Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

Sunshine Region RICNewsletter QtrI2015

Bunny Hendricks RIC

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

Here we are on the dawn of 2015 with lots of exciting activities and learning opportunities in the making for 2015! And Quarter I of 2015 is starting off at a gallop!

The new 2nd Edition of the “USPC Manual of Horsemanship Vol. III” is now available via USPC’s online bookstore or Amazon! It is an amazing volume of a vast scope and range of information rewritten and edited by some of USPC’s best! The veterinary chapters were done by Dr. Stacy Thacker Anderson DVM, PhD, Veterinary Surgeon, Graduate A, USPC National Examiner and the Nutrition chapter was done by Dr. Natalie McGowan, PhD Equine Nutrition, USPC NE. The riding chapters were done by USPC personnel who are recognized judges and noted professionals in their fields. The HM Chapters were done by USPC veterans with years of experience of nation-wide HM judging and teaching. These chapters all came together with the final finish from Internationally known equine author and illustrator Susan E. Harris.

Volume III covers nearly all of the material on the current HB through H/HM-HA Level Horsemanship areas and C3/C+ through A Level riding skills for the Traditional, Dressage, and Show Jumping Tracks. For less than $25, it is a storehouse full of current and credible information! Books of comparable quality and integrity often run in the $75 and up range!

If you are a C1 or Up Certified member, whether or not you are thinking about seeking further certifications, this volume is a rich and valuable resource of horse knowledge that would be an important addition to your personal library.

If you are a DC, this book is a necessary part of your club’s resources, along with volumes I (D Level) and II (C1-C2 Level) of the USPC Manual.

National Level Testing News-

Members applying for National Level Certifications must complete at least 6 hours of Regional Service to be a “member in good standing” for this purpose. This can include a variety of ways to help the region, can easily be completed in one day, and can be LOTS of fun!

As of January 1, 2015 C2 Traditional or C2 Flat members applying to take the Dressage C3 Specialty Certification MUST achieve their Club Level C2 Dressage Certification prior to the National Level C3 Dressage Testing.

Mark your calendars!:

January 17- D Day at Tack Shack, Ocala. Enjoy informal fun learning activities! Cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. For further information, see the Sunshine Region website or contact Trish Morgan

February 21- HB Box Day at Deb Brown’s Claddagh Farm, Clermont, FL. Information below and additional info and Clinic Forms to be sent after the holidays.

April 18- HB Prep at Bunny Hendricks’s Hunteridge Farm, Trilby, FL. Information and Clinic Form to be sent soon.

June 6- HB Prep at Bunny Hendricks’s Hunteridge Farm, Trilby, FL. Information and Clinic Form to be sent soon.

October 10-11-Tentative C3, B Traditional Prep for C1 & Up Riding Certified members at Rocking Horse Stables, may have limited HB sessions. Clinic Information and Clinic Form to be sent in the future. Space permitting, Advanced D3 Riding and Horsemasters members may be invited to participate as well. Even if you are not planning to test in 2015, start your preparations now! Education is an ongoing process!

Sunshine Region will request to hold C3, B, & A Traditional Certifications and request to offer HB Retests only on November 6-8, 2015 at Rocking Horse Stables, Altoona, FL. Note: we will not request a full HB Testing, but offer retests of needed sections to those who qualify for a retest from previous testings. Retesting date and times TBA.

If you are planning on taking any National Level Certifications in 2015, check the National Testing Calendar on USPC’s web site after January 15, 2015 for dates and locations of Testings to be tentatively offered. It is a good idea to select a second choice and third choice of testings if possible. Read all application information carefully. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

At a glance, here are the major activities for Quarter I in the Sunshine Region:

January

1/15- (or shortly after) Upper Level (National) Testing Candidates (or potential candidates) and DCs, please check the National Testing Calendar on the USPC web site for dates, locations, and levels of National Tests that you (or your members) may be taking in 2015. Also check for deadlines for applications and fees. It is suggested to include a second or third choice for testings as they are sometimes cancelled due to lack of sufficient candidate applications.

1/17 is D Day- This is a fun day of informal educational activities for members and non-members for a small fee (members $10, non-members $15 and includes a hot dog lunch) to be held at Tack Shack in Ocala. Contact Trish Morgan (), Jr. Council Leader if you are interested in attending OR are a Jr. Council Member who is interested in teaching a topic of your choosing. Check with Trish to see if your topic is available!

1/31 is Quiz Rally- Quiz is NOT just for Ds and can be a fun and hands-on way to learn and to help you prepare for your next certification level, whether it be D2 or even the H-HM/HA!!! Quiz Rally will be hosted by Live Oak Hounds PC and Alligator Creek PC. Look for information from the Region 6 weeks beforehand.

