wild, this was very eerie. All of a sudden a lion roared and you would have thought it was two feet away! Carol came scrambling off the top and into the truck and we slowly pursued the sound. Just up ahead, was a lion! He walked and he rolled and he sauntered ahead. He didn’t seem to mind us watching him at all. Up ahead, lay another lion. Jill warned us she was not sure if this would be a friendly encounter, but as it turned out they were buddies and they frolicked and play fought and thoroughly entertained us. After watching them for some time, they headed into the deep woods and we headed to the lodge happy and content with our lion experience.

The next day we packed and headed back to Johannesburg. We would be giving a games clinic on the Saturday and there would be a competition on the Sunday, playing MGA games. Back in Johannesburg we were all billeted with different families on the outskirts of the city. We never did actually visit downtown Johannesburg. We were told it was just too dangerous. There were even t-shirts in the malls saying, “I survived Johannesburg”, with cartoon visions of different crimes that may happen. We were glad to be on the outskirts.

The first day, our riders organized a clinic. There were approximately forty participants mounted and unmounted. The clinic was in the same format as the Pietermaritzburg clinic. The second day was the competition. Everyone had a great time and in the end Canada placed first. Jill had beautiful ribbons made up. They had a seven strand tail and in the middle was a zebra print. An amazing parting gift for our group.

It was tough saying goodbye at the airport. Many of us felt we could have stayed another month or so. We were having such a great time and we had met so many nice people. It was hard saying good-bye. What a wonderful adventure we had and we were taking home so many great memories. (Carol also took home a six foot wooden giraffe!)

We hope to see a South African team in Canada in August 2001 when we host the World Team MGA Championships in Guelph, Ontario. Tryouts for the Canadian team will take place in October 2000 in Erin, Ontario. Contact Jim Dunn for further information.

2000 DRESSAGE CHAMPIONSHIPS C Championship Jessica Ralston Katie Policelli Luke Stephenson Lindsay Bouchard D Championship Tegan Fair Brooke Olejnik Carly Buck Kelly Poisson F Championship Pam Elgie G Championship Lindsay Thompson E Championship Jaime Anderson Allison Poel Megan Riddoch Jennifer Neale A Ribbon Becky Bridges Carla Bright Erin Murphy Shelley Tighe C Ribbon Brittany Veinot Jennifer Morrison   REGIONAL RALLY Pre-Training Team Overall London/Esquesing Bluewater/Mill Ridge London Guelph B Guelph A Pre-Training Team Stable Management Bluewater/Mill Ridge Guelph B London London/Esquesing Guelph A

Training Team Overall Mill Ridge Training Team Stable Management Mill Ridge   D RALLY D Individual Overall Rachel McDonough Aurora Curtis Jessica Smith Julia Elgie Jean Eagleson Jessica Henderson Alexandra Pizans Jackie Kirkconnel Claire Prime Kendra Taylor D1 Individual Overall Jessica Ralston Emily McIntyre Wes Morrison Alyssa Zehr Katie Olechowski Becky Livernois Peter Szkotnicki Natalie Suthern Shannon Hanley Kasia Sprentall D2 Individual Overall Jamie Greenfield Caitlin Curran-Blaney Meaghan Maloney Brianne MacKenzie Carly Buck Corrine Rayson Brittany Veinot Katie Veinot Danielle Pearson Corrin Harris

 

2000 SHOWJUMPING CHAMPIONSHIPS Advanced Division Amanda Dunn Sarah Hill Lindsay Thompson Intermediate Division Ashley Meagher Erin McBride Erin Magee Melanie MacKenzie Novice Division Leslie Seville Julia Marr Alex Bailey Heather Roung Beginner Division Danielle Bechard Erin Greenfield Tegan Fair Abigail Miller

Starter Division Wes Morrison Alyssa Zehr Barbie Bent Caitlin Curran-Blaney Entry Division Shannon Townsend Casey MacIntosh Kelly Poisson Katie Vienot Pre-Entry Division Jenna Rogerson Alex Pizans Katie Policelli Jean eagleson

 

 

Lest we forget in the emotional excitement of competition or in the trauma of “A” and “B” testing just what Pony Club is all about, let me remind you that it is not to make Olympic riders, though we will take great pride in any Pony Clubber who can reach that height; it is not to turn out highly polished riders mounted on expensive horses, though we all admire the picture when treated to it; it is not to turn every child into an “A” rider or even a “B.” It is to provide EVERY child with a backyard horse or pony the opportunity to develop his or her skill in riding to the point where he or she is a proficient “C.” It is to instill in them a love for horses and an ability to care for and enjoy horses for the rest of their lives and through this contribute to their development as well-rounded citizens. If we have done these things, we will have done our job.

—Rufus Wesson, USPC President, 1970- 72

 

Contributions Ponies Riding a pony is awfully fun. But if you don’t give him treats. Watch out you'll be done! Every day is a new challenge. Whether you’re hacking or at a show

Jennifer Zelmer was 2nd at the Prelim Championships at Equis 3D, and has been selected for the Young Riders team at the CCI* at Glen Oro 3 day event. To do this well at the preliminary level against all the adults, and to be on a Young Riders team is quite an accomplishment. Congratulations Jennifer!

Some ponies just want to go. go, go!
But some (like mine) don’t always go crazy.
They’re just plain old lazy!
Each pony is different in their own little ways
But trust me. when you and your pony go riding
You’ll have lots of fun days!

By Becky Bridges. Niagara Pony Club

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