YOU?RE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN!!
( or TRAINING AND TEST DAY AT POOTINGS ? MARCH 2006)
See photographs from this event here
The Stage
After much trepidation, as this was my first hosting of a Training Day, and much preparation as we wanted the day to be as organised and professional as possible whilst maintaining an informal, relaxed and fun atmosphere, the Training Day arrived.
As members started to turn up, coffee and tea was served, and although most people knew each other, there were a few new faces which were very welcome. The juniors just got on with playing ball with Jess my dog, and the adults introduced themselves to each other and as everyone struck up lively conversations we were reluctant to interrupt these to get the day started!
The Cast
We were very grateful to Maggie Taylor who led the training, being an expert at these events as some of the committee found when we attended our own Training Day at her premises last year. Frances Clayton, Chairman of the Education & Youth committee which oversees and encourages these events, was appointed to train the juniors, and Anne McCaig, always a committed supporter of local happenings and a fount of all donkey knowledge, was also helping with the adults.
Those who came to improve their donkey experience and knowledge included Jane O?Keefe with three of the juniors from her donkey club: Nancy Crussell, Daisy Bamber, and Sophie Watts (plus Sophie?s mum!), together with Victoria Hayle who helps at Jane?s club and who also came along as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Award; Ros Hoare from Surrey; Terri Sedgewick from Edenbridge; and Tom, Coral, Jade and Opal Weaver also from Edenbridge.
The Supporting Cast ? or were they the stars!
My donkeys, Neddy, Zara and Marina offered to be guinea pigs for the day and thoroughly enjoyed all the attention. They had been a bit put out earlier as they couldn?t understand why they were being kept in on a lovely sunny morning, but all the fuss and attention was worth a change in routine!
The Plot
The purpose of the day was to work towards achieving the DBS Awards. The awards initially written to aid junior members and based on the Pony Club tests with the basic awards being Introductory and Elementary, progressing to Bronze, Silver and Gold, have now been opened up to all members. The Gold Award really is an achievement and there are not too many members with this accolade. There are also other individual awards such as Riding, Driving, First Aid, etc. This event was to concentrate on the Elementary, Introductory and Bronze awards.
Each award is broken down into sections and some of the juniors had previously covered some of the sections, so they started with the next section to be worked on and the adults started from scratch. This included catching a donkey, putting on a headcollar and leading the donkey; followed by grooming with particular attention to each item of the grooming kit and how it should be used, including picking out hooves; more advanced sections involved putting on a saddle, crupper and bridle; cleaning tack; mucking out/types of bedding; poisonous plants; signs of good and bad health in a donkey. All relevant sections were successfully achieved, and rosettes and certificates awarded to those juniors who concluded one complete award.
The Finale
There was much chatting and laughing during the day and it seemed that everyone was very happy to have met other members and learned or had confirmed correct ways of managing their donkeys. So, a happy end to a very worthwhile day. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone for coming along and making my day!
Carol Morse
