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News

The latest news and updates from Wellgrove

Riding for the Disabled volunteers needed!

We are currently short of volunteers for our Riding For the Disabled group based in Tunbridge Wells, Wellgrove RDA. Now in our second year of operation we are beginning to have a busy timetable of events and with a bit more help I am sure that the group can offer riding for more individuals and groups that thrive on the exercise and time with the animals as well as being able to consolidate our current groups and begin to offer them competitions and qualifications outside of our closed environment.

As well as volunteers to assist in our riding group sessions, it would also be great to find some people that would like to help in other areas. Ideally it would be good to have an outside events coordinator that could look at what the RDA have to offer our riders and make the most of them. (This could range from running internal tests and shows to competing at qualifiers etc – this is all new to us, so any ideas, new or experienced would be welcomed.) Also useful roles might include a volunteers coordinator – they can do the boring form filling and drumming up support but also organise some socials etc. Other roles include tack cleaning, fund raising and treating the RDA ponies to cuddles and grooms etc!

Currently our timetable looks like this until end of July.( all time slots are 30 mins)

  • Monday 9.30 (littlies), 10.00 (adults), 11.00 (teenagers), 11.30 (young adults)
  • Tuesday 11.15 (teenagers)
  • Thursday 10.00 (littlies), 10.30 (teenagers)
  • Friday 1.30 (young adults)

From September as far as we know we have the same plus an extra group on a Thursday 1.00 (children).

On another note we could do with some craftsmen assistance – would love a DIY fanatic to do up the summer house that we were kindly donated . We also would like some idea of the costs involved in building a toilet block and sorting out our access surface to make it a little more wheelchair friendly. Any ideas considered.

Pony Club stable management sessions

From 1 June 2016 there will no longer be Pony Club stable management sessions at the end of each lesson. They will remain free of charge, but will be at the following times only and will require pre-booking:

  • Saturdays 10.30am-11.30am and 2.30pm-3.30pm
  • Tuesdays 4.30pm-5.30pm
  • Fridays 4.30pm-5.3pm

We will also run sessions in the half terms and holidays to allow for catch up.

Showjumping results

Congratulations to the Show Jumpers:

  • 30 cm: 1st Mimi and Beano, 2nd Jasmine and Beano, 3rd Jade and Tom, Ilona and Ronnie, 4th Phoebe and Sweep and Alice and Ted
  • 50cm: 1st Red and Barney, 2nd Mimi and Beano, 3rd Joe and Chips, 4th Tony and Apple
  • 70 cm: 1st Lucy and Tom, 2nd Red and Jax, Tony and Apple, 3rd Charlotte and Ned
  • 90cm: 1st Lucy and Tom, 2nd Daniela and Aero

More Pony Club achievements

Congratulations to the Pony Clubbers who passed the following:

  • Wild Flower badge – Chloe, Ava, Vaela, Lucy, Rachel, Ellie
  • Mini Grooming – Chloe, Ava, Ellie
  • Mini Feeding – Chloe, Ava, Vaela, Ellie
  • Mini Rugs – Chloe, Ava, Ellie

Riding awards:

  • Bronze 1 – Vaela, Ava, Chloe
  • Bronze 2 – Ellie
  • Silver 1 – Rachel, Lucy

Pony Club achievements

Congratulations on the following badges and riding awards:

Badges:

  • Mini Tacking up: Eloise
  • Mini Grooming: Eloise, Olivia, Poppy, Grace
  • Mini Rugs: Eloise, Jess, Olivia, Saffron, Poppy, Grace, Maddison
  • Feeding: Grace
  • Birdwatching: Grace
  • Mucking out: Mimi
  • Poisonous plants: Mimi
  • Mini Feeding: Jess, Maddison
  • Points of Horse: Saffron
  • Mini Poisonous plants: Saffron
  • Mini birdwatching: Eloise, Mimi, Jess, Olivia, Saffron,Poppy, Grace, Maddison

Riding awards

  • Bronze 2 riding award: Eloise, Saffron
  • Bronze 1 riding award: Poppy, Olivia, Grace, Jess, Maddison
  • Silver 3 riding award: Grace, Mimi

Riding test results

Congratulations to the following:

Amy, Emily, Alicia and Holly who gained their Bronze 3 Progressive Riding Test.

Jess and Milly, Bronze 2.

Ruby, Bronze 1.

Rachel, Grace and Mimi, Silver 3.

Hatty, Silver 2.

