February 11, 2013
Stacy's latest blog - read it here!
February 11, 2013
Gymkhana time.
The arena at our pony club is in pretty poor shape. It has sharp rocks all over it where there should be lovely sand and the wooden boards have bent and broken… … to read the rest of Stacy's latest blog click here…
Art attack competition winners!
We know we’ve kept you waiting but the results of our art competition were worth waiting for! We had such a high standard of entries it was really hard to choose. Take a look at the slideshow of our finalists and you will see what we mean. The winners were super-hard to pick but in the end we had to choose two – the winner of 11 years and over was Heather Daintree with her incredible pencil drawing and ten and under was won by Amaryllis Kint with her gorgeous skewbald! Well done to everyone who entered especially our finalists shown here!
Winner 1 - Blaze by Heather Daintree
Winner 2 - Comet by Amaryllis Kint
A video clip showing the finalists:
The toughest PCS quiz ever!
Test your super-knowledge on horse colours!
- What is the colour ‘chestnut’ sometimes known as in the USA?
- If a horse is said to have ‘good chrome’ what does this refer to?
- What is the black stripe down the back of the horse that appears on some bays and also duns known as?
- What colour was Zorro’s horse and what was his name?
- What two horse colours qualify as ‘double dilute’?
- And now name a ‘single dilute’
- Do a grey horse’s dapples fade or grow darker with old age?
- Which US racehorse had the nickname ‘Big Red’
- What sort of markings does a ‘War Bonnet’ have?
- Finish this old horseman’s rhyme: One white foot buy him, two white feet try him, three white feet look well about him, four white feet..
Scroll down for answers...
Stop by the official Facebook page…
IF YOU'RE ON FACEBOOK drop by Stacy's official Fan Page!
Please note: aside from her personal page this is Stacy's only official page on Facebook - any others are not endorsed or supported by Stacy in any way!
Quiz answers
ANSWERS:
- Sorrel
- White markings
- Dorsal stripe
- Tornado – he was black
- Cremello and Perlino
- Palomino, Buckskin, Smokey Black are all single dilutes
- They fade
- Secretariat
- They are a type of paint with a white face and a chestnut, brown or black ‘bonnet’ over their ears.
- …do well without him!
The latest readers' ponies and pets
Finally .... the latest readers' ponies and pets are up … click here to check them out!
Poetry competition winners!
Congratulations to Beatrice Benson, Mikaela Woodward and Kimberley Barker! All three of you have been chosen as the winners of our poetry competition. We were only supposed to select two winners but the overall standard of entries for this competition was so amazing that we decided to give three awards. The list of finalists was incredible and it was a hard decision so well done to everyone who entered! The three winning poems are published below and Beatrice, Mikaela and Kimberley will all be receiving a personally-signed Pony Club Secrets or Pony Club Rivals book of their choice.
Our new competition for October and November is up on the website now! It’s one for the artists this time!
Dressage Horse
Fleet of foot and full of pride,
Head held high with every stride,
A graceful dance with every move,
Carefully placed by elegant hoof.
Plaited mane and coat that shines,
Turning circles and following lines,
Trot and canter, walk and stop,
Length of rein allows head to drop.
A faultless show, all marks are high,
The rider smiles toward the sky,
Rosettes presented, the job is done,
Horse and rider, together as one.
- Beatrice Benson
I crouched over my horse’s neck, turning towards the next fence,
5k’ over cross-country this morning, and my horse was really tense.
I sat upright and closed my legs around my horse’s sides,
Alert, not wanting to feel a jolt, refusal in surprise.
Soon we had a steady beat as we approached the coming oxer,
He arched his glossy ginger neck, and slowed his rocking canter.
We rose up into position, heels down and back straight,
Landing with a soft thump, then cantering away without a debate.
I look back on those years of fun, all those years of pride,
Willing to remember, relive, those memories that will never die.
I love that horse who still gets bored, whether he stands, rests or lie’s,
That gentle giant of a chestnut gelding, still and always a young guy.
- Mikaela Woodward
The clash of metal
The clang of gates
The grey thoroughbred breaks out quite late
With thundering hooves
The grey does fly
The crowds and grandstands flashing by
He passes one horse
Two, three and four
His jockey urges him, just one more
They cross the finish line
The other horse outrun
His jockey pats his shoulder, for they have won
- Kimberley Barker
Star Profile: Ladina B
This issue's star horse is Ellen Whitaker's wonder mare Ladina B. The 15 year old grey Wurttemberger (It's a German Warmblood breed) comes with super-springs in her heels. She is the UK's premier Puissance horse and leaping over ridiculously huge brick walls is her specialty. Ellen and Ladina cleared the brick wall at the Horse of the Year in Birmingham in 2009 at a whopping 2 metres sixteen to blitz the competition!
Ladina B does not compete in any showjumping classes except Puissance - like most other Puissance horses she is a one-trick pony. She is quite the handful to ride - Ellen has to put up with the fact that Ladina B bucks her high up in the air with every stride as she approaches a brick wall, but the end result is worth it. "The key to my success with Ladina B," Ellen says, "is keeping her calm!"
The definitive PCS/PCR reading list...
There are lots of titles in the Pony Club Secrets and Pony Club Rivals series - and people always ask what order the books are in and when to read the two extra titles. So here's all the info on that… Click here…
Looking for Issie & The Superstar Colt?
Check out these fave PCS books…
Click pics for more...
...other bits & bobs
• Check out the new links on the side of this page - to pony games, puzzles, the new Readers' Pets page and Questions and Answers with Stacy and more...
• Something's puzzling us - oh yes, now we've figured it out - but can you? Have a go at our Mystic and the Midnight Ride jigsaw puzzle here.
OK, that's all the news for now ... gotta gallop!
This website last updated by the PCS stablehands on May 15, 2012
Great book links
UK Children's Books - A directory of the online world of UK children's books with links to authors, illustrators, publishers, organisations, review sites, booksellers and many ...
Seven Stories - The Centre for Children's Books, features children's books, children's writers and illustrators, children's writing, illustration, exhibitions, events ...
Children's Book Circle - The Children's Book Circle welcomes everyone with a professional interest in children's books - publishers, librarians, authors, illustrators, teachers, ...
www.childrensbookcircle.org.uk
BRAW - Books, Reading & Writing (The Scottish Children's Book Network)
Four Corner House - A Chapter a Week!
National Centre for Research into Children's Literature (including IBBY)
National Centre for Language and Literacy (NCLL)
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
Welsh Books Council (Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru)
www.booktrustchildrensbooks.org.uk
