IHSGB 2021 AGM BRIEF

At the AGM the following Resolutions will be proposed:

• THAT the meeting elects a Member to the role of Chair
• THAT the meeting elects a Member as Sports Leader
• THAT the meeting elects a Member as Youth Trustee with an interest in Leisure

Nominations for these Trustee posts have now closed.

Nominations have been received for:

CHAIR

CATHERINE HOLLAND has accepted the nomination, proposed by Peter Heathcote and seconded by Freija Glansdorp. This post is therefore uncontested.

Catherine says: “I first rode Icelandic horses in Iceland in 2008 and was captivated by their endearing personalities and hardy nature. My late husband and I soon acquired a couple of our own and joined the IHSGB in 2011. As most of you will know I was editor of the Society’s newsletter Sleipnir for three years. I do attend some of the shows and clinics, and enjoy the fun and encouragement of other Icelandic horse riders, but I am in no way a serious ‘sport rider.’ However I do recognise that Icelandic horse fans come in various forms – and the sport riding is a vital part of what the Society does to promote the breed and support its members. But the Society is about more than events for us happy hackers, sports riders, or acrobats! It’s also about promoting the breed and its welfare. As Chair of the Society I will commit myself to all of those aims. I am a Board member of an NHS Trust and a former CEO, so have a good understanding of leadership and governance, and working with teams.

SPORTS LEADER

BECCA HUGHES has accepted the nomination, proposed by Mike Adams and seconded by Fi Pugh. This post is therefore uncontested.

Becca writes: “If I were to be elected as Sport Leader my three main objectives are to ensure:

1. The continued availability of a selection of GB judges for Sport and Development competitions
2. A programme of activities providing and encouraging Sport Rider development
3. A clear selection process for riders wishing to represent GB at the World Championships in 2023

Some of the plans and ideas I have to meet these objectives are:

• Supporting Young Riders – By working with the new Youth Leader to support young riders interested in sport.
• Continued Sport Judge Training – Supporting the on-going regional sport judge training with Fi. As well as supporting and working to facilitate the qualified regional judges who wish to progress to take the National and International judges’ exams
• Virtual Competitions – Last winter, due to covid restrictions the IHSGB held the ‘WINTER TOLT online’ competition. This allowed those wishing to get on the WC team a chance to get a qualifying mark, and also people from all over GB to enter the competition with no or minimal travel involved. I think this was a great initiative and something that we should do again.
• Sport Theory Webinars/Talks – For all levels of riders, with experienced sport riders and judges discussing topics like the sport judges guidelines, FEIF rules and regulations, equipment, oval track etiquette, training gaits, fitness training, deciding on and planning your tests. With the aim of encouraging people to enter a sport competition and feel confident that they know what they are doing, so both them and their horse can have a good experience on the track.

My ‘areas of expertise’ are:

Experience as an IHSGB trustee

I was co-opted as Youth Lead in March 2019, and elected to the role at the AGM in November. I hit the ground running as my first task as Youth Leader was to organise the arrangements for the FEIF Youth Camp in Iceland. It ended up being a bit of baptism by fire, as a quick check in with the IHSGB insurance company revealed a massive safeguarding and insurance problem meaning that travel arrangements had to be changed, and new safeguarding policies and procedures had to be written and approved within the two weeks before the camp. Luckily for me one of my most useful skills is the ability to remain calm when things go wrong and I cope well under pressure. It was a good learning experience and prompted me to write down everything I learnt to share with the next Youth Leader. In January 2020, I attended the FEIF Delegates Assembly in Iceland and came back with lots of ideas and plans for Youth. Unfortunately, due to COVID I have not been able to do any of the events and activities I had hoped to do the last few years, but have been busy working in the background to put things in place so the next trustee has some good foundations to start with. I have been an active member of the board, not only youth work but also taking on other projects such as organising the free pin badges sent out to members, admin on the IHSGB Facebook group, and sharing the Leisure role with Karen for the last year and a half.

