Welcome to the Southdown Hunt West Branch of the pony club.

We hope this page helps to answer some of the questions you may have when you first join our branch.  If you don’t find the answers here please feel free to ask any of our committee members or organisers, we’d be more than happy to help.

We have a variety of rallies that are organised by our volunteer organisers.  Rallies and Events can be found under the Rally Calendar or Event & Shows Calendar sections of the website.  You can book and pay for one rally at a time or choose a selection of rallies to book.  These can be paid for by PAYPAL, debit or credit card via the website.

If you would like to see more rallies within a certain discipline then please speak to the relevant organiser, on the meet the team page it shows the organisers and who is responsible for which discipline.

We have two Facebook pages, one public page and one private members only page.  The members only page is for members, their parents/guardians.  The private members page is used by the branch for posting training times, results and members photos.  Members can also post events and photos that they would like to share with other members and find events that other members have posted also.

If you could like to join this group please email facebook@sdhwpc.org.

Our insurance policy is provided by Howden Insurance Brokers Limited.

All Members of The Pony Club are covered by our insurance policy. It is strongly recommended that you review the information below regarding our policy.

For full Q&A’s 

Policy summary

Q. What cover do Members receive?

A. Branch and Centre Members are insured for equestrian related Personal Liability 24 hours a day up to £ 30,000,000 for any one claim, excluding business activities. The liability of one member to another is covered, as are authorised legal costs.

Q. We are loaning a Pony and I wish to make sure that The Pony Club membership covers my child for any accident she may have whilst looking after or riding this pony.

A. Yes – the policy covers all your non-business equestrian activities, including riding any pony and including such things as any of your ponies escaping from its paddock and causing an accident. However, injury to the pony or the Member would not be covered.

Q. Are there any excluded activities under the Members’ Personal Liability cover?

A. The policy does not cover racing, point to point, steeplechasing or team chasing. The only exception to this is Official Pony Club Race Days and Training Days. Also, business activities are excluded and your pony must not be used for hire or reward.

Q. If my friend borrows my pony, are they covered for Personal Liability?

A. Yes, provided you or your parents have given them permission to borrow it and your friend is not insured under another policy.

Q. Am I covered by the Personal Liability policy if I borrow a friend’s pony?

A. Yes – the policy covers all your non-business equestrian activities, including riding any pony and including such things as your pony escaping from its paddock and causing an accident. However, injury to the pony would not be covered.

Q. My parents occasionally pay a friend to help look after my pony. Is there any cover?

A. Unless they hold their own insurance, your friend would be covered for his/her own liability if he/she was held legally liable for causing accidental bodily injury or property damage as a result of the work, despite the fact that he/she was paid. However, your parents would need to take separate Employers’ Liability insurance, in case of injury to your friend: this cover is a legal requirement and may possibly be included under some household contents policies.

Q. What is the difference between Public or Personal Liability Insurance and Personal Accident Insurance?

A. Public or Personal Liability provides cover against being sued for legal liability in the event of accidental bodily injury to a third party, or damage to their property. It is up to the injured person to prove that legal liability exists. Personal Accident covers Insured Persons for specific amounts in the event of accidental death or disablement, in specified circumstances. The benefit is payable without the need to prove legal liability and consequently paid out much sooner.

Q. Does the Public Liability Insurance would cover temporary stabling our Branch is hiring for our summer camp?

A. The Pony Club Public Liability Insurance does not cover any property in your care, custody or control so hired in equipment would not be covered, neither is Branch owned equipment.

Q. Is our Branch equipment covered under The Pony Club insurance Policy?

A. There is an optional ‘Branch’ Policy available from Howden Insurance Brokers Limited, 71 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4BS Tel: 020 7133 1300, Fax: 020 7133 1500 or look up Howden Insurance Brokers Limited – www.howdengroup.com

Q. I have been told by my D.C. that if I don’t wear the correct clothing I will not be covered by insurance.

A. This is not correct. Organisers cannot use insurance to enforce their rules. However, the Insurers require organisers and Members to take all reasonable precautions to prevent injury or damage and do expect The Pony Club Rules to be followed, regarding hats and other clothing.

For full details visit the puck.org website

Policy summary

Please ensure that you make yourself familiar with the Tack and Turnout Guidelines as different disciplines require different dress code.

Most working rallies and training members should wear polo shirt or shirt and tie (though not require),   club sweatshirt, dark, beige or white jodpurs (nothing fancy ie coloured panels) dark riding boots, and riding hat to British Safety Standards.  Tack should be clean with no bling for training sessions.

