1. Club Information

2. Pony Club Structure

Pony Club NSW divides clubs into Zones. A number of Zones join together to form an Area. Our club is part of Zone 10 which is part of Area 1.

3. Fees

Contact the club for the current fees. All memberships are now done online through the MyPonyClub portal 

The fee includes the Pony Club NSW affiliation and insurance fees. Cobbitty Pony Club requires all riding members under 18 years of age to join with a parent or guardian as a member who is encouraged to attend rally days and become involved with the activities of the club. Voting right is one vote each per associate (18 years & above) and senior financial members.

4. Uniform

Rally Day Uniform

• Fawn/beige jodhpurs
• Cobbitty Pony Club polo shirt (available from club) or formal uniform as listed below
• Cobbitty saddlecloth (available from club) or plain white saddlecloth
• Approved helmet
• Smooth soled boots with heel

Competition Uniform (Formal Uniform)

• Fawn/beige jodhpurs - available from your local saddlery
• White long sleeve collared shirt (not polo shirt) - available from Big W & Lowes
• Yellow Tie - available from Cobbitty Pony Club
• Yellow woollen jumper - available from Cobbitty Pony Club
• Club saddle cloth - available from Cobbitty Pony Club
• Approved helmets must be worn at all rally days and competitions
• Riding boots with heels and smooth soles

If you require some of the club merchandise (polo, tie, jumper, saddlecloth) please see us at the clubhouse at a rally day, email or message the Cobbitty Pony Club facebook page. 

What to wear when?

Rally Days: Rally day uniform or formal uniform with plain white saddle cloth

Gymkhanas : Formal Uniform

Zone Competitions: Formal Uniform

State Competitions: Zone Uniform in Zone 10 Colours

Regional Schools: Formal Uniform

5. Rally Days

Rally Days are generally held on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month from February to early December. Check out the calendar page for the latest details.

You must be a financial member of the Pony Club Association of NSW. It is encouraged that a responsible adult must accompany each child on Rally Days. Only Pony Club riding members are permitted to ride at rallies (senior riding members over 25 years are only permitted to ride with the Chief Instructors approval for instruction or demonstration only) Riders are also not permitted to ride other members horses without the written permission of the horse owner, parent and chief instructor.

Rally Days  - Generally there is 1 session in the morning with a break for lunch, followed by a further session in the afternoon.

Daylight Savings approx timetable (one hour later in winter)

8:00am             Arrive, Park & Unload horses (no horses to be saddled up at this time). Covid check-in and                             sign attendance book listing rider and horse and adult in attendance. 

8:10am             Set up activities, jump course etc with Canteen & Clubrooms

8.30am             Saddle up

8:45am             Line up unmounted for gear check - groups selected - activities start

11:00am           Lunch Break

12:30pm           Line up - Re Group - Activities recommence

2:30pm             Activities conclude - horses and riders unsaddle. Adult attendees to help with

                          pack up. In order to share the workload and make rally days run smoothly we

                          ask that all parents assist.

It is a requirement of membership that all parents or guardians assist with putting out and packing up equipment at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day before leaving the grounds.

What happens on a rally day?

There are lots of different activities that you may participate in at a rally day including show jumping, dressage, cross country, mounted games, sporting, troop drill, polocrosse, horse care and theory.

• Riders must present themselves with their horses, unmounted for gear check at 8:45 (daylight savings time) in troop lines at the front of the clubhouse.
• When all riders have been gear checked, they will be organised into groups for the first session.
• The size and composition of groups depends on many factors including which members are present, what instructors are available and what activities are organised. Generally riders of similar ability will be grouped together.
• Your attendance should be recorded in the attendance book, this will be checked by the Membership Officer or another club official in their absence. For insurance purposes all accompanying parents/guardians must sign the Sign In Book which is located at the clubhouse.

Wet Weather Policy:

If it appears to be raining please check our facebook page for cancellation notices. We aim to have any updates listed by 7am.

What to wear:

Riders must wear a well fitting helmet of the current standard approved by Pony Club Australia. This can change so it is important to ensure your helmet is compliant.