Member of the IHSGB Sport Group

I have been in the Sport Group for a while now, and during the organisation of the British Championships and a World Championships year (although, sadly it was cancelled in the end).

Qualified IHSGB Regional Sport Judge

I qualified as an IHSGB Regional Sport Judge in 2020. When Peter told me he had been nominated for the Chair role, I expressed my interest in training to be a sport judge and I felt that having more qualified judges here was essential to continuing to develop sport riding and increasing the opportunities to ride in sport competitions in GB. I asked if he would look into restarting a sport judge training programme.

YOUTH TRUSTEE with an interest in LEISURE

CHARLIE DAY has accepted the nomination, proposed by Mic Rushen and seconded by Thalia Colyer. This post is therefore uncontested.

Charlie writes: “My name is Charlie Day and I am 52 years old. I have ridden horses since I was 2 and was plonked on a Shetland with our neighbour’s daughter. I grew up riding with my sisters and loaned ponies through my teen years and at medical school, doing pony club, dressage and jumping I stopped riding regularly when I had children until Ben at age 8 said he wanted to learn to ride. That restarted me and we got a New Forest pony and a Shetland/Dartmoor cross. I met Nick Foot in about 2006 and nearly bought an Icelandic – I tried two at Oakfield and one with Mandy and Smari when they were still at Salisbury; however my horsey eldest sister persuaded me to get a normal horse as my first horse so I got Jack my gypsy cob (now an RDA horse in Salisbury).

I learned some Parelli and met Richard Maxwell and learned how to use different techniques as needed but I never lost my wish for an Icelandic, so when we were looking for another horse I decided it was time. Glowie came along as an unbroken 5 year old – with help I trained her and we then adopted Bil and Orvar for the girls. Bil was never going to be a riding horse so she ended her days up on Mic’s farm in Wales. Orvar was a fabulous gentleman of a horse – safe, reliable and consistent and he gave Issy her confidence riding – he is now 29 and retired up with Mic as well. We now have Solbra who I imported 2 years ago – it has taken time for us to trust each other but we now have a fabulous bond with each other and I love riding her. Libby and Issy are 17 and have Byr and Brynja to ride and enjoy – they are progressing well and we enjoy going out in the lorry for different hacks and experiences, and we try to take as many opportunities as we can to train and improve our riding. My reason for applying for this role is that I have Youth of my own (Issy and Libby) and I’m passionate that we encourage the next generation – personally I am a leisure rider predominantly (though I will do the occasional competition) but I really want to enjoy my horses and have fun. Professionally I am a GP and I am also the Named GP for safeguarding for Portsmouth City so I understand the need to have children in a safe supportive environment. I hope I can do this role justice – I have been offered help from others to support me as I do have a busy job so I hope we can develop the role to help others enjoy their horses and have fun. I also really appreciate the social aspect of the society especially for Youth and Leisure riders, and see part of this role is to encourage other members to meet and support each other.”

What happens next?

We hope you will be able to join us at the AGM on the 13th November and make your vote count. Attendance can be in person or virtual. However any member (a family membership has 2 adult votes) that cannot attend CAN APPOINT A PROXY. The person that holds the proxy must ‘attend’ the meeting. If you have not yet appointed a proxy and wish to do so (forms were enclosed with the AGM information included with the last Sleipnir) then please complete a form and email to  office@ihsgb.co.uk (or post). Please send your completed form in as soon as possible – the cut-off date for receipt of proxies this year is 18.00 hrs Monday 8th November.

Please refer to the IHSGB AGM Papers booklet previously circulated for more information.

Attendance

You can continue to let us know whether you are planning to attend, or send your apologies, until 18.00 hrs Monday 8th November; we hope to see as many of you in person and online as possible. Log in details will be provided to all attendees by 18.00hrs Friday 12th November. The AGM itself starts at 13.30hrs Saturday 13th November – join online from 13.15hrs.

IHSGB AGM nomination & what happens next brief 29th October 2021