I cannot believe that the 2009-2010 Show Season is upon us already ~ where does the time go ? We have a busy Calendar of events in SA this year, with the return of some old favorite Shows and also some new ones being added. Unfortunately our Member’s favorite Shows, the Channel 7 Adelaide Animal Expo weekend of Shows will not be held in 2010, which is very disappointing, but who knows what 2011 will bring ?! You will find the amended Show Calendar of Events in the Newsletter. Any changes or amendments to the Calendar will be put on the website, so if you have the internet, check the site regularly. If you do not have access to the website or internet, please let me know and I can advise you of any changes by other means. Championship Show: Don’t forget this is on Sunday 10 January, 2010 and entries will close Monday 4 January, 2010. The January Newsletter will be out early but the Show Schedule, Conditions and Entry Form will be on the website if anyone wants to download them. If anyone would like a copy sent to them earlier, please let me know. High Point Conditions: Due to several factors, these have been amended and an updated list of the Conditions are in the Newsletter; please check through and if you have any queries, please contact me. Due to the fact that we had a couple of Shows cancel, one re-schedule, the possibility of another cancelling, it was felt that the number of High Point Shows to attend should be reduced to 10; which should be quite easily attainable with the number of Shows on the Calendar. Also due to the number of Shows now that are having “Supreme of Show”, it was felt that we should include in our Schedule of Classes a “Supreme”, which also means that to keep it fair and equitable to all, points should be allotted to the Pony who is awarded “Supreme Miniature Pony”. Therefore the conditions have been amended to reflect this. Show Entry Forms: Entry Forms to Shows must be signed by the Registered owner of the Pony. In the case of Joint/Family Membership one of the owners must sign on behalf of the Membership; this should strictly be the person who is listed on the data base as the ‘contact’ person for the Membership and the person who has the voting rights. In future, Entry Forms signed by other than the Registered owner will NOT be accepted. If you have given permission for someone else to enter your Pony in a Show, you need to advise me, your State Delegate in writing. Show Ring Etiquette: Several Judges have pointed out to me the practice of some of our Showing Members who kneel in front of their Pony in the ring and I have noticed that the number of Members doing this is increasing. This is an extremely dangerous practice and is not encouraged. It may be that Members believe that this gives the Judge a better view of the pony but it in fact from their view (which you can observe first hand when in the ring Stewarding) gives a very strange view of the Pony in comparison with the Handler. Members are therefore requested to refrain from this practice. Being Ready for Classes: Already this season, I have personally observed and also had several Members contact me, regarding the number of Members who have not been ready for Classes. Either because they are off in another ring, or sitting by the ringside chatting and or smoking, still with rugs on ponies, quite oblivious to the fact that they are holding up the whole ring, which in effect can mean the whole Show ! While I understand sometimes this can happen when you have worked out which Classes you want to enter in two rings, believing that by the times on the Schedule that you can do the two rings, but on the day due to hold-ups of one reason or another, this becomes impossible. At that point it is going to be necessary for you to decide which ring you want to show in, as I don’t believe that Classes should be held up continually, often for the same person, which then in turn creates a snowball effect on the smooth running of the Show. It is also unfair to hold the ring up for one person and not another, so I believe that we need to make a decision that the rings wont be held up for anyone. I am not talking about someone walking from another ring to our ring; I am referring to someone who maybe in another ring and being judged, when it is obvious that there will be a considerable holdup. Member’s co-operation in this matter would be appreciated. Education / Information Day: We recently held our first Education / Information Day of the season and covered topics of Showmanship, where our Presenter Steven Brewster gave an entertaining, interesting, informative, frank session, on Showmanship, Judge etiquette, suggested handling and training tips and how to get the most out of your pony and/or handler classes. As Steven has also been a Judge for many years, he was able to explain what, in his experience as a Judge, he looks for, doesn’t look for, likes or dis-likes. Our other guest speaker, Kim Cooper an Equine Dental Technician, gave us an interesting presentation on Equine teeth issues. She brought along two skulls, which showed us where the teeth are in the equine’s mouth and the reason for each tooth and its estimated life span; so along with some photos, which illustrated examples of teeth conditions, things we had only heard about, in regards to equine teeth, we were able to understand the why and how ! We also discussed the need to vaccinate our equine friends, when this should be done and Shirley Smith had prepared excellent handouts on Tetanus and Strangles. All in all a most interesting day, which culminated in an informal discussion with those present, on the running of our SA Group, financial management, Shows and other general, topical and important issues like voting on Resolutions and the importance of every Member casting a