Glen Innes Pony Club have banded back together and are ready to continue on with their success this year.
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Members returned at the showground on Sunday for their August Rally Day with the aim of putting their best foot forward for the upcoming Zone 13 interclub program.
The last time the club competed against others from around the region at the annual Jamboree, they came out on top with the highest pointscore overall.
Sunday’s activities were put together to ensure the all-round success continues.
Glen Innes chief instructor Julie Donnelly said the return to saddle was met with enthusiasm and two new members signed up.
“We had a family out of town that have come from Allora and they are now living in Glen and then just a local family, their little girl wants to get involved,” she said.
“Emily, who is 15, she really enjoyed it because we had the dressage and the jumping and that is what she is used to doing. She was a bit apprehensive going to do the stockhorse stuff but I just told her to go and have a look but she ended up doing it.
We like doing the overall thing, we notice when we get to Zone all our riders can do everything.
- Julie Donnelly
“She realised you can use everything on a horse, use all the facets of dressage in something as simple as a time trial.
“The little girl is still learning how to ride.
“She really enjoyed herself and loved sitting on the horse and being able to be included.”
Donnelly said the day offered a broad enough range of disciplines for riders to try out new things.
“We had Belinda Williamson doing the stockhorse time trial and a working pattern and we had the Kiehnes - Rachel, Luke and Jackie - doing the jumping because the kids have to be graded to jump at the interclub days coming up in October,” she said.
“We had Dot Williamson come and do the dressage and in the afternoon we just did a bit of ring craft to get them ready for the interclubs.
“We like doing the overall thing, we notice when we get to Zone all our riders can do everything.
“That's why when we do a rally day or mini camp we have a wide variety of everything.”
The annual gymkhana season is little more than a month away with the Glen Innes club launching into action with hosting the first one on October 14.
Donnelly said they will also conduct the Zone’s Campdrafting Championships on the day and Inverell will host their interclub in Glen Innes the following day.
“I am hoping we get a fair few riders, I am hoping to get 100 for the interclub being back and the first cab off the rank after all the southern zone clubs have their camps,” she said.
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