I - COACH. NZPCA Coaching Magazine June 2014

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1 I - COACH NZPCA Coaching Magazine June 2014 For much of the NZPCA membership this is the quieter time of the year, our horses are having a bit of let down, some are being roughed off completely.however, for some people this is the cue to get all those jobs done that we don t have time to do in the warmer months. So here in the Education and Development department we are offering our Senior Coaches some opportunities to refresh and revitalise their coaching. The National Coach Kevin Lawrence is travelling up from the South Island to facilitate two Senior Coaches clinics one in Hawkes Bay and the other in Auckland. The theme of this years clinic is: Developing Jumping Skills for Show Jumping & Cross Country C+ - A level More information regarding the clinics can be found here. All Senior coaches can attend and the application forms can be found on the NZPCA web site here H and A Certificates Taupo I was fortunate to be able to be involved with the H and A Certificates last weekend at a rather chilly and customarily foggy Taupo. National Coaches Kay Hogan and Jacque Williams were the examiners and Lynley Price acting as exam TD. The two A candidates and two H Candidates behaved impeccably throughout the exams and congratulations to all concerned for their well earned passes. Rebecca Kerr passed her H Exam giving her full A certificate, her and her Mum travelled up all the way from the South Island, Jake Barham and Catherine McManus gained their A Riding Certificate and the other H candidate was Victoria Berrie. Well done to all of you. Thank you Lisa Milne for your hard work with the organisation. It cannot be stressed too highly how important it is for B Certificate holders to be encouraged to offer themselves as grooms for the H exams, they will learn so much of what is expected when they come to take their H. Equine Skills Certificate We are delighted to announce that we have had our first members sign up to the Equine Skills certificates. We have 1 bronze, 1 silver and 4 gold level applicants. Well done Franklin Thames Valley Area for pushing this initiative. I am sure the members will enjoy the programme. Achievement Badges By far the most significant initiative in the office at the moment is the Achievement Badges, every day the orders are coming in for full sets. We will soon have to think about re-ordering and maybe you have some ideas for new badges that we could consider. If you do have some thoughts on this please Yvonne: candt@nzpca.org and the board will then consider them. NZPCA Conference There is going to be so much for coaches at conference this year, its hard to know where to start. So head to page 2 for more information. Chilean Needle Grass IMPORTANT There is a real threat to our horses in the form of Chilean Needle Grass, more information is to be found on Page 10

2 NZPCA CONFERENCE CONTENT Fantastic All Day Programme featuring. The NZPCA Masterclass sponsored by Prydes Easifeed Presented by Vaughn Jefferis And Manuela McLean Demonstrating Jumping and Dressage Riding and Coaching Techniques with Demonstration Pony Club Riders The Day kicks off with a Pilates for riders session to get you all warmed up for the exciting day ahead then a quick introduction to Tetrathlon, explaining how this fun sport is being re-introduced to Pony Club and how you can get involved. Morning tea and cakes are followed by a Riders Forum session.this is your chance to have your say on all things Pony Club, hosted by the Riders Council, it s your feedback that helps us keep improving Pony Club and we want to hear what you have to say. Lunch and then onto the Double Decker Bus and off to Selwyn Equestrian Centre for a fabulous afternoon of Riding Demonstrations. Starting 9am on Saturday 26th July 2014 at the Chateau on the Park Hotel, Christchurch and finishing back at the Hotel at 5.30.its a very special event and not to be missed!!! $65 including all activities, Lunch and return transport to Selwyn Click Here to Register Should be a goody!!! There is plenty of information on Conference on the web site and you can sign up on the NZPCA web site.