D-test passes

Congratulations to Rachel, Georgia, Lucy, Olivia, Grace, Mimi, Sophia and Mary who passed their D-test today.

End of summer show results

Set 1

Poles

  • 1st Darcie and Molly
  • 2nd Honey and Marcus
  • 3rd Stephanie and Socks
  • 4th Phoebe and Beano

Best combinations

  • 1st Honey and Marcus
  • 2nd Tegan and Lottie
  • 3rd Stephanie and Socks
  • 4th Natasha and Mitmoo

Musical chairs

  • 1st Darcie and Molly
  • 2nd Phoebe and Beano
  • 3rd Stephanie and Socks
  • 4th Tegan and Lottie

Specials to Nina and Princess, Reuben and Bobby

Set 2

Jumping

  • 1st Jenna and Sami
  • 2nd Vicky and Blue
  • 3rd Joe and Chips
  • 4th Phoebe and Tom

Best rider

  • 1st Vicky and Blue
  • 2nd Jenna and Sammi
  • 3rd Joe and Chips
  • 4th Phoebe and Tom

Bucket elimination

  • 1st Phoebe and Tom
  • 2nd Vicky and Blue and Joe and Chips
  • 4th Jenna and Sammi and Mimi and Socks

Specials to Tally and Barney and Skala and Ronnie

Set 3

Jumping

  • 1st Jenna and Sammi
  • 2nd Red and Jax
  • 3rd Alicia and Ronnie

Showing class

  • 1st Red and Jax
  • 2nd Olivia and Bobby
  • 3rd Charlotte and Ned
  • 4th, Alicia and Ronnie

Sweet race

  • 1st Charlotte and Ned
  • 2nd Red and Jax
  • 3rd Grace and Delia
  • 4th Alicia and Ronnie

Trilby trophy: Red and Jax

October Pony Club topic

The October Pony Club topic is Tack to include bridle stripping and bits (lorinery).

End of summer show details

All the details for our end of summer show on Monday 26 October are now here!

Find out more >>

Riders entering Set 3 will be competing for the fourth annual Wellgrove Farm Trilby Trophy!

Trilby Trophy 2015

Final camp results

Results from the last camp of 2015.

Cross country

Small

  • 1st Reuben, 2nd Albert, 3rd Heather

Big

  • 1st Lucy, 2nd Red, 3rd Grace

Handy Pony

  • 1st Hattie, 2nd Tally, 3rd Red

Barrel Racing

  • 1st Red, 2nd Tally, 3rd Lucy

Show Jumping

Small

  • 1st Reuben, 2nd Anna, 3rd Albert

Big

  • 1st Hattie, 2nd Lucy, 3rd Grace

Round the world

  • 1st Lucy, 2nd Skala, 3rd Red

Tack and Turnout

  • 1st Hattie and Heather, 2nd Red and Gemma, 3rd Tally and Susan, 4th Mimi and Grace

Dressage intro

  • 1st Red, 2nd Grace, 3rd Hattie

Dressage walk and trot

  • 1st Heather, 2nd Anna and Mimi, 3rd Susan

Most Improved: Anna
Most helpful: Lucy

Winning team: Red Rum

Current vacancies

We have a variety of vacancies available at Wellgrove Farm Equestrian, Tunbridge Wells.

  • Monday-Friday morning yard person (position now filled)
  • Saturday afternoon yard person (may suit responsible teenager)
  • Sunday afternoon yard person (position now filled)

We also have a vacancy for an apprentice (40 hours per week) and a part time/freelance instructor for a possible Sunday morning slot.

Please contact Emma at [email protected] for details.

Results from second summer camp

Tack and Turnout

  • 1st Terryn and Amelia
  • 2nd Red and Tess
  • 3rd Alice and Ilona
  • 4th Lana and Victoria
  • 5th Elin and Tally