vote. The only disappointing aspect of the day was the poor attendance, as we only had a total of 14 people. There is a lot of work involved in organizing these days; once subjects are selected from those suggested by Members, then to arrange for guest speakers, organizing and booking a venue (we were lucky this time as we didn’t have to book or pay for a venue) catering for the day, etc and then, to not be supported by Members is very disappointing, but it is those who didn’t come who missed out, as those who attended had a great social day, in addition to the information that was gleaned by all. Thankyou to Maria and Mark Sorensen of Two Wells Fodder & Saddlery Store, for providing the venue, opening the shop to Members, donating the lovely rug for our raffle (won by Michelle Voysey). Thankyou also to Tyrone Little, Shirley & Daryl Smith, Helen Klingberg, Merv Schutt, Maria and Mark Sorensen for their assistance on the day and a big Thankyou to the Members who attended. I had tentatively booked the Globe Derby Grounds for another Information / Education Day in November and asked in the last Newsletter, for Members interested in attending to contact me, but as I only had one Member contact me who said they “may” come; on that basis we cannot go ahead with just one “maybe” attendee. For all the work that goes into preparation etc and paying to hire the grounds, I just cannot justify the expense and I am sorry if anyone is disappointed but I can only go by the response that I received. SA Website: Those of you who have computer access and have checked our Website, will have noticed that in addition to Show results, High Points are now being recorded on there after each Show. Naturally, these are being checked but if you do happen to notice anything you consider incorrect, please contact either LeeAnne or myself. We are also fortunate in that Paul Champion, “Champs” and LeeAnne have offered to take photos at Shows they attend and these will also appear on the website. Where possible we will also put Show Schedules of Classes for our Shows and Breed Shows, but this will depend on wether they can be put on there. I don’t know all the technical terms but sometimes due to size etc this is not possible. We are very lucky to have LeeAnne Hall, who looks after our Website, regularly updating it. Just as a reminder the address is http://www.freewebs.com/saminipony/ Measuring of Ponies / Preparation / Identification: Please remember when speaking to one of our Official Measurers to make an appointment to have one of your Ponies measured, that they are volunteers and that you should, on the first discussion come to a mutually agreed arrangement with regards re-imbursement of their petrol costs. They are doing you a service and therefore MUST not be out of pocket, especially taking into account the cost of fuel these days. With regard to days and times please also consider that Measurers are not on call 24 hours a day, so please don’t leave it to the last minute to arrange for measuring. Also, please make sure that the Pony’s brands ARE VISIBLE and the Pony is ready for the Measuring time. It is also wise to have had their hooves trimmed prior to measuring, as this will give you a more accurate height. It is also recommended that you take a photo of your Pony (both sides) with brands visible and keep the photos with the Pony’s Registration Papers. Results of Voting / AGM: I attended the AGM in As usual, an extremely low number of the Membership took the time to vote, very disappointing as this is the time we all have to voice our opinions and cast our votes as to the direction we believe the Society should go in the future. For your information, results of the voting are going to be in the next Small Talk, which is at the printers now and should be with Members very soon, having been ‘held back’ so that the AGM voting results could be included. SA Financial position: As yet I have not received an audited copy of our financial position as at 31 July, 2009 (our year end) but as with every edition of Small Talk, the financial position of ALL States is in there. Just for the benefit of Members who are not aware: our Registry Office, who pay all accounts, maintains the finances for ALL States. This has been the procedure for several years now and simplifies the situation regarding GST etc. Therefore States do NOT have their own bank account, nor do they have cheque books, all payments emanate from the Registry office. Registrations / Memberships Queries: As I have had a few Members contact me regarding queries and/or errors in their paperwork, I thought it would be timely to remind / advise Members of a few things. Just to remind you also that if you have ANY queries regarding Registrations, Memberships or paperwork, please contact me, your State Delegate in the first instance, if you are unable to contact me and the matter is urgent, your second point of contact is the National Secretary, Wendy Chirgwin (contact details in every edition of Small Talk). The Registry Office is under contract to the Australian Miniature Pony Society Inc to maintain its registry and the financial /accounting of the Society; it is NOT an office put in place to answer Member queries. Therefore you are requested NOT to contact the Registry Office for any reason. If you believe that your paperwork is taking too long to be returned, or you have found errors in the paperwork when it is returned, please contact me so that it can be followed up. Unless we are made aware of the errors in paperwork, we are unable to rectify the situation and assess how often the errors are occurring and if something can be done to prevent them happening. Also, remember to ALWAYS take photocopies of ALL paperwork you send away; this is a good practice for everything not just your