February

2/21 is HB Box Day- This is a day for C1 and Up Members- and especially for HB Candidates- to have an opportunity to see and identify the items in the HB Box of items used in the HB Testing, taught by Bunny Hendricks, Sunshine RIC and USPC National Examiner. Included are Bits, Horseshoes and Pads, Farrier Tools, TPR Kit, Toxic Plant Photos, and Feed, Hay, Supplements, Bedding Samples for Nutrition. It will be held at Deb Brown’s Claddagh Farm in Clermont. Initial information has already gone out and will be resent with a Participation Form after the Holidays. The cost is $25 for the day and includes lunch. Participation in HB Box Day alone is not sufficient to fully prepare you to take the HB Test. But it is an essential start!

March

3/13-15- Event Rally at the Florida Horse Park in Ocala. Start your plans now for preparing for the rally! Information will be sent to DCs six weeks prior to Rally.

3/28-29- is the Horse Management Seminar and Standards & Certifications Clinic. The HM Seminar will be Saturday and the S&C Clinic on Sunday. Location and additional information TBA.

If you are a DC, a Horse Management(Unmounted Lesson) Instructor, a C1 or Up Certified member or interested in helping with Horse Management at Rallies, the HM Seminar is for you!

If you are a DC, a mounted or unmounted lesson Instructor, a Club Level Examiner, or a C1 or Up Certified member, the S&C Clinic is for you! ***Even if you are a seasoned Club Level Examiner, periodic refreshers are needed to keep you current with new changes in the Traditional standards and to have current information regarding USPC’s newer branches of Certifications. Attendance of at least one S&C Clinic every two years is needed for you to remain on the Regional Resource list.

In 2015, the S&C Clinic will focus on the new Dressage Track at the D2-C2 Levels and the relatively new Hunter Seat Equitation Track for D2-C2 Level members. Tentatively, our National Examiner (NE) Clinicians will be our own Mary Frances Denton for the Dressage Certifications and home town girl Janet McCune for the Hunter Seat Equitation Certifications.

HELP!! We will need demo riders for D2, D3, C1, and C2 Dressage Certified riders and for D2, D3, C1, and C2 Hunter Seat Equitation Certified riders for Sunday’s S&C Clinic. If you or your members hold any of these certifications and would like to perform some regional service by being a demo rider, please contact Bunny Hendricks at .

Quarter I Club Lesson Suggestions:

January:

Mounted:Cross Country Schooling! Event Rally is only about two months away! It might be best to engage your Event Rally Team’s Coach for this day. The best facility to school is always the course the riders will be competing at (Florida Horse Park). The Park’s days of availability for schooling are limited to certain Wednesdays from here to Rally, so you will need to check with the Partners of the Park Calendar. For questions, please contact Tracy Olesh and Dawn Anderson of South Lake Pony Club, Organizers for Event Rally.

Additional facilities that will give your members and their mounts confidence building practice for jumping in the open over types of obstacles they are likely to encounter at the FHP are Rocking Horse Stables, Altoona, FL; Khorsandian Eventing at Parish Oaks Farm, Dade City, FL; Longwood Farm, Ocala, FL. Please search the internet for these facilities’ web sites, check their calendars for availability, and contact them for further information (including fees and required rider equipment) to schedule your Cross Country Conditioning, Pace, and Jumping day.

For additional information regarding what to cover for which certification levels, refer to the following volumes and pages of the 2014 Editions of the USPC Manuals of Horsemanship:

Refer to the D Manual (Vol. I) pp. 125-126 for D1-D2 Lessons

Refer to the C Manual (Vol. II) Chapter 3, pp. 91-114 for D3-C1Lessons

Refer to the HB-A Manual (Vo. III) Chapter 5, pp. 172-207 for C2 and Up Lessons

Include information and reminders to your riders that they should be keeping a written Conditioning Plan! And remember that riders should be working on the skills of the next Certification Level(s) to keep progressing forward to the next level!

Unmounted:It’s Record Book Time!! Please help members start a new Record Book for the New Year! All members should keep a Record Book appropriate for their HM Certification Level. Don’t wait until just before Certifications/Testings to start 2015’s Record Book. Below is a quick reference chart as to what members are to have in their Records for the next Certification Level up:

UR- Prepare a Stall Card. Use HM Handbook Stall Card Template p44.

D1- Bring Current Stall Card, discuss contents, make any corrections on info if applicable.

D2 HM- Bring New Record Book and Current Stall Card. Fill out the first entry of all information (Feeding, Deworming, Vaccinations, Foot Care, etc.) with members. Three months’ completed records required for D3 HM Certification.

D3 HM-Bring 2014 Record Book (should have at least three months’ completed records). Start new 2015 Record Book. Six months’ completed records required for C1 HM Certification.

C1HM- Bring 2014 Record Book (should have at least six months’ completed records). Start new 2015 Record Book. Nine months’ completed records required for C2 HM Certification.

