West Waterford Pony Club

3 days ago

... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

4 days ago

Well done to our members competing in the Jump Ahead league in Ballindenisk today Emily, Honor, Ella , Ava Caoilainn, Kate, Harry and Izzy. Special congratulations to Honor coming 3rd in the 70s section! 👏👏👏 ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

5 days ago

Timeline Photos ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 weeks ago

Only THREE DAYS left to secure your place at the first of our Area Five Jumps Ahead Qualifiers. Entries closing Wednesday 13th for our first qualifier next Sunday October 17th

All members of the Irish Pony Club welcome. We always have plenty of interest from our closest neighbours in Area Five - Araglen Pony Club, Beara Branch of the Irish Pony Club, Carbery Hunt Pony Club, Duhallow Hunt Pony Club, South Union Pony Club, United Hunt Ponyclub, West Carbery Pony Club. But we've had members join us from Kingdom Pony Club, Scarteen Hunt Pony Club, Co. Limerick Hunt Pony Club, West Waterford Pony Club, Tipperary Hunt Pony Club, Golden Vale Pony Club

We have six classes this year:
A starter stakes (clear-round) class and five league classes (65cm, 80cm, 90cm, 1m, 1.1m). You will find full details on our website
www.muskerryponyclub.com/upcoming-events/

Please ensure you review the rules document on our website before entering. Entries for all classes are open on
www.itsplainsailing.com/org/musk

We are very grateful to O'Brien's Saddlery for their continued sponsorship of this event and look forward to seeing you all next Sunday (17th) at Ballindenisk ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 weeks ago

Dyslexia and Dressage

Dyslexia can be described as a neurobiological disorder which affects a persons ability to read and write , it affects their memory , organisation, concentration, ability to multitask and communication. Interestingly when you now take the description of Dressage the challenges become clearer.
Dressage is a way of training a horse so that it can maintain suppleness and strength while maintaining a calm and attentive manner . However when it comes to a Dressage competition it becomes a bit more challenging . The horse and rider perform a series of predetermined movements or figures in an arena of either 20 x 60 metres or a 20 x 40 metres . The 20 x 60 arena has 12 letters placed symmetrically indicating where movements start and finish and where changes of pace occur , in either walk trot or canter,
additionally smooth transitions within the paces are also judged on a scale of 0 to 10 . 10 being perfection! The letters are not in alphabetical order which can also add to the difficulty.
Fifteen to twenty percent of the population are believed to be dyslexic, but it is still poorly understood and especially when it comes to Dressage .
A dyslexic person looks normal appears to do all the normal things and usually have become expert at putting up a facade to hide their difficulties. They often have to work harder than others and put in extra hours to over come daily challenges. Such a facade requires additional energy and can in itself become tiresome.

