What a hit!
The Yowani Pegasus Golf Day was held on Thursday, 17 September and 30 talented teams participated, raising an impressive $30,500 for Pegasus.
Teams took to the greens at 10.30am for a fun-filled day of golf. Players were sustained by the scrumptious sausage sizzle – kindly managed by the Lions Club of Canberra Belconnen members – before rounding out the day with a buffet supper, auction, and prize giving. CEO Jane Thompson picked up the golf club as a member of the Bungendore Rural Services ACT team, and her efforts earned her a trophy (of sorts) – the Yowani Pegasus Golf Day ‘Try Another Sport Award’. Well done to all those who participated and for making the Yowani Pegasus Golf Day such a big hit. Hip, hip, hoo-neigh!
What a wonderful day we had celebrating the Horses' Birthday on Saturday, 1 August.
All 17 of our commendable Pegasus ponies and horses celebrated their special day – as all horses born in the southern hemisphere do on this date each year. The date is chosen as the official birth date of all horses in the southern hemisphere as it falls at the beginning of the foaling season, and allows all foals born in that season to be considered the same age for competition purposes. This year, our youngest horse ‘Luka’ turned six while our oldest horse, ‘Max’ celebrated his 29th birthday. It was a great turnout with Minister Shane Rattenbury, our co-founder Bid Williams, Honorary Life Member Marcus Quinlivan OAM, President Nadia Dean, our wonderful donors and sponsors, staff, volunteers, and class participants joining in the festivities. And of course, the carrot and hay cake was a huge hit! Pegasus reaches new heights with Open Day success
In what has been the best turnout yet, more than 1,800 people joined in the fun and festivities at this year’s Pegasus Riding for the Disabled Open Day (held on Saturday, 23 May).
The annual event is a celebration of all things Pegasus and recognises the ongoing support and contribution of the many volunteers, sponsors, donors, riders, and the local community who support Pegasus and its horse-facilitated therapy programs. Pegasus Riding for the Disabled ACT Executive Officer, Jane Thompson, was delighted the Canberra community supported the day so strongly. “Our Open Day is a fantastic opportunity for the community to come out and see what we do here at Pegasus, and I’m thrilled that so many community members took the opportunity to celebrate with us. “Our attendance numbers were up 33 percent from last year’s event and we raised over $16,000, which will go towards providing close to one hundred horse-facilitated therapy sessions to riders with a disability in our region. So, thank you to everyone who made this possible,” says Ms Thompson. Families, volunteers, donors, sponsors and the public were treated to horse parades, an Obstacle-a-thon, a riding program demonstration, horse patting, music by the Franklin B Paverty Bush Band, and plenty of fabulous food and craft stalls. In a quirky turn of events, the Pegasus horse quite literally took to the skies on the day. Pegasus balloons from the event were found over 650km away near Quirindi NSW (2 hours north-west of Newcastle) on Monday afternoon, where they came to rest in a farmer’s paddock. Andrew McLean clinic a hit!
Over 60 people attended Dr Andrew McLean’s clinic at Pegasus in May. An internationally renowned and respected horse trainer, coach