Pony Registrations. Membership Renewals: All Members are reminded that if they have not renewed their Membership, these are now overdue and must be pad immediately. Members should be aware that they MUST have renewed their Membership to Show, Foal Record, Register, Transfer Ponies or issue Service Certificates. Some Members who have renewed their Membership have already received their Membership Cards for 2009/2010; others will be handed out at the next Show. For those Members who do not attend Shows, their Membership Card will be posted to them. Please remember when you get your Membership Card to SIGN it. Membership Categories: Please make sure that you are fully aware of the criteria for the Membership categories and that you come under the correct one. For example if you have a Joint Membership, with several family Members on it, then ONLY the nominated Member can have a Vote and only that Member can speak on behalf of the Membership. Also under a Joint Membership ALL persons under that Membership are recorded as Registered Owners of all Ponies under that Membership. If you have an Associate Membership, you may own a Registered Pony but not be a Breeder, so if you have an Associate Membership and wish to breed, you must upgrade that Membership to a Full Membership. There are also no Voting rights under an Associate Membership. Handler Membership: this is a Membership that is attached to a Full, Joint or Single Membership and enables the Handler Member to Show only, it does NOT have Voting or Breeding Rights and the name DOES NOT appear on any Registration records. Payment by credit card: In order to reduce transaction fees, credit card payments are not processed on an individual basis, therefore if you pay by credit card any Registrations or Membership, a short delay can occur. Foal Recordings: All Foal Recordings for Foals of the 2008 season are recorded before the programme is updated to record Foals of the 2009 Foal Season. This can cause some delay in the 2009 Foal Recordings being processed and returned to Members. So please bear in mind when you send your 2009 Foal Recordings into the Registry Office, that there maybe a longer than normal turn around time. However, if you are concerned and feel it is taking too long, please contact me. When you receive your Foal Recording Certificates, ALWAYS CHECK to make sure that the CORRECT FOAL DROP YEAR has been recorded and if you find an error, contact ME immediately. Australian Miniature Pony Society Inc ~ Merchandise: While in I am now able to offer Members, long & short sleeved Polo Shirts and Vests, embroidered with the Australian Miniature Pony Society Inc logo, in a variety of colours. Short Sleeved Polo Shirts are $20, long sleeved Polo Shirts are $23 and Vests $30. Plus Packing and Postage. These are excellent quality and having had several different colours ordered and made, can attest first hand to the quality and appearance of the final product. For further information and a list of the colours and sizes available, please contact Barb Voysey Phone: I will attend as many Shows as I can again this season, so hope to catch up with some of you then; in the meantime as always, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries about anything. I Hope everyone has had good opening rains and that the coming Foal season will be both satisfying and also trouble free.
Kind regards,
Barb Voysey, SA Delegate.
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Calendar of Events: Well Members if you thought 2009-2009 season was busy, wait until you see what is in store for you in the 2009-2010 Show season !!
We have some exciting new Shows added and some old favorites return, as well as Education / Information Days. You will see the Calendar of Events in the Newsletter, kindly note that not all dates and Shows are confirmed as yet.
Classes at Breed Shows: All Show Societies have been given our current list of Classes but some may have already printed their Programmes or not checked them. If this occurs please note that CLASSES WILL BE AS PER OUR LIST and if any of them are wrong in the Programme, they will be corrected on the day. This will mainly affect Best Presented, so please note that BEST PRESENTED WILL ALWAYS BE THE FIRST CLASS. Also note that ALL SHOWS, (except of course, the Foal Show) ARE HIGH POINT SHOWS.
Foal Futurity: First Nominations are due by 31 July, 2009. If you nominated a mating in 2007 or 2008 and haven’t received your Nomination Form by 13 July, please contact me. If you have decided not to follow on with your nomination also please contact me, as that will save me having to forward the Nomination Forms. First Nomination Forms are included in the Newsletter and if anyone has any queries or doesn’t understand the process please contact me and I can explain how it works.
2009 – 2010 High Point: High Point Conditions are in the Newsletter, please read them and if you have any queries please contact me. While we are able to raise extra funds via Sponsors, Raffles, Lucky Squares and holding Education / Information Days we can keep the entry to
Education / Information Day: This will be held at the Two Wells Fodder & Saddlery on Sunday 9 August, 2009 – see sheet in the Newsletter for full details. This will be a very interesting day and we hope you can attend. These days are a three fold exercise – they are a great opportunity to meet other Members in a social relaxed atmosphere, unlike Shows where things are too hectic, they are a fantastic way to share information and learn things; even Members who have been breeding for years say they come away learning something from these days and last but not least they are also another opportunity to raise extra funds to assist with the ongoing and ever increasing costs in running our Promotional Group.