3 Examiners Clinics We have had two recent Examiners Clinics and as a result there are 2 new C+ examiners in ASCNO: Judy Drummond of North Otago and Jenny Waddell of Tinwald. ASCNO plan to run a further B Examiners day, more details will be posted on the NZPCA web site soon. In Auckland they had a massive day updating all their B examiners and a new B Examiner: Karen Pavletich of Totara Park. Thank You Shona Knight and Kerry Currie for organising these two clinics. There are three more clinics to be held in this rotation. It is very important that our Examiners are kept up to date so be sure to get your name down with one of the organisers below if you are due to update soon. MNWC have got their D to C+ clinic next, June 28/29th at Blenheim Pony Club grounds in New Renwick Road, Blenheim. There is space for a few more Examiners and don t forget you can update as an Exam TD at the same clinic. BOP 9th 10th Aug C+ and B Peter and Debbie Barke's Linda Hitchman linda.hitchman@live.com MNWC 28/29 June D,D+,C C+ Blenheim Pony Club Claire Soper claire.soper@hotmail.co.nz MWC 27th/28th Sept C+ and B TBA Hazel Thomson taniwhahills@farmside.co.nz Coaches Clinics/ECTP Assessments It is the responsibility of each area to organise and run their own coaches clinics, if you are running one please let NZPCA know so that we can advertise it for you. Wairarapa Wellington area are planning to run an ECTP C+ level assessment day on 3rd Auguat please contact Rae McIntyre for more detail or if you are interested in attending. Rae s is Mcintyre@infogen.net.nz The first Waikato Instructors Course has been organised for the winter. Saturday and Sunday July 12th/13thTo be held at the Cambridge RDA centre, Alpha Street, Cambridge. To enrol please go to the Waikato Area Pony Club website and complete the online form then go to the Coaches tab. The Instructors Course is open to members outside the area if there are insufficient Waikato members enrolled.

4 NZPCA Achievement Badges and now the fun begins!! What s it all about? The thinking behind the Achievement Badge Initiative is to give encouragement for PC members to keep progressing though the certificate system, in a simple and fun way. It is a motivational incentive, aimed at our most junior riders, with or without a horse, through to our future Olympians. The Generic Badges are for everyone who attends Pony Club. Level One and Level Two Badges are aimed at D through to C Certificate level but everyone can achieve them in any order and at any time. The badges may be positioned on the arm, saddle blanket or any other manner that the branch agrees. What will it achieve? It would make learning more exciting and the rewards more immediate Gives bragging rights to the members with the most badges Stimulates greater enthusiasm to attend PC Rallies and creates a new learning culture Encourages members to complete their certificates The badges would become a visible recognition of the member s passion and dedication Successful badge holders would become role models for others Adds value to the existing certificate system The potential to become the foundation of a more comprehensive award system It will be rider driven riders will be able to access the skill sheets online to discover the next badge they are ready for. How will it work? NZPCA HO purchases stock of each badge and supplies through the NZPCA E shop only to a Branch Secretary or Head Coach. The badges will be Free!! Branches will only pay the postage. Initially there will be a limit of 5 badges per achievement per branch; this is to ensure that every branch gets a chance to join this initiative. Operationally, awards are carried out at branch level. Branches will order stock from NZPCA in advance so that they can award Badges to members without delay A set of simple skill sheets for each badge would be available on requirements required to achieve each badge which are then posted on the NZPCA web site Members will be awarded badges by their branch upon satisfactory completion of each achievement The commencement date for the Achievement Standards will be backdated to January 2014