Reasonably smooth soled elastic sided riding boots which meet the requirements in the handbook.

Club uniform

What you should bring:

Food for your horse, bucket for water, secure headstall and lead rope, and a rug in winter. Tack should meet Pony Club criteria, be well fitting and in good condition. You may need to check the suitability of gear (especially bits) prior to coming to a rally day.

Lunch

A canteen runs every rally day providing a variety of food and drinks at a reasonable cost. We ask that all members take a shift or two in the canteen to help out. Poppy is our Canteen Coordinator and would welcome any offers to help.

Parking

Car parking is provided at the grounds over the causeway to the left of the club house. Please park in single file facing the grounds and leave adequate room between floats. The area around the clubhouse is a horse free zone, no horses should be between the fence and the clubhouse.

6. Competitions

During the year there are many competitions held which members can attend. The main type being the pony club gymkhana.

The gymkhana is an opportunity for all riders to go out and compete against other riders from other clubs. Gymkhanas usually have ring events (hacking), sporting and jumping. They are a great way for riders to get experience in competitions and build up confidence. While horses an ponies need to be plaited and presented for gymkhanas, do not let this deter you as help is always available if you are unsure what to do.

Cobbitty Pony Club are advised when other clubs in our zone and area are holding competitions and will communicate this to our members. Entries are now usually via an online entry system, either the Pony Club portal or another such as nominate.com.au or globalentriesonline.com.au.

If wishing to compete in jumping at a competition you must be graded and grading cards will need to be presented at the event.

7. Workers are Volunteers

All of our committee, instructors and rally day helpers are volunteers. We do it for the love of the sport and seeing our children enjoy their horses together, riding with their friends and learning about horsemanship, riding and safety. We would all love to sit each rally day and simply watch our own child. Unfortunately if everyone in the club took this stance, especially our instructors, nothing would be done and none of the children would get to ride. Therefore it is particularly important that every parent of every rider pitches in and does their bit to assist in the running of the club.

Rally day jobs include:

• Assisting with set up and pull down of equipment
• Helping in the canteen or cooking the BBQ
• Packing up the clubhouse after lunch
• Assisting instructors with activities such as sporting (timekeeping, putting out flags) and jumping (picking up poles) or helping by leading a beginner (sometimes the instructors children need help too!)

If you are unsure what to do just ask one of the instructors or committee.

8. Conduct of Riders

Pony Club is a youth organisation therefore the following policies apply;

• No Smoking
• No Alcohol
• No Swearing

These policies apply to all adults and children. Please visit www.pcansw.org.au to view these policies.

Please arrive on time. Late arrivals are disruptive and may result in riders being left out of a session.

Be considerate of each other and especially of less experienced and younger riders when riding near them.

Walk at all times unless advised otherwise by an instructor.

You may not leave a session without asking permission from the instructor.

You must ride where and when advised by an instructor - definitely not around the clubhouse.

Remember to thank your instructor at the end of the session.

Horses are easily spooked and everyone who comes to pony club needs to be sensible around horses.  Small children should be supervised at all times and are not to climb on any of the railings or equipment.

All dogs must be on a leash and must be kept away from the designated riding areas.

If a parent wishes to discuss an aspect of a session with an instructor, please wait until the end of the session. Please do NOT call out instructions to your child during the session.

Children should be courteous and co-operative and be keen to learn and have fun. Parents should remember that Pony Club operates for the benefit of the children.

9. Pony Club Rules

Safety of both horse and rider is paramount in pony club. Hence there are strict rules governing most aspects of membership. These rules are designed to prevent accidents and injuries.  It is in your interests to acquaint yourself with the rules as soon as possible. If in doubt please ask a committee member or refer to the 'Blue Book' available on the PCA website.

10. Communication

The club will email members with information on upcoming events and issues and this information can also be located on our facebook page.

Meetings of the committee are held monthly on the pony club grounds (usually the 2nd Monday of the month) we encourage all members to consider being part of the committee and attend our Annual General Meeting held in December each year.

11. Awards

At the end of the year we have a Presentation Day and Christmas Party where we hand out a selection of awards, trophies and rosettes.