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THE BRITISH SHOW JUMPING ASSOCIATION
BSJA AREA 44 (SURREY)
MINUTES OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
TUESDAY 17 JANUARY 2006
Location The Royal British Legion Hall, West Clandon
Start Time 8.15 pm
Finish Time 10.25 pm
No Attendees 37
Area Representative Joanna Gillespie opened the meeting by thanking all present for attending and welcomed Peter Gillespie, UK Showjumping Chairman. Joanna announced that Jane Twemlow would be attending to explain the new Membership initiatives and incentives.
1. Apologies
Rebecca Stansfield
2. Minutes from 2005 AGM
Were approved and signed by Joanna Gillespie.
3. Matters Arising
Joanna Gillespie said that the changes to the BSJA, especially show categorisation, had thrown up a lot of questions, hence her asking Peter Gillespie to attend the AGM to explain the changes and answer any questions arising.
4. Area Representative's Report
Joanna thanked the Committee and introduced them, explaining their roles. Asked if anyone knew of someone who would be prepared to join the committee as the Young Rider representative. Linda York suggested Charlotte Summers and will ask her.
It is acknowledged that there is a lack of shows in the Area, especially with Junior classes. This is a particular problem with dates clashing. Need feedback from the Juniors as to what classes they would support and when. In 2006, Rebecca Stansfield is running shows at Merrist Wood and Great Bookham Equestrian Centre, and Vicarage Farm, Surrey County , Cranleigh Show and Edenbridge & Oxted will be running as usual. It is possible that Pachesham will run some shows in 2007, hopefully including some Junior classes, and Alex Cobb has yet to be persuaded to run shows again at Ridgewood .
Training is going well and there is a waiting list for the Junior Academy .
5. Area Financial Report
Cash at bank 31/10/05 Current a/c £ 996.02
Deposit a/c £6,072.53
Total £7,068.55
The finances had a quiet year as no Area shows were held. There were no questions for the Treasurer, and Joanna thanked Paul Downing (Treasurer).
6. Future (Training/Events)
Sally Thurloway organised two summer training sessions held at Vicarage Farm, by kind permission of Peter and Joanna Gillespie. The format was instructional clear round with coaching from both Sally and Corinne Bracken. There will be a repeat of these sessions this year, as they proved very popular. The Area has already run a subsidised Bronze Training session this winter with another to be held in March. The Intro evening is well subscribed by members and non-members. William Funnell will be taking some of the sessions on 17 February. The Committee are open to suggestions for different training formats and venues.
7. Junior Academy
Ali Hawksworth explained that she had wanted to find a way of increasing Junior membership in the Area and look after those we already had. The best idea was to offer structured coaching, which would add value to the membership on offer to potential members. The Academy has brought more Juniors out of the woodwork than we knew we had.
The first session was well supported, with riders and parents staying all day, creating a great atmosphere. 5 local Pony Club members have already shown interest in join. Tim and Susie Forrest were thanked for their generosity in allowing us to use their wonderful facilities at Truxford at such short notice.
Corinne Bracken is heavily involved coaching the Juniors and helping plan their campaigns. She would be happy to attend shows and do course walks. With weekends busy with shows, the next sessions will be organised for evenings. A logo has been designed for the Junior Academy that will go onto T-shirts, jackets and hats. It was decided that BSJA Surrey was preferable to BSJA Area 44. Each rider will have a log book to help plan their campaign and keep a record of their progress. Onwards and upwards.
8. Guest Speakers
Peter Gillespie spoke about the progress of the new categorisation of shows, which starts on 1 April 2006. The evidence is that most show organisers are being unadventurous and Regional Representatives will need to sit down with the Show Organisers to help sort out the calendar - communication. The purpose of categorisation is to protect the members, providing more protected classes for the Amateur level and prevent too many dates clashing, therefore all shows should benefit with increased entry levels. Advanced shows will be protected. We will not see much change this year, as show organisers need to change their ways, and prize funds to increase. For example, Vicarage Farm are going back to holding professional shows mid-week and have Amateur, Intro and Progressive classes at the weekends. Peter fielded a number of questions on Notional Prize Money and whether it would be better not to win money in the lower classes but go up through the classes depending on Double Clear Rounds achieved.
Arenas are to be graded. Independent, well-seasoned professionals are to be recruited and they will assess arenas and the facilities on offer at the show grounds. Depending on their rating, show organisers will be allocated certain qualifiers.
Peter Gillespie congratulated Joanna on becoming a full FEI judge and Corinne on becoming the official Assistant Coach of the British Young Riders Team.
At this point, the subject of Style & Performance classes was raised, where there were adverse reports on the 'crummy judging'.
Jane Twemlow explained her remit of developing BSJA Membership and the discounts and packages on offer. Ways of retaining Members is being looked into - adding value to keep them within the BSJA. Need more shows running classes that appeal to the grass roots members. Average BSJA membership is 4 years. General consensus was that there should be more Membership offers and discounts. Jane went on to explain the Regional Leagues that have been introduced for Seniors and Juniors. A new rulebook will be coming out but they are deciding in what format to publish it.
Tim Forrest explained what the BSJA was doing to generate the necessary funds to meet the investment priorities. There will be changes to staffing and organisation at Stoneleigh, as a result of introducing new computer systems aimed at trying to keep spending to a minimum. Plan to invest in computer systems for Shows and Judges. They are looking for more National Sponsors to run competition series and to enable teams to compete abroad. The Senior Team is not sponsored. More sponsors = better shows = more TV coverage = more money in the pot. Sky paid for HOYS and the BBC are keen to do more. A new Sky channel will be launched July 2006 - Horse & Country. Will focus on all aspects of equestrianism. Tim Stockdale is doing a tremendous job with his Marketing Committee and the new Membership and UK Show Jumping initiatives should significantly improve participation in the sport.
9. Any Other Business
Joanna brought up the subject of lack of Judges in the Area - we need more.
British Show Jumping Magazine needs to be more frequent - out of date by the time it is published.
Pachesham and Ridgewood need to be encouraged to come back into the calendar. These Show Centres would like to be told what dates are available, so there needs to be a meeting within the Region to discuss who holds what sort of show and when, so there is no clashing. Show Organisers need help to understand the system.
A plea for potential Team Members to put their names forward.
It was suggested that Accredited Coaches make themselves available at shows for course walking and advice.
Joanna announced that Sally Thurloway is now an Accredited Coach.
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