Wild West

  • 1st Terryn
  • 2nd Lana
  • 3rd Ilona
  • 4th Red

Handy Pony

  • 1st Terryn
  • 2nd Red
  • 3rd Tally
  • 4th Amelia

Dressage Intro

  • 1st Red and Alice
  • 2nd Tally
  • 3rd Ilona
  • 4th Victoria and Terryn

Dressage Walk and Trot

1st Elin and Tess

Show Jumping

  • Intermediate 1st Lana
  • Novice 1st Ilona
  • Absolute Novice 1st Tally

Cross country

  • 1st Lana
  • 2nd Terryn
  • 3rd Victoria
  • 4th Amelia

Most Improved: Victoria

Most Helpful: Alice

Best Stable Management: Amelia

Results from first camp

Tack and Turnout

1st Pippa and Lucy M
2nd Esme and Alba
3rd Jodie and Alice

Show Jumping – small

1st Poppie
2nd Alice
3rd Alba
4th Maya

Medium Show Jumping

1st Rachel L
2nd Lucy B
3rd Rachel S
4th Vicky

Cross country big course

1st Archie
2nd Lucy B
3rd Vicky
4th Esme

Cross country small course

1st Rachel S
2nd Alice
3rd Poppie

Dressage – Novice

1st Lucy M
2nd Alice
3rd Vicky
4th Jodie

Dressage – Walk and trot

1st Poppie
2nd Holly
3rd Maya
4th Sophie

Wild West

1st Lucy M
2nd Lucy B
3rd Esme
4th Archie

  • Gymkhana games won by Archie’s team “Dujardin”
  • Winner of Stable Management Star – Rachel S
  • Winner of Most Improved – Alba

Offer from Broadfeed

Please see the below message from Broadfeed!

As a Pony Club centre we thought you and your members should know about our Equestrian offer which starts this weekend at Broadfeed.

Every weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) until 30 August we’ve giving 20% off our equestrian range (excludes feed, bedding, wormers & supplements) PLUS an extra 5% discount for Pony Club members.

Whether your members are getting together their camp checklist or preparing for an upcoming show we’ve got everything they need.

Please see our newsletter to find out more http://us3.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a900791e54a138707b7d0c919&id=2e833c70ed&e=108a3626cd

Pony Club Achievement Badges

Pony Club Achievement Badges from Sunday 10th May:

  • Mini points of tack – Erica, Hannah
  • Tack Cleaning – Erica
  • Mini Rugs – Rachel
  • Mucking out – Rachel

May Pony Club topic

The Pony Club topic for May is grooming and handling, to include plaiting, pulling and trimming.

Lucy’s departure

Dear Wellgrove Riders

As many of you are already aware, Lucy has decided after many years to leave Wellgrove and move onto a horse job that does not require teaching. I am sure many of you will miss her and will want to wish her well in her new job. Lucy’s last working day will be Saturday 4th April, so we will unfortunately need to make a few changes to lesson structures to cope with being one short for a while. Since four weeks is not really long enough to find a suitable replacement that will work in our team, we have come up with a few solutions that I hope will mean that not too many people are badly affected by the change.

Saturday morning lessons will be covered for now by Debra Richmond who has worked with us before and has kindly agreed to cover the work short term, so lessons 9am-1pm will remain unchanged. After 1pm, Emma will be taking over the teaching of both her clients and Lucy’s and will contact everyone separately to discuss ongoing changes. We hope that we will be able to do this causing as little disruption to all the clients as possible and apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused. Please note that we do have a few weeknight spaces available, so please let us know if a day change may suit you better. Weeknight lessons are not severely disrupted but we will be cancelling Lucy’s Friday after school sessions and again Emma will contact everyone directly to discuss an alternative.

We can only thank everyone in advance for their understanding and I am sure that everything can run as smoothly as possible, once the routines are settled again.

Yours sincerely

Emma Whittaker and all at Wellgrove

Half-term achievements

Congratulations to those who passed their Achievement badge testing this Half term.

Mini mucking out

  • Dilly
  • Alice
  • Lizzy
  • Edie
  • Ellie D
  • Joseph
  • Saffron

Mini Tacking up

  • Edie
  • Ellie D
  • Lizzy
  • Joseph
  • Jessica

Mini Feeding

  • Saffron
  • Mimi

Mini Groom

  • Edie
  • Ellie D
  • Lizzy
  • Joseph

Feedback to pass – Mainly rugs Cydney, Willow, Jessicca, Rachel, Mary, Sophia, Alice, Dilly – Putting rugs on correctly and leg straps!!! Bandages were surprisingly ok!!

Mini Points

  • Joseph
  • Dilly
  • Alice
  • Mary
  • Sophia

Mini Rugs

  • Grace

Wellgrove Disco tickets now available

Tickets for the Wellgrove disco are now available from the office!

It will be held from 6pm-8pm on Saturday 7 March 2015 at Pembury Village Hall and all are welcome.

Tickets cost £3.50 for Pony Club members and £5 for non-members, and all proceeds will go to Wellgrove Riding for the Disabled.

Wellgrove Disco Poster