Reading and writing is the most common difficulty and some dyslexic people experience a visual stress when reading that makes words unclear, distorted or even appear to move .
Another issue faced is too much information, such as a list of instructions or directions which makes it harder for the dyslexic brain to process .
In addition to all the above, poor short term memory and concentration mean that learning a dressage test is phenomenally difficult, it becomes even more complicated when they don’t know their right from their left.
Often dyslexia is accompanied with dyscalculia( problems with mathematics) Speach and language disorders and Dyspraxia( affecting fine and gross motor coordination.
In truth dyslexic children or adults competing in dressage face huge
handicaps, and when they are not allowed a caller at National Championships or festival championships the obstacles they face make it near impossible for them to compete. As dyslexic riders see their condition as a learning disability they don’t see themselves physically challenged and as such feel that they do not warrant being classified as a para rider.
However Para riders are allowed compete in able bodied classes with compensatory aids according to their classification and these may include, riding with a whip , rein attachments or having a caller at championships.
Surely the time has come that riders with a diagnosis of dyslexia should have similar compensations . Dyslexia is a complex disorder and can only be diagnosed by an educational psychologist and usually involves a fee of over €500 . The assessment clearly distinguishes the difficulties encountered with learning in a person of average or above average intelligence.
Of course some dyslexic people attain very high academic achievements, through their own intricate coping mechanisms and through a educational and college based system that now recognises that Dyslexic people need support and when given reasonable accommodations in the form of extra time for exams, a spelling waiver, a reader or writer they can achieve success the same as others .
I would now argue that the time has come that Dressage organisations throughout the world recognise Dyslexia as a learning difficulty and as such allow these riders similar accommodations in the form of a caller for their tests . I don’t believe it gives them any unfair advantage as the complexity of
Dyslexia makes short term memory incredibly difficult, their ability to phonologically understand the sound of letters , V and P sound the same, their ability to follow instructions or follow a pattern , and multitask all adds to the enormous challenges they face . With all this in mind they also have to concentrate on their position and horses way of going.
I feel strongly that it’s time the Equestrian community wake up to the dilemma faced by dressage riders with dyslexia , and understand and make accommodations for such riders .
Many riders with dyslexia have struggled internally with other peoples misconceptions, they have all experienced feeling of being stupid and embarrassment many suffer with poor self esteem. Surely as a dressage community we like our education system need to support such riders with a diagnosis of dyslexia and give them the opportunities they deserve.
For some children and adults riding may be the one thing they excel at, it gives them happiness and confidence that they don't get in the classroom, they often have a skill and feel on a horse that brings out the best in them and the horse. Our current system discourages dyslexic riders from achieving their full potential at championships as the fear of forgetting the test is front and foremost in their minds and their energy and focus is absorbed by remembering the test rather than the way of going.
For the good of the sport , for the good of riders with dyslexia and their self esteem , callers at championships must be allowed. Would we prevent a person with a physical leg disability from using a whip in an abled bodied competition so why should we deny a person with a diagnosis of Dyslexia a caller!
Marguerite Kavanagh
Chairperson Dressage Ireland ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

3 weeks ago

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Muskerry Pony Club is very excited to announce that entries are NOW OPEN for our upcoming Jumps Ahead SJ League which will be held over four dates (Oct 17th, 31st and November 14th and 28th).

We have six classes this year, a starter stakes (clear-round) class and five league classes (65cm, 80cm, 90cm, 1m, 1.1m). You will find full details on our website
www.muskerryponyclub.com/upcoming-events/
Please ensure you review the rules document on our website before entering. Entries for all classes are open on
www.itsplainsailing.com/org/musk

We are very grateful to O'Brien's Saddlery for their continued sponsorship of this event and look forward to seeing you all at our first qualifier on October 17th in Ballindenisk.

We can't promise the sunshine in the attached photo from our 2019 event but we can guarantee similar fun and prizes.

Looking forward to seeing all our friends from our neighbouring Area Five branches Araglen Pony Club, Beara Branch of the Irish Pony Club, Carbery Hunt Pony Club, Duhallow Hunt Pony Club, South Union Pony Club, United Hunt Ponyclub, West Carbery Pony Club. But members of all Irish Pony Club branches are welcome -
Kingdom Pony Club, Scarteen Hunt Pony Club, Co. Limerick Hunt Pony Club, West Waterford Pony Club, Tipperary Hunt Pony Club, Golden Vale Pony Club and any other branches prepared to make the journey to Ballindenisk for a great days jumping.

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

1 month ago

... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

1 month ago

Well done to Margaret who went clear in the cross country to come third overall at the Laois fun minimus yesterday.👏👏👏 ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 months ago

Huge congratulations to are own Ann-Marie Hynes and Busy Lizzie
place 2nd in the 1.20 National IPC Showjumping Classic finals today in Coilòg and
also winning a week long training bursary at the Army Equitation School! 🎉Well done . ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 months ago

www.itsplainsailing.com/club/wwpc ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 months ago

Congratulations to Margaret Verling. After 3 days practice at pony camp Margaret had a great
Day at the Minimus Competition this weekend. She came 2nd in the swimming and 2nd in the running to finish 5th overall. ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 months ago

Lovely  write up in the Irish Field featuring are own William Verling , huge achievement well done. ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 months ago

Promises to be a great day here, classes for all ages and all abilities ... See MoreSee Less

West Waterford Pony Club

2 months ago

Mrs Mary Roch Perks with Kate O Connell the youngest member at camp.Mrs Roch Perks was one of the founding members of West Waterford Pony Club. Kate’s Grand uncle was one of the first members to join camp.Capt John Ledingham!!
Also in the photo Niamh and Ali DC of West Waterford Pony Club. ... See MoreSee Less