5 I was grooming for a friend at the Young Event Horse section of the National three day eventing championships and spent some time watching the three star horses coming back from their cross country and being cooled down. I thought you might also be interested in what goes on. Cold Water Cooling Technique All that is needed are some large buckets to hold litres of water and ice, smaller buckets, giant sponges and three assistants - one to hold the horse and one person to cool each side. It is not necessary to remove the tack. Start to cool the horse whilst taking the horse s rectal temperature. Liberally apply cold water to all parts of the body including the quarters, as this is where most of the large muscles used for movement are located and so is an area that gets particularly hot. It is not necessary to scrape off excess water after each application, it is more important to continue to apply cold water. If you wish to scrape off the excess water, do so quickly at the end of each 30 second cooling period and while the horse is being walked between cooling periods. Carry on cooling the horse for seconds, walk the horse for seconds and cool again. The walking and cooling sequence is IMPORTANT. The walking promotes skin blood flow and the movement of air aids evaporation. If possible, carry out the cooling and walking in the shade. Check the horse s rectal temperature at intervals. It should be possible to reduce rectal temperature by around 1Â C in 10 minutes. There is no evidence to suggest that there is any harm in letting your horse drink small amounts of water (half a bucket) during competition (e.g.: during the 10 minute box in Three Day Eventing), between rounds (e.g., Showjumping, Mounted Games) and during long warm-up periods (e.g.: Dressage), which will also help to cool the horse down and reduce the effects of dehydration. When should I stop cooling? When the horse s rectal temperature is less than 38Â C - 39Â C, when the horse s skin feels cool to touch (over the quarters) after a walking period, if the respiratory rate is less than 30 breaths per minute and if the horse begins to shiver. The rider Mistakes and falls occur because of hot, tired horses - but the same applies to the rider. To cool the rider, remove their hat, sit them in the shade, wash their face with cold water (which makes you feel better, but is not very effective at reducing body temperature) and encourage them to drink an isotonic drink such as Lucozade Sport (isotonic = some concentration as body fluids). The rider should also wear light coloured, loose fitting, cotton clothing. In addition, the hat should be lightweight and a comfortable fit. What Not To Do Ice in the rectum does very little to lower body temperature. It makes it hard to assess body temperature and can hide a high temperature. Masking a high temperature from vets at events is unwise as it will prevent a horse receiving appropriate cooling and other necessary treatments, which may result in the development of heat exhaustion and death. The chances of injury will also increase if the horse is allowed to continue when overheated and dehydrated. Don t hold small bags of ice over the head, neck, under the tail, on the quarters, etc. Instead, concentrate on cooling as much of the body surface as possible. Holding bags of ice is likely to reduce cooling by stopping skin blood flow to the area under the pack. Do not place wet towels on the neck or quarters. Although at first the towel may be wet and cold, it soon warms, and hinders the loss of heat, acting as an insulator. Excessive application of grease prior to cross-country limits sweating. The grease acts as an insulator, prevents sweating and limits sweat evaporation. Do not let horses stand still for prolonged periods. If cold-water cooling is adopted, do so completely and not tentatively. The cold water on the skin will reduce the horses sweating rate. This has the advantage that because the horse sweats less, it becomes less dehydrated. There is no harm in allowing horses to drink small amounts (half a bucket) during competition. Water should also be left in the stable until minutes before exercise. Water is emptied very rapidly from the stomach. DO NOT give the horse ice cold water to drink. Recent research has also shown that it is important to feed hard feed and some hay together, at least 4 hours prior to exercise. There is no evidence to suggest that cold-water cooling causes other problems such as tying-up It is important that we learn to apply new ideas and findings from various studies so that we can maintain or improve the welfare of competition and pleasure horses at all levels.

6 How to become an ECTP Assessor Due to the expansion of the Equestrian Coaches Training Programme (ECTP) NZPCA are always looking for coach assessors. Potential Assessors are put forward by recommendation from an existing ECTP Coach/Tutor/Assessors/National Coach. The potential Assessor must also send in the attached application form and a copy of their record of attendance card for any Coaches clinics and Workshops. It is not a prerequisite that the potential assessor has been enrolled in the ECTP but it would be of assistance, however they must be a current financial member of the NZPCA. Copies of other supporting documentation can also be sent i.e. ESNZ/BHS coaching qualifications. The application will then be sent to the committee for their consideration. ECTP Assessor Application Name Address Address... Phone Number. Mobile Number. Club and Branch ECTP Number I declare that I am a financial Member of the NZPCA. Referee 1.. Signed. Referee 2.. Signed Please send this form with a copy of your coaches record card and copies only of any other supporting documentation to: Education and Development Administrator NZPCA PO Box 7537 Napier 4141 Or if you have any queries regarding ECTP please contact Education Administrator candt@nzpca.org

7 Ailments Game for B Test Candidates This fun and useful for revision, and certainly creates more fun and involvement than just talking about the subject. Write all ailments lameness etc. onto individual cards. Divide learners into pairs. One member of the pair is the horse, the partner is the vet. Give each horse a card with an ailment written on it. Don t show the vet. The horse has to act out the ailment, the vet has to guess the ailment and then proscribe the treatment. This creates lots of laughter, you can either do a pair at a time with everyone watching, or several pairs simultaneously. Don t scroll down if you are about to eat your lunch!!! Evelyn Williamson, Waikato s new ECTP coach Coordinator pointed out that the Kaimanawa s were wormed after the recent muster: there is a graphic picture of what came out after the worming paste went in!!