Performance Classes: Several Members have expressed interest in learning more about these Classes, ie at what age their pony can participate etc and therefore, if there is enough interest, we plan to have a Performance Education / Information / Come and Try Day. Members will be encouraged to bring their own pony so they can practice the course, with assistance from Members with knowledge of these events. Because this day is only in the planning stages and we are unable to confirm the date before the Newsletter goes to print, full details will be in the October Newsletter. So if you are interested in learning more about the performance classes and/or participating and/or attending the Education / Come and Try Day, please contact me.
Sponsorship: As always, we need sponsorship to carry on, without the generosity of our Members and Sponsors we could not survive. So if any Member has any suggestions regarding sponsors or knows someone who will become a sponsor, please contact me. We accept cash, vouchers, goods to raffle or for prizes, we are grateful for anything !
I am very pleased to announce that we do have an exciting new sponsor, one which all Members and our Promotional Group will benefit by. It is Hardware Rural Irrigation (HRI), Mt Compass. Please check their insert with our special prices and offers which is in the Newsletter package. They have contributed a cash sponsorship for a Trophy for our Championship Show and are also offering a further 2% discount to Members on the already discounted catalogue prices … but wait …. there’s more !!!! When Members purchase from HRI a further 3% will be credited to our sponsorship account and at the end of the financial year we will receive this in cash. You can order a free catalogue, see order form in the Newsletter package and check out their comprehensive range of products. Orders over $149 will be freight free, except where noted in the catalogue.
Branding of Ponies: Members are AGAIN reminded that ALL Ponies must be branded before being measured for either registration purposes or upgrades. The Measurer MUST be able to see the Brands and identify them from the paperwork. It maybe necessary to clip the shoulder to enable the Brand to be seen, if this is necessary it will have to be done. It is also suggested that if you are then unable to see the brand, carefully shave the area, and you should be able to feel or see the brand. If you are still not able to see the brand, rubbing with ice or alcohol rubs may raise the brand. If anyone has any queries on the subject please contact me.
Members are also reminded that they are NOT permitted to Show if their ponies are NOT branded.
It is also a timely reminder to Members to check their Constitution (blue covered book - Page 9) and Information and Guidelines Handbook (yellow covered book – Page 24) and acquaint themselves with the rulings on branding ponies. The Constitution and Rules are NOT flexible on issues and Members should make themselves aware of these rulings as they MUST be complied with.
Members are reminded that Brands on Ponies will be checked at Shows, so please make sure that they are visible and always carry current Registration Papers with you to Shows. If you have had your Pony measured recently and brands were checked, please also carry a copy of the Measuring Certificate with you.
Member behaviour: Members are reminded that there are rules regarding behaviour at Shows, these cover both Members and anyone who accompanies them and while in some circles bad language may be accepted, we do not want to see or hear it as part of our Show scene. Member’s co-operation and forethought in this matter would be appreciated as we want people to enjoy the Show days and have some fun.
Voting: All Members should have received their Voting papers by now. Please take the opportunity to cast your vote as EVERY vote counts and is extremely important. There is no point complaining about something that did or didn’t get passed if you don’t bother to take an interest and vote. If you do not understand anything in your voting papers, please contact me, as I will be very happy to assist you and explain anything you don’t understand. If you have not received your voting papers, please contact me urgently.
Membership Renewals, Registration Up-grades, Transfers: These are due NOW, please renew your Membership early so that if you are going to, you are ready to start showing at Gawler Show (28 August) last year it was a nightmare trying to check if renewals had been paid and had it not been for the assistance of Kerren Britton (Registrar) and going out of her way coming into the office an hour early to check, several Members would not have been allowed to Show. I got the last confirmation of Membership renewal at 8-30am, just half an hour before the Show started, so I would hope there is not a repeat of that this year, as it puts so much extra and unnecessary work on everyone.
The same applies for Registration up-grades and Transfers: please send these in early, bearing in mind that this is coming up to a busy time in the Registration Office with renewals etc. Your co-operation in this regard would be appreciated.
Foal Young-Stock Show: We had a good turnout at the Foal Show with a record number of Foals and Young-Stock entered and quite a few non showing Members attended to encourage those entered, which made for a very pleasant day.
Congratulations to: Supreme Foal, ‘Shanamon Queen Of Harte’, Owned by J.R.S.G.Renton and S.Bellman and Supreme Young-Stock ‘Poniewood Tippy Toes’, Owned by J. Brown.
Photos of the Winners, thankyou’s and acknowledgements to those who assisted on the day are on the Foal Show results page. Members who entered the Show, were given exhibitor bags with sample products, which were very well received.