C2HM- Bring 2014 Record Book (should have at least nine months’ completed records). Start new 2015 Record Book. Twelve months’ completed records required for HB Certification.

If possible, have C1 or higher certified members teach younger/new members normal TPR rates and how to take their mount’s TPR.

Additional Unmounted Activity:

Have each member write riding and Certification Goals and time frames for 2015.

Example:

Amy Smith, Age 12, D3 HM, D2 Traditional- Riding Goal is to successfully participate in Eventing Rally at the Beginner Novice Level (no Eliminations) in March; to pass my D3 Traditional Riding in June; and my C1 HM in October.

One More Unmounted Activity:

Prepare for Quiz Rally January 31. Quiz is for all HM levels, UR-HA! It is an excellent way for members to prepare for their next HM Certification and is a lot of fun! There are lots of suggested Quiz activities on the USPC web site.

The Quiz Rulebook has just been updated. Be sure to download and go over items that Quiz competitors need to know what to expect at Quiz Rally.

February-

Mounted Lesson:Topic “Maintaining Rhythm andBalance at the Walk, Trot and Canter” What better way to teach flatwork than by “jumping”?!?!

1.)Set up non-rolling ground rails (cavaletti, squared rails, or rails with blocks on each side to prevent rolling) in one end of the Dressage arena; one perpendicular to the track at A or C and three more so that the rails are equally spaced around a perfect 20 m circle.

2.)Riders are to ride over the center of the rails (a striped rail or placing a strip of tape in the center of the rail will help) making a circle that is about 15 meters. Mounts are to maintain a steady rhythm and to negotiate the ground rails within the normal step of the gait they are at. They should not break into another gait or make an effort to “jump” the ground rails.

3.)Additional Stripes or strips of tape can be placed towards the ends of the rails to make about a 20 m circle and about a 12 m circle for varying groups.

4.)UR-D2: Start riding the 20 m circle at the walk, then trot, then canter if appropriate. Be sure to review the aids for asking for bend and the aids for each gait and to describe correct diagonals and leads. The trot must be done riding correct diagonals and the correct lead at the canter is optimal. USPC D Manual pp. 63-72.

5.)D3-C2: Start by riding the 20 m circle at the walk, then trot, then canter as a warm up. Emphasize appropriate Rhythm and Tempo, Suppleness, and Bending (USPC C Manual pp. 35-38). Go over “Understanding Contact, Connection, and the Outside Rein” (C Manual pp. 38-46) Riders should demonstrate correct diagonals and leads. The next step is to ride the center stripe of the rail to create a rhythmic and balanced stride at the walk, trot, then canter on the approximately 15 m circle. This is a useful exercise for balanced turns in jumping as well as on the flat.

6.)As a challenge if you have riders who are able to master the 15 m circle quickly, move to riding the inside mark on the rail at the walk, trot , and then canter while maintaining rhythm and balance.

These are all challenging exercises to do correctly!

Unmounted Lesson: Update each member’s Flowchart for their next certification level. Your Club Instructor to sign and date each box as the activities are done. It provides you, the DC, a checklist to help determine if each member has completed study and practice of each skill before proceeding to the next Certification/Testing. This is also an excellent source of suggested lessons for your club. There are charts which include reference pages to the new USPC D Manual and C Manual. These are located on the USPC web site.

March-

Mounted Lesson: Dressage “Ride-A-Test” with Event Rally Team Coach

Riders will ride their Dressage Test –from memory- they are riding for Event Rally in Dressage arena with letters, etc. Coach to act as judge, parent or assistant to scribe, each rider will then get a 10-15 minute private mini lesson to work on one or two key points for improvement, rider will take home test sheet with written comments. It would be most helpful to have tests scored. Riders not competing in Event Rally may ride a USEA Dressage test of their choice. They may have their test called out to them.

Unmounted Lesson:Topic- Bandaging- Begin each Bandaging Group Lesson with

information and discussion of the following for each type of bandage:

1.)Materials needed (There is a range of acceptable materials for most bandages. The most important qualities are fit and function.)

2.)Reasons for use

3.)Dangers in inappropriate fit and use

D1- Protective Boots and Bell Boots (USPC D Manual pp. 267-268)

D2- Describe and give reasons for use of Stable Bandages and Shipping Bandages; Apply polo wraps with assistance (USPC D Manual pp. 231-234) Free video on “Polo Wraps” (sign up for Free membership to view)

D3- Stable Bandage (USPC C Manual pp. 270-273, 276-280)

C1 & C2- Stable Bandage and Shipping Bandage USPC C Manual pp. 270-275, 276-280)

HB & C3 & B- Tail Wraps- tested at the B and H-HM/HA (USPC HB-A Manual pp. 581-584) and/or Specialty Bandages (USPC HB-A Manual pp. 586-598)