Doongala Adult Riding Club Inc

Doongala ARC share the pony club grounds in Sheffield Rd, Kilsyth South, Victoria (Melways Map 65 Ref K5) and meet on the first Saturday of each month. We cater for dressage, show-jumping, cross country and trail riding. We have a huge all-weather arena, yards for the horses and plenty of space for floats and cars. We also organise specialised clinics in dressage or jumping as required by members.  You must be 18 years of age or over to be eligible to join the Doongala Adult Riding Club. Doongala is affiliated with the HRCAV (Horse Riding Clubs Association of Victoria).

Our club colours are black, red and white.

We have polo shirts, caps, iron on logos, embroidered logos and saddle blankets available in the club colours, all with the club logo.

Please check with a committee member during rallies for information on current stock, price and availability.

Rally Days

Neat and tidy attire (no singlet tops please). 

Dressage Competitions, Jumping, Equitation and Shows

Dress uniform is a white shirt with either a red or black tie and may include a black or red "v" neck jumper or vest over.  Jodhpurs should be beige, cream or black. Saddle blankets should bear the club logo.

Cross Country, Show jumping and other Official Activities

You may wear either the official uniform, or a black polo shirt with club logo, or black windcheater with club logo and cream jodhpurs.  Saddle blankets should be black with red binding or white with black binding and bear the club logo.  Cross country cap covers (in club colours) which fit over the helmet may also be worn. 

HRCAV Uniform Rules

HRCAV state that competitors should ride in their club's uniform and with a club saddle blanket and either the rider or the saddle blanket must display the club logo.  Riders must supply their own numbers for competitions, which must be displayed on both sides of the horse.  Cross-country riders will need a special bib-style holder for the much larger numbers required so that judges ca see them easily.  Numbers are available from most equestrian supply shops.

We hold rallies at the pony club grounds in Sheffield Rd, Kilsyth, on the 1st Saturday of each month.  Each member is allocated to a group lesson n one of the 2 morning sessions.  

New members will be allotted to a group for flat work in the morning. We try to keep riders of similar abilities together but if you are unhappy with your group, don't hesitate to speak to the rally organiser who may be able to move you to another group, depending on numbers. Members can choose to ride in any of the afternoon sessions, a list of the afternoon sessions available will be posted on the noticeboard. Add your name to the session you want to participate in prior to the lunch break.

Members are not to ride over jumps on a rally day without an instructor present.  

Being a club member involves certain responsibilities, please ensure you familiarise yourself with the following:

• Wear an ASA approved helmet and appropriate footwear when mounted and proper shoes when moving around horses on the ground (ie no flip-flops in summer).
  
• Be punctual on rally days
  
• Show courtesy to instructors when joining or leaving a group session.
• Stay with allotted rally group unless having sought permission from the rally organiser to change.
• Be aware of other riders at all times, give way to riders under instruction, acknowledge right of way during lessons, pass left side to left side when approaching each other and move cautiously.
• Be prepared to help set up/pack up equipment for rallies and help in the canteen, if required.
• If you choose to participate in a jumping or poles session in the afternoon you must help with not only the setup but also the packup of the jumps and poles. 
• Ensure your membership card is stamped each year, you will not be able to attend rallies or compete if not.
• You need a separate set of grading cards for each horse you wish to compete on.  One set is provided with your original membership, further sets can be purchased from HRCAV (approx. $7 per card).
• Be prepared to help set up/pack up equipment for competitions and help in the canteen if required.
• If you prefer to ride at a certain time for your morning session please advise the Rally Organiser by the Wednesday prior to Rally.
• If you are not planning on attending a rally please ensure you advise the Rally Organiser by the Wednesday prior to Rally.
• For last minute rally cancellations, please ensure you advise the Rally Organiser as a matter of courtesy.
• If you are riding on the grounds, other than on a Rally Day and there is an arena setup for a competition, please do not ride in it. The rules state that no horse, either ridden or led, may enter any arena other than the warm-up arena, except when actually competing in a competition, on penalty of elimination,which includes arenas erected on the days preceding an Event. 
• Members are not to ride over jumps on a rally day without an instructor present. 
• Each member is expected to take a share of the workload to ease the running of competitions or to assist with working-bees organised by the club. The working-bees, sometimes held in conjunction with Doongala Pony Club, involve grounds maintenance, repainting of jumps and other equipment and building cross country jumps.
  

Lisa Howieson, a HRCAV dressage judge, supplied the following dressage guide to assist new competitors.   Download Ringcraft & Less Stress Dressage guide 

These are official HRCAV TTT events held in each discipline annually. They are designed so that clubs may be represented by a team or teams, each of at least three members and no more than four. Team members compete individually but score points for their team if they gain a placing. The Top Team is the one with the most points.

TTT events can be likened to State finals for HRCAV members. Besides the trophy and prizes awarded to the top team, the club wins the right to host the TTT event in the following year.

To be eligible for team entry, riders must have competed in a minimum number of official competitions in the relevant discipline during the preceding year, or they must be freshly level-assessed in the month before a TTT competition. If you are interested in competing in a TTT event, check the club's newsletter for information, or contact our TTT organiser to register your interest.

TTT popularity means the host club has to limit the number of teams - there are usually about 100 - and that means that while a club will always get one team in, second and third teams may miss out. So if we have too many Doongala members competing for spaces in a team, names are chosen from a hat.