Appreciation Certificates were also handed out to Members and Friends who assisted our Promotional Group during the year; these are listed in the Newsletter. I apologize to those Members whose Certificates were not presented on the evening, as in moving Trophies and Sashes from several different spots, some got missed.
As well as awards being presented we had a raffle; 1st prize a Juicer donated by Clipsal via Pam Champion, 2nd and 3rd prizes donated by the Francis family. A very delighted Alan Norris asked to draw the raffle, drew out his own ticket ! The Lucky Squares was won by Stacy Richter who went home $50 richer. All present were given a bag of sponsor goodies, so everyone left with something.
The only down side of the evening was the venue, the staff and the food !!! This was extremely disappointing as we have been to the White Horse Hotel on several different occasions and have always found it to be excellent. For this reason we are on the lookout for a new venue for next years function and so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. We really need somewhere that we can have our High Point Dinner in a separate room (at no cost) and where meal prices are reasonable and of course as central as possible to North and South Members. Not much to ask !!! Unfortunately in this day of pokies a lot of these rooms that Hotels used to have, are gone but if they have them, they charge quite a bit for them.
Quilt Raffle: I am pleased to announce the winner of our Quilt Raffle, which was drawn at the Foal / Young-Stock Show, is Gillian Arthur. Congratulation Gillian and a big THANKYOU to Lynne Roulston who made the Quilt.
Service Certificate Booklets: I have a quantity of Service Certificate Booklets, if any one is interested in one, let me know. These are free to Members, as they are now obsolete in the booklet form, as you can download the Service Certificate Form from the website. Remember if you are using one from the website, to keep a copy for your records.
Merchandise: Having been talking about getting some Merchandise for a long time, I am pleased to be able to advise Members that we can now offer Polo Shirts and Vests. While I was in
State Delegates Role: As you will have seen from the Voting Papers, no one else has been nominated from SA to the position of Delegate, so I will therefore continue in this role. This is not an automatic process, I had to be nominated and seconded, just as anyone else has to.
It has come to my attention that some misinformation has been circulated by some ill-informed Members. This relates to the fact that I am supposedly paid a fee to be State Delegate, that in fact I make a lot of money from being Delegate and the reason I encourage new Members is so that I can line my pockets with more money !!! This, I can assure you is far from the truth. The only form of re-imbursement I receive, is if I go to
I also need to point out that as State Delegate I have given an oath to uphold all Rules and Regulations of our Society and in so doing I make no apology to anyone that I will see they are enforced. I do not make the rules I just have to make sure they are followed and this I will do, irrespective if I agree with them or not. This will also be done without fear or favor and will be done equally to all Members.
Website: LeeAnne Hall, who does our website, regularly updates it, so keep your eyes on it for any news on upcoming Shows or events: we are indebted to LeeAnne for her assistance in this regard, as the website has been an excellent reference point for not only our SA Members but Members from all around Australia, many of whom have commented favorably on the website. Just a reminder that the address is http://www.freewebs.com/saminipony.
Welcome New Members: Welcome to the joys of owning a Miniature Pony. If this is the first Newsletter you have received, you will notice that we send our Newsletter out with the Miniature Horse Association of Australia Inc, SA Promotional Group Newsletter; this enables both groups to save on postage and printing costs and also gives both our Members more information. As we are both small groups we also share venues and costs at Shows and Education / Information Days, but at all times retain our own identities. If we did not share costs, we would not be able to put on so many good Shows and other functions for our Members, so it is a win, win situation for us all, with the Members being the biggest winners !
Member Input: Member input is vital to the success of any group and therefore if any of you have any ideas that you would like to put forward or would like raised in the Newsletter, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Maybe you may have heard of a Show that would be suitable for us to have Classes at. Likewise, if you have any suggestions for subjects we can discuss at Education / Information Days, please let me know.
Member News: Several Members have been in hospital, unwell of late, or have been involved in accidents and a sincere wish for complete recoveries are extended to
LeeAnne Hall, Diana Chapman, Helen Satterley, Marlene Hawkins and Alan Norris.
It is with a great deal of sadness that I report that Joy and Mel Johnson have had a rather traumatic time of late, losing three of their beloved Ponies. “
Our thoughts are also passed on to Michelle and Chelsea Harris, who have lost
“Goldburn Alexander”.
I am sure that Members will join me in extending sympathy to Joy, Mel, Michelle and Chelsea in their losses.
I hope all Members have a successful Foaling season and although orders (particular sex and colours) may not be fulfilled, safe, easy births are most satisfying.
As in previous years I will attend as many Shows as I possibly can and look forward to catching up with Members at Shows and our Education / Information Days. In the meantime don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any queries or suggestions about anything.
Kind regards,
Barb Voysey