USPC Annual Meeting:
The USPC Annual Meeting will be held in New Orleans, LA on January 25th through the 29th. There are a variety of topics and workshops to be presented that would be of great value to club leaders, members and parents. Check out the link from the www.ponyclub.org website. It may be too late to register on-line, but you can always register at the door.
Congratulations!
Stones River Pony Club will be recognized for their 25th year as a club in the national organization at the Saturday morning Meeting of the Corporation during the New Orleans event. We are thankful for their leadership, involvement and support of the Midsouth Region.
New Regional and Club Leaders for 2012:
You know, we just couldn’t let Nancy Smith retire from leading the region, so she will be staying on as a VRS for 2012 (and maybe for longer!!) Other new Board members are Sarah Kleintop as the RIC #1 (upper level) and Linda Strom as the RIC #1 assistant. Sarah will take care of the northern part of our region while Linda covers the southern part.
New DCs for 2012 (some are former DCs who are taking the lead again) include: Cedar Hills – Alicia Avent; Four Rivers – Kelly Azar; Keeneland – Sally Lockhart; Walnut Creek – Linda Gonzalez; West Tennessee – Laura Hyde and Wilderness Trace – Kelly Anderson. Welcome to all of you and we look forward to working with you in 2012.
Midsouth Regional Calendar:
As an attached document, please find the first revision of the Midsouth Regional Calendar. This is and always will be a work in progress, so check the website frequently to make sure you have the most current version. www.midsouthponyclub.org
National Ratings:
The Midsouth Region has requested these national rating dates, and all but one has been approved by the national office to date.
H-B June 28-29 at Spring Run Farm in Prospect, KY
C-3 Traditional August 4-5 at Masterson Station Park in Lexington, KY
B Traditional June 30-31 at Spring Run Farm in Prospect, KY
H-A May 11-13 at Penrose Farm in Knoxville, TN
Reminder about rallies and ratings!
All uprankings must be completed prior to the opening date of a rally if a member wants to compete at the new rating. Otherwise the member will compete at the “old” rating that he/she held on the actual opening date of the rally.
Once your club completes a rating, the DC should use the Ratings Update form on the USPC website ASAP. This is an interactive form that looks really easy to fill out. The folks at the national office will then forward the information to me. This is important because rating levels are compared to competitor entries for all the rallies.
QUIZ competitors use their HM rating to determine what division they will compete in.
QUIZ 2012:
The opening date is January 9th and the closing date is February 3rd. The date of the competition is Saturday, March 3rd at the Cool Springs Marriott in Franklin, Tennessee. This same day is also the SPRING REGIONAL COUNCIL MEETING, so leaders should make an effort to attend. And yes, DJ Ralph will be there!
***Important!! Since the D manual has been revised, but is not yet available for purchase, all the Quiz materials will be based on the CURRENT D manual. So use what you have now to study from and it’ll all be good.
Check the USPC website:
There are new standards and test sheets on-line NOW that are in effect as of January 1st. You should take some time to review those, especially if you are a member planning to rate up, or an examiner scheduled to do a rating. www.ponyclub.org
As the new RS for the region:
The best way to contact me is through e-mail beckylogsdon@yahoo.com or my land-line phone 812-969-3638. I live in a very rural area where there is no cell phone coverage, and since I’m retired, trips to town where I can receive/make cell calls only happen 2 or 3 days a week.
Please add me to your club mailing lists to receive newsletters, meeting minutes, etc. If you use Facebook as a communication media for getting information to members, please consider adding me to that as well. I am on Facebook as Becky Royalty Logsdon.
Games Rally 2012:
Games Rally will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park on March 24th. Entry packets will be available in the near future.
MegaRally changes for 2012:
Dressage rally entries have declined over the past few years while Tetrathalon entries have skyrocketed. For 2012, we are going to try something different. Dressage rally will be held on April 14th-15th at Percy Warner Park in Nashville. Tetrathalon Rally will move to KHP and be held at the same time as Show Jumping Rally (June 19-20). We are also going to offer a D2/D3 Combined Test to run at the same time as the traditional D2/D3 rally. If the interest is there, we can make this a regular event.
Much more MegaRally information will be coming in the next few months.
Club Financial Requests!!!
All Clubs must prepare a Federal 1099-MISC for each individual paid $600 or more in a calendar year (this includes instructors, judges, etc.) This form must be given/sent to such persons no later than January 31. Detailed information about this and W-9 Forms is attached herein. The Club or Region will then send one copy of all 1099-MISC forms that have been sent out with a Summary Form 1096 to the Internal Revenue Service. Form 1096 is also available online under “Forms and Publications.” The due date for filing these forms with the IRS is February 28, 2012.
2011 Club Summary of Cash Receipts and Disbursements Form due to USPC (copy to me) by Feb. 15. The 2011 Form is already posted under FORMS and is titled on the www.ponyclub.org website. Then you must complete either the E-Postcard for 2011 or the 990 or 990-EZ forms. This is very important – failure to do so can result in your club losing its tax exempt status.
Regional copies of Membership forms and payment of regional dues:
For new members and renewing members, please send a copy of the FRONT PAGE only of the form, along with a check made payable to the Midsouth Region, to me. (Remember, the complete original form along with a check payable to the USPC goes to the national office.)
The information I need is all on the front page – I do not need a copy of the signatures. This will save you copy expenses and give us a “greener” profile.
And please make sure you send the correct amount: regional dues are $20 per member and a $5 per person late fee applies to any renewals paid after January 1st. Prorated member dues are $30.
Reminders from the national office about hold harmless insurance:
Insurance – one of the most important items required for all pony club events. Please remember the following:
a. This must be done prior to using the facility to ensure insurance coverage is in place
b. Every date the facility will be used must be listed
c. This is done online through the USPC website (this is very easy to do)
d. Dates can be added as the year progresses to each individual entry and new locations can be added
e. Insurance is required for ALL pony club meetings, certifications, rallies, field trips, etc.
Insurance is valid for the event only – not driving to and from.
f. If non-members are participating, the special insurance is required and non-member activity forms need to be signed
g. Remember to include any Horsemasters events as well if they are separate from club events
h. Centers also need to register all pony club events through the website
DC/CA Digest and background checks:
All incoming DCs/JTDCs/CAs/ RSs/VRSs should join the DC and RS Digests. Outgoing officers are not automatically removed from the Digest. If you want to be taken off the distribution list, you must unsubscribe. You will notice a spot to do so at the bottom of any posting you receive. If you are unsure how to do it or if you have concerns about a past officer receiving postings, you c
an contact Membership Services at the National Office
There was a brief reminder in today’s eNews, but we felt that it was important to highlight the need for all incoming DCs/JTDCs/CAs/ RSs/VRSs to do the required background checks. The eNews has the link to complete the check. www.ponyclub.org
Special Get-Well Wishes:
Our new RIC #1, Sarah Kleintop, was injured in a fall on New Year’s Eve. She will be out of commission for a few months and we wish her a speedy and complete recovery. She’s only been with us for a short time, but her influence has already created positive changes so we’re anxious to have her back full force.
Looking forward to a good year!
Becky Logsdon, RS
8425 Baptist Church Road SE
Elizabeth, Indiana 47117-8452
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