Hello, and wishing everyone a great 2020 in Pony Club NSW!

I am Shauna Haipola and I am the new Zone Chief for Zone 16. Many of you know me as the Senior Instructor for Murrumbateman Pony Club, and also through my coaching at Zone 16 camp, or through my acupuncture treatments for both people and horses. I recognize many of you when I am out and about in Canberra, but for many, I might not recognize you off of your horse. I have been riding and working around horses for about 45 years, and I love helping people find their joy with their horses. I appreciate good horsemanship no matter what form or discipline that takes, and I hope that I can continue to support good horsemanship and good sportsmanship in our Zone.

I need to offer sincere thanks to our outgoing Deputy Zone Chief, Nat Smith. Nat has worked very hard for the past several years for our Zone, both as Zone Chief Instructor and Deputy Chief. She has taken on the role of Senior Instructor for Queanbeyan Pony Club for 2020 and is the Member Protection Officer for Zone 16, and I am sure will be able to offer a lot of wisdom and guidance. Nat has also agreed to stay on to help run Zone 16 Camp. She is the driving force behind organizing that crazy and wonderful experience, and I am very grateful she is continuing to do so.
I also want to thank Hilary Fletcher for her work as Zone Chief Instructor. Hilary has worked hard for our Zone and will continue to do so as the Deputy Zone Chief Instructor. Thank you Hilary. Hilary will be helping me to learn the ropes and also will continue to help out around Zone 16.

So, our wonderful Z16 2020 committee…. Rachel Ryan has bravely stepped up as Zone 16 President, the Sporting Coordinator for the Sydney Royal, and is helping to coordinate the State Mounted Games and Team Sporting which will be held in Bungendore in October. She is also very active with AMGA. We are already working together on a lot of ideas that will hopefully come together over the next year. I need to thank Vanessa Williams who is stepping down as President of Z16, but has agreed to keep helping out as needed. Toni Cuthbertson has been brave enough to continue as Zone Secretary and I am very grateful for her guidance. Mark Thorek is our Safety Officer and the Deputy Commandant for Camp and is always trying to keep track of all our equipment. Louise Steinman is our intrepid Treasurer and is helping to make sure that we can finance our grand plans. We are always very thankful for anyone who has a special interest or just has a few minutes or hours to help out with Zone events. Please let us know if you have ideas or special interests that you would like to help with.

New Certificate Books
PCANSW has been working diligently to update and rewrite the certificate books in order to reflect current research and trends in horsemanship. These books are now available through PCANSW. For those of you familiar with Dr. Andrew McLean and AEBC, he has consulted closely to rewrite these books. The Coaching Resources are included in a link here or on the PCANSW website.

Bushfire Awareness
The past few months have been very challenging for many of us. Please bear in mind that many of our members have been impacted by the bushfires. Many have lost everything. Those who have not been directly impacted by fire, have had long term smoke exposure and increased levels of anxiety. Here are some resources that can help you provide support to our members and their horses. If in doubt, refer to the veterinarian or a GP or counsellor. Above all, please realize that many of the horses and ponies have not been in work and will need to be brought back into work slowly. Plan your rallies in a way that will help our members have fun and get their ponies and horses back to work in a safe and healthy way.

Here are some resources that will help you to plan

I am looking forward to a great 2020. I hope that I can support our zone and our members to grow as horsemen, club members and community members. Please follow our Facebook page  and our Zone website for updates. I will also put out a newsletter once a quarter to try and keep everyone up to date.

Happy Riding!
Shauna Haipola
Zone 16 Chief Instructor
Pony Club NSW