| NPS
America: On January 18, the United Kingdom’s National Pony Society (NPS) gained a new area chapter and took an important step towards promoting British Native Ponies in the United States. The NPS council unanimously voted to accept NPS America’s application for membership in its 115 year old organization. The organization has continually recognized the importance of the Mountain & Moorland breeds – the Connemara, Dales, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Fell, Highland, New Forest, Shetland and Welsh ponies. NPS America will model the NPS mission and will promote, support, and recognize Mountain & Moorland and British Riding ponies in America. While many of these pony breeds are embraced in the United States, others are little known. The rarer breeds, like the Dales and Highland, are slowly growing in popularity while mainstays, like the Connemara and Welsh, continue to be top choices for equine enthusiasts. NPS America will cultivate these ponies as safe, versatile, and talented mounts for both the amateur and professional horseman, while acting as a resource for breeders and owners alike in maintaining the traditional character of these breeds. NPS America will be unique in a number of ways, yet basically similar to most chapters of the NPS. That, in its self, is a big job. The United States is a big country, without the extensive exposure, history, and familiarity with these wonderful breeds, and not quite the pony friendly culture that the UK fosters. NPS America will be structured to accomplish this challenging job. As all chapters of the NPS do, there will be four officers, a council and a variety of specialized committees and positions. In addition, three important groups have been created. The first group will consist of four Area Representatives, each dealing with a geographic area of the US. Area Representatives will be on the “front line” of their region – communicating, organizing, and acting as the voice for their region’s members. The second group will be ten breed representatives, each representing a specific breed community. Breed Representatives will be the voice for their individual breed – keeping NPS America informed of key breed issues and important events and reporting back to their breed community important NPS America information. And finally, four communications links have been set up, that will operate in the form of Yahoo discussion groups all can participate in. We believe these additional groups will help to assure inclusion of the entire US in the early years of NPS America activities. This structure was developed specifically with the “early years” of NPS America in mind and will certainly grow and change as NPS America itself grows and changes. As with most organizations, and as a required by the NPS, all NPS America positions will be voted upon by our membership. At our inception, this is nearly an impossible task, therefore, on an interim basis, a variety of people who are currently involved with British Native Ponies in the US have been asked to assume a variety of roles. As the “birthplace” of NPS America, California has taken the lead in many of theses roles. However, rest assured; we whole-heartedly look to remedy this situation at our first election! Current NPS Officers and Council members, along with a map detailing the regional divisions of NPS America, can be found on our website at www.NPSAmerica.org . Not all positions have been filled and we continue to seek volunteers to get involved with NPS America on many fronts. Recognition, competition, and fostering qualified judging are an important aspect of NPS America. Development of a point-based award program is underway which will encompass many disciplines, traditional M&M competitions, and a category specifically for “other” types of events that will showcase our ponies, such as, parades, expos, festivals, and even United States Pony Club activities. NPS America wants to recognize all of our ponies in all of their performances. We will partially subsidize awards at shows that hold M&M/British Riding Pony specific classes. It is my personal belief that developing qualified British Native pony judges in the United States will be our most challenging task. With this in mind, and in line with the NPS’s educational requirements, NPS America will offer scholarships to members who want to further their study of M&M/British Riding ponies with an eye towards judging. While these scholarships may start out small (don’t book your summer at the UK’s best Studs just yet!) they are a step to helping those with a genuine interest in participating in the NPS judging program. In addition, we are creating a “pool” of qualified NPS judges who are willing to judge events in the US for “a reduced rate”. The cost of bringing over qualified M&M judges has been a deterrent in the past, and by creating this pool of judges, we can alleviate some of this concern. How will NPS America benefit individual breed society members and help promote the individual breeds? Simply put, there is power in numbers. For example, the Highland ponies in the Midwest might not have sufficient numbers to hold their own shows or specific classes at open competitions. Add in the other Mountain & Moorland breeds, however, and significantly more “numbers”, and therefore opportunities, are available. This holds true not only on the competitive front but also in terms of Expos, Breed events, and many other venues. NPS America does not look to replace or “interfere” with the individual breed societies and their missions. Instead, we look to simply enhance the work already being done by dedicated breeders and owners of Mountain & Moorland ponies by creating an umbrella group for promotion, competition, and education. NPS America is a new & exciting venture for all owners, breeders, and enthusiasts of Mountain & Moorland ponies. Join us today! Kathryn Rayner Freeman
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Highland
Pony Enthusiasts Club of America (HPECA) |