8 Don t forget about the Achievement Badges.we have a worming badge I wonder why I thought of that!!!

9 NZPCA has been asked to draw your attention to this threat. Chilean Needle Grass Warning!!!!! Riders are being asked to keep an eye out for Chilean needle grass and its seed and to report all suspected sightings to their regional authority immediately. What is Chilean needle grass? Chilean needle grass is a pest plant which is widespread in Marlborough and Hawke s Bay. It was detected in North Canterbury in 2008 and now affects 300 hectares in Canterbury. Marlborough District Council, Hawke's Bay Regional Council and Environment Canterbury are working together to prevent further spread of the pest, which has the potential to infest an estimated 15 million hectares on the east coasts of the north and south islands. Chilean needle grass is a problem for the following reasons: Chilean needle grass seeds prolifically and can displace pasture and desirable vegetation leading to reduced pasture and crop yields. It is unpalatable to stock when in seed leading to a reduction in the number of stock able to graze during this period. Additionally, Chilean needle grass seeds catch on passing animals. The seeds have a sharp, needle-like tip which can penetrate the skin and muscle causing painful abscesses. Lambs are particularly vulnerable to seeds penetrating their eyes and causing blindness. A change in farming practices is often required on infested properties as stock must be removed from infested areas from late October until March to avoid contact with seeds. Further, the use of herbicide to control Chilean needle grass can be costly and the enforced containment requirements can be restrictive and inconvenient. What does Chilean needle grass look like? Chilean needle grass is a tufted perennial plant which can grow to one metre in height in the absence of grazing. Its leaves are bright green and harsh to the touch. It is difficult to identify prior to flowering. Seed panicles are present from late October until March during which time the plant is more easily identified due to the reddish purple colour of the seed heads when they first emerge from the panicle and their long awns (tails). The reddish purple colour of the seed heads fades to light brown as the seeds mature and eventually detach from the panicle. Awns can intertwine to form clusters of seed prior to detachment. What do Chilean needle grass seeds look like? Chilean needle grass seeds are approximately 7cm in length and are light brown in colour. They consist of a seed head and a corkscrew-like awn (tail). The seed heads have sharp, needle-like tips and are barbed with backward-facing hairs. Where is Chilean needle grass likely to be found? Chilean needle grass prefers dry, sunny faces. However seeds can be spread by people, animals, vehicles, machinery and equipment as well as in soil, mud and contaminated feed. As such, it is also likely to be found around yards, woolsheds, and parking areas as well as along vehicle access tracks and roadsides. What can riders do to assist in preventing further spread of Chilean needle grass? Riders can help to minimise the spread of Chilean needle grass by adopting some basic farm biosecurity and vehicle hygiene practices: Keep an eye out for Chilean needle grass when riding whether it be at home, on someone else s property, along roadsides or at Pony Club. Keep an eye out for Chilean needle grass seeds on your clothing, footwear and horse gear as well as on your horses and ensure that your clothing, footwear, horse gear and horses are clean and free from soil, mud, and seed before moving from one property to another (Pony Club included). Ensure that your vehicle and horse trailer are clean and free from soil, mud, and seed before moving from one property to another also. Ensure that any feed that you purchase is free from Chilean needle grass seed. If in doubt contact your regional authority. Paddocks in which you have fed your horses purchased feed should be checked regularly for Chilean needle grass. Where can I find more information? For further information regarding Chilean needle grass visit the Chilean needle grass Facebook page at chileanneedlegrass

10 Chilean Needle Grass Here are some pictures to help us identify this nasty plant. This picture clearly shows the long tendrils of the grass stuck in the gums of the horse.

11 Exercises and Games to practice the application rider aids Exercise 1: 1. Place four pairs of parallel poles around the arena. Work ride in open order. Individually riders have to halt between the poles. They may choose which order to do the poles, but may not follow one behind each other. 2. If the riders are competent they can have to use each set of poles from each direction, so they will have made eight halts. 3. This exercise can be down in trot for slightly better rider. 4. The above exercise can be used in canter for C+/B riders. Exercise 2: 1. Ride as a ride in walk, first rider makes a small circle to the rear of the ride in trot, as s/he reaches the rear of the ride s/he shouts Go and the next rider starts the exercise. 2. There is added value to this exercise if they ride without stirrups as it ensure that they make the circles small, so they are practising more transitions and not getting bored. 3. This exercise can be ridden in cater by C+ and above. Exercise 3 1. Work ride in open order. Individually riders turn down the centre line, they must say the aids out loud to circle, on having shouted out the aids they can then make a ten metre circle and continue down the centre line. 2. This exercise is suitable for all ages and stages, depending on whether you work in walk, trot, or canter. Whether the circles are all on one rein, or two circles on differing reins on the centre line, and whether you change direction at the far end of the centre line. The above was taken from the PCUK web site. Well that s all from I coach at this time, if you have any interesting articles that you see please send them in to Yvonne candt@nzpca.org