11th June 2008

Dear Pinnerwood Member,
June Newsletter

Hoorah, at last summer is here & the rain has finally stopped! Here is the latest update for you:-

Future Pinnerwood Dates
Charity Fun Day Sat 5th July - we are supporting the Brook Animal hospital again this year and holding another Charity Fun Event. The day will consist of both mounted & unmounted games, a cake sale & raffle (all donations gratefully received!). Plus a Bring and Buy sale, 10% of the Bring & Buy Proceeds will go to charity, the rest will be yours to keep! So here is a great opportunity to clear out your cupboards, make some money yourself and help a worthy charity. Please feel free to invite friends & family to support the day.

Sun 3rd Aug - Ponies & Pimms - the perfect summer combination of drinking & riding so keep the date free!

Sat 23rd August, Windsor Race Night. Tickets are priced at £18 each, which includes access to the race course and the Tony Hadleigh (ex Spandau Ballet singer) concert afterwards. Depending on numbers we may arrange a minibus from Pinnerwood. Please add your name to the list on the noticeboard if you'd like to come along, or see Pip for more details.

External Events
Sat 5th July - Northwood Riding Club BBQ have kindly invited Pinnerwood to their annual BBQ. Tickets are £6.50 each which includes salads, side dishes, bread & puds. Bring your own booze, meat & cutlery! Venue is Rose Farm House, Breakspear Road North, Harefield (just past Breakspear Crematorium)

Tuesday 1st July London Horses Walk - Deloitte Riding Club are co-ordinating a guided walk around central London's horse related architecture. The walk starts at 6.45pm in Trafalgar Square and will end near a tube station. The cost is £7.50 if anyone works in central London and would like to learn more about their local monuments.

Sat 21st June Horses in Harmony Concert - Tickets still available for Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre, a charity that provides the opportunity to ride and care for horses to disabled & under-privileged London Children. See noticeboard for details.

Sunday 21st September Horseman Sunday - Both spectators & participants are welcome to this opportunity to rub shoulders with the equestrian 'hoi poloi' such as the Harrods delivery carriage horses, brewery drays as well as riding horses from in and around London. Box/lorry parking will be available for the occasion in Hyde Park, before a parade of riders & drivers to a local church for a short thanksgiving ceremony

External Competitions - We plan to submit a team for the Dressage Qualifier on Sun 29th June at Littlebourne (Prelim 13) if you are interested in taking part please see Pennie. Should we qualify the team members will be excused the hard graft otherwise lined up for them on Sunday 5th October at the London & South East Qualifier, which we, as part of Area 9 are hosting at Vicarage Farm, Sunbury. Therefore the day will require all hands on deck from all the riding clubs within Area 9 to help with stewarding the various events. So please keep the day free to help out in any case! We also have the opportunity to submit a horse trials team at Vicarage Farm (2'9) without having to qualify, if anyone is interested in representing Pinnerwood in Horse Trials on 5th Oct please let me know.

General Stuff
Clothing Order - In response to members expressing an interest in buying new PWRC clothing, we are planning to place an order with Wainwrights, who require a minimum order of 12 garments before they can go ahead. We know historically the club colours have been maroon, but membership feedback at AGM showed that the consensus was to go with Royal Blue with White Writing. You can chose from a Polo Shirt, T shirt, Sweatshirt, Rugby Shirt or even a baseball cap.
Prices are:-
Polo Shirt: Adult £13.25 Children £10.25
Rugby shirt: Adult £25 Children £19.25
Sweatshirt Adult £13.25 Children £10.25
T Shirt: Adult &.25 Children £5.75
Adult Sizes: Small, Medium, Large & Extra Large
Children's Sizes: Age 3 / 4, Age 5/6, Age 7/8, Age 9/11, Age 12/13

If you would like to order any clothing please fill out an order form and return it with a cheque made payable to 'Pinnerwood Riding Club' to any committee member.

Strangles Update - as you are no doubt aware, unfortunately one of the Pinnerwood horses has contracted strangles, which we think he picked up at a sponsored ride in mid May (whilst he didn't come into any direct contact with other horses at the event there was a tack inspection which seems to be the most likely cause of passing on the infection, i.e. the man inspecting had touched a horse with the infection & then touched other horses). The disease is most likely to spread in the first 5-8 days after contracting the infection, therefore the fact that no other horses at Pinnerwood are displaying any symptoms, 3 weeks later, is a positive indication. It is also a blessing that it was only a mild form of strangles that was contracted and was caught & treated at an early stage. The advice from Park Vet is that after this weekend14th/15th June, which will be one month from when strangles was contracted, providing that all other horses remain symptom free that we should have the all clear. David is ringing Park Vets on Friday for confirmation that we have the all-clear. Meanwhile veterinary advice is not to take horses off the yard where they could come into contact with other horses (the disease spreads most commonly from horse to horse), but in addition humans who leave Pinnerwood & then go to other yards or have contact with other horses should wash their hands and change their clothes before they reach their next equestrian location. There is plenty of further information and advice available on websites if anyone wants further details. www.bhs.org.uk

Pennie & the Committee - Pippa Haines, Carole Perham, Emma Wade, Karen Warmoth, Juliet Wickstead, Maggie Dudfield, Chris Blackburn, Liz Dunn