Alot of children wear body protectors for jumping, it is not obligatory but we would recommend this for the safety of your child in case of a fall.

Once you have booked onto a rally, the organiser will then put all entrants into groups of similar level or age, so you will need to check the website or the private members Facebook page for your time slot(s).

We do try to put siblings in the same time slot but this may not always be possible, please remember that the organisers will group teams according to their riding level.

It is best to arrive for the training session at least 20 minutes before your time slot to ensure that you are tacked up and ready to ride at your time.

Our branch is run completely by volunteers, so any help parents can give in setting up for rallies, camps or events is really appreciated.
We’d like to have more of our parents involved with the branch, so if you feel you have skills or muscles that you can offer please let  Tracey (DC) or Hayley (Branch Secretary) know, their details are on our contact page.
We hold two camps per year one day camp in May (from up to 12 year olds)  and a residential camp in August ( for children aged 12+).    As you can imagine there is a fair bit of setting up to do for them events and we would ask that parents/guardians of members that are attending help to set up when required before the camps.

The branch will often communciate via the members facebook page but we also send out group member emails, we try not to overload you with emails but we do need to communicate changes to rallies, events, what’s happening or asking for help.

We use Mailchimp (an online email management system) to send out group emails and there is the option to unsubscribe from our email list at the bottom of all emails you are sent, however if you do unsubscribe you will no longer receive any email communications and may miss out on important information or changes.

You can see what clothing we have on offer on our shop page.

We don’t expect parents to buy everything but would suggest as a minimum that the member should have;

long-sleeved polo shirt (members cannot jump in short sleeves)

Sweatshirt (members add their achievement badges to the sleeves)

Tie (needs to be worn for competitions and shows)

We also have a lovely lady Mrs Pam Alkhalisi (01273 563216)  who usually attends rallies and camps and sells second hand riding clothing and equipment (Jodpurs, shirts, boots, Jackets chaps etc) and she usually has a good supply and is very cheap, this helps to raise funds for the club.

If you are interested in becoming a rally organiser please speak with one of the committee members or organisers.  Organisers must be First Aid trained so it is an advantage if you already have a current First Aid certification.

Members must wear an approved protective helmet, with chinstrap done up when mounted at all times. All hats must now be tagged. Please ask for yours to be done. In the event of a fall where it is obvious that the hat has been in contact with the ground all hats should be replaced. It might appear from the outside that no damage has been done but the inner protective shell may well have been compromised.

Hats should be plain black, brown or blue. If wearing a jockey skull cap, hat covers must be plain coloured. Please note that some of the very fashionable hats available these days do not conform by way of their appearance even if they meet the current safety standards or even exceed them. Some of these hats may be worn at Rallies but never for tests or exams.

Cancellations by Members

Cancellations can be made up to 72 hours prior to rally start time and a refund in form of a voucher will be issued.  Vouchers can be used towards any rallies or clothing available on the website.

To make a cancellation please email the relevant “Organiser” to cancel and copy in finance@sdhwpc.org who will confirm with organiser and issue refund.

Unfortunately cancellations made within 72 hours of the rally are not eligible for a refund as Instructors and venues will have been booked and paid for.

Cancellations by Organisers

When rallies are cancelled by the organiser a refund back to your Paypal account or credit card will be made.

You are not able to attend rallies at other branches unless you are a member, but you can attend their events, these are normally advertised on our FB page and our show & Events calendar.

The Pony Club offers Mini Achievement Badges for younger Members’ as well as both equine and non-equine Achievement Badges. Both types of achievement badge will help you to learn a wide range of skills like first-aid, farming, map reading, saddlery, road safety and grooming.

Achievement badges

Are generally placed along the sleeve of the sweatshirt from top to bottom, look at other members and you can see.

Camp Badges

The member will receive either a Junior or Senior Camp badge depending on which camp they attend plus a year badge each year they attend.  The Camp badge is normally sewn on the top of the sleeve (closest to shoulder) with the year badges underneath.

Test badges

These are small circles of different coloured felt.  You will receive one of these and a certificate when you pass a test.  The circles of coloured felt should be worn under your pony club badge (pin) and are as follows;

E Test Pale yellow felt

D Test Yellow felt

D+ Test White felt

C Test Green felt

C+ Test Pink felt

B Test Red felt

Lunge Test Light Blue felt

B+ Test Pal Purple felt

A Test Blue felt

A with Honours Purple Felt