Sheryl Barr, District Commissioner of the Te Puke Pony Club, with one of the pony club horses. Photo / Mead Norton
Sheryl Barr, District Commissioner of the Te Puke Pony Club, with one of the pony club horses. Photo / Mead Norton
The Te Puke Pony Club is holding is saddling up for 2022, and it's looking for new members to join the stable.
The club is having its annual open day on Saturday, August 27, for new members to come along and meet the team, as well as getting involved in some fun activities.
The club's district commissioner, Sheryl Barr, has been a club member since 1965, when she joined at 7 - the youngest member at the time.
Asked what keeps her coming back, she says "the joy the kids get, and the learning they get out of ponies, riding ponies - and the camaraderie with like-minded people".
Her role now involves "making sure [the club] keeps working as it should, and helping ... the new people coming in".
Her experience means she can help out with pretty much any problem - "the same things happen so much all the time, and you can remember a previous case of this or whatever it is".
Sheryl Barr, District Commissioner of the Te Puke Pony Club, with one of the pony club horses. Photo / Mead Norton
What stands out to her is the continuity of membership and the collective nature of the club.
"I'm seeing members coming back to pony club who were kids that I taught, you know, a generation back.
"The development of the kids, really, is the big thing - their confidence being with an animal and looking after an animal, and the valuable life lessons that are learned there, is just amazing."
Club president Jo Morrison says the Te Puke Pony Club is "a small club with a big history".
She says the open day aims to "open up the club to anyone who's interested".
The Te Puke Pony Club is "a small club with a big history". Photo / Supplied
"People can come along without a pony and have a look at what pony club is all about, meet some people, meet the members ... so people have a better understanding.
"We're really excited to have new members come up ... and meet everybody and have a look."
The pony club season runs from August to May, featuring fortnightly rallies where members can learn and engage in a wide range of horse riding skills, including dressage, showjumping, and cross-country, as well as horsemanship and horse care.
"If you're a horsey person, there's actually lots of different sports within horse riding - for example, dressage, showjumping, cross-country, and mounted games, so there's a variety of disciplines within the riding spectrum."
She says joining the club is also an opportunity to meet like-minded community members.
"The riders who make friends at pony club quite often ride together outside of the rallies."
And the club is not just for experienced riders - Jo says their training can start as early as the "lead rein" stage, "where the parent is walking along holding the pony, and we go right up into teenagers who are competing".
"We encourage the older ones to help the younger ones - it's quite a family atmosphere because we have siblings as well."
For those who want to join the club but may not have their own horse, Jo recommends coming to the open day anyway because there may be an opportunity to meet someone with a horse available.
The open day is on Saturday from 12.30pm to 3pm at Showgrounds Rd. Registrations of interest should be sent to joleachmorrison@gmail.com.
If you have any further questions about joining the club or the open day, go to the Te Puke Pony Club Facebook page.
