Camp is a huge tradition in the Pony Club and we run three different ones every year

In order to secure your place on any of next year's camps , please send your £50 deposit to
Judy Vallini, Old House Farm, Roundstreet Common, Wisborough Green, West Sussex, RH14 0AL as soon as possible

SENIOR CAMP 2011, Littleton Manor, Reigate

This year Camp held a lot of new firsts for us all, from a new venue at Littleton Manor to a few very new combinations (i.e. Holly Morganti and Billy who had only been together for a couple of weeks), and then we had first timers at Senior Camp and those that had never camped before (just as we said - it does get cold at night!!) After the brilliant Steve Randell had managed to untangle trailers, parents, and tents, peace seemed to settle over camp! Of course it didn’t last too long, the children all went out on their assessment rides and Ros and I (Judy) and Emma (our marvellous Stable Manager) and Susannah Milton rushed around getting our things settled and finding our bearings. The new venue was tremendous with a large bright marquee for eating with some benches outside, and another huge one for night time, the temporary stabling was super and the tented area was “homey” (as one child described it to me). All settled into a rhythm, with rides all working well, our sections being run by our Section Leaders, Hannah, Issi, Emily, Zoe, Eva and Lottie who this year helped the newcomers and younger ones in their section really well. The horses all settled into their new stables and the kids into their tents. That first night Chloe Collins organised an ice breaker for everyone, it involved blue smash, red something, doughnuts, Fanta, flour ……… (we soon discovered that the showers worked well!) and the ice was well and truly broken! The next day arrived with some children a little sleepy partly due to having been a bit chilly and partly I suspect, from chatting too late we had a great breakfast and off they went, we had a few dismounts on this first day, but no injuries. Poor Luke Stent was the first of quite a few to get a dunking in the water as Merlin decided he would rather have a lie down (he did not want to get up!!) That evening saw everyone become very familiar with the X-country course as Ros’ Krypton factor Game had them running around in all directions, all connected to a lead rope in a fabulous section building game. We had some interesting explanations to the clues! Yet another successful night and once the generator went off, it really did all go quiet. Another bright rise at 7.15 for the children and another sunny day, except for a couple of sore feet and a lost shoe (the farrier arrived in an hour and a half, we reckon that could be a record!!) the day went on quietly. Emma and Susannah were kept busy hosing legs and bandaging, the children all got some good practice in. The evening drew in with some Line Dancing, which really started to take off when Ros, Emma and Susannah joined in and ended on the Birdie song! Tuesday saw everyone remounted and that’s how they stayed! That evening saw a really interesting Feeding Talk organised by Denes (who also kindly gave out goodie bags!). They showed us the intestines, talked to us about feed and roughage etc, and also what to look for in the condition of a horse, for this they had three volunteers Badger Vallini, Phantom Kemp and Ellie Higgo all of which thought being centre of attention and being fed treats on a rubber mat (the weigh bridge) was loads of fun. It really was a thoroughly entertaining and very educational talk and they promised to come back next time and weigh more horses for us! Wednesday morning arrived and much to our excitement we had a surprise visitor at the x-country water jump, Anna Grayston (National Pairs Driving Champion) had come to train a 6 year old New Forest called Harry and she had graciously agreed that we could watch, not only that but talked to the children and answered questions about what driving her pairs is all about, she is off to the World Championships in September so we wish her the Best of Luck!! It was quite a day as it finished off with a visit from the Surrey Union Hounds in the evening, followed by a hunt game and stock tying lessons from Anne-Marie, many thanks! Thursday, the final day arrived! Ben had organised this as competition day, and it all started well, however half way through the day we were joined by a swarm of wasps that made its way slowly over the stables (luckily leaving the horses alone) and across the tents and came to rest in a tree close by, the children were brilliantly behaved and no panicking at all, but we had to have all the instructors, children and horses out whilst they were being dealt with, so with military precision they all mounted and single file drew out onto the gallops and with Ben’s “Left turn!” literally marched off quietly around the gallops looking absolutely fabulous! It really was quite a sight. The evening arrived at which point so did parents all ready to take some very tired ponies home. This time owing to Steve’s brilliant organisation all went smoothly, trailers were gathered, parked on the gallops, everything loaded and just tents and children remained and it ended in a particularly effective water fight! That last night some very inventive decoration of the muck heaps with chairs and fascinating use of plastic cups kept some of the children very busy (hint for next year let me out of the caravan if you want me to step into a water bucket that way I don’t climb out the window!!!) followed the next day by some timely tidying up and tent dismantling and a lovely prize giving and then home. We hope everyone had as much fun as we did, the ponies were superb and the children all behaved really well and seemed to really enjoy themselves. See you all next year!

Rogate 2009

MINI/JUNIOR CAMP
This is aimed at children aged 12 and under. Junior Camp offers tuition by qualified instructors, lots of games, lots of fun and is a great way to spend time with all your pony club friends. All levels of experience are welcome. Rides will be split according to ability. Jumping is not compulsory and we can accommodate you if you prefer not to. More experienced children will take part in flatwork and jumping to a more advanced level and on the final, extra day, will go cross country schooling at Rogate, which is always great fun.

Camp lasts 3 days and is non-residential. Parents are required to drop off each day and we ask you to leave behind your trailer/ lorry in order to provide somewhere for the children to store kit, tie up ponies and shelter in the case of rain. Start time is 9:30 am sharp and pick up time is 3:30 pm.

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SENIOR CAMP
This is aimed at members aged 11 years and over and is a 5 day residential camp. Stabling is provided. The nature of the camp means that the riders become more self sufficient in looking after their ponies. There is a full team of qualified instructors, a cook, stable helpers, daily parent helpers and "Camp Mums" who stay over. Apart from these helpers, adults are banned!! Each instructor will take their group for two rides per day. There is also a stable management session daily, which enables Pony Club Tests to be taken if possible. We end the week with a ridden competition. There is also a competition which runs all week to find the best Section, which is marked on mucking out, tack cleaning etc. Great entertainment is provided during the evenings with a BBQ on the final night.   Lack of sleep is guaranteed!

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Piggy French Course Easter 2008

New in 2008 was a Senior Team Training Camp, which is held at Easter for invited Intermediate and Open Team members, who benefit from pre-season training and for whom the Summer Holidays are busy with competitions. We had two brilliant days with International eventer Piggy French at the fabulous Hoplands Equestrian Centre in Stockbridge plus a tour of Jennie Lauriston-Clarke's Catherston Stud.

In April 2009 we went to Boomerang, near Hungerford for 2 days with well known Pony Club instructor and eventer Will Miflin plus a tour of Harry Meade's yard where we heard all about his Badminton preparation.

In 2010 we travelled to Quainton Stud for a two day intense training camp with British Junior and Young Rider Event Team Trainer, Gill Watson. On arrival each girl had a flatwork session in pairs while the others watched. An excellent lunch cooked by Kate Lawson (who must be related to Nigella!) was appreciated due to the ever windy, wet and worsening weather. A course of jumps was built in the lovely indoor school in the afternoon to simulate difficult cross country fence combinations. The second morning session consisted of a warm up and a ride through upcoming tests which were videoed by parents, then we congregated in the cabin to watch the tests and listen to feedback by Gill. Again a course was built for the afternoon and both groups had a good time tackling the course.

Plans are currently in hand for 2011

Will Miflin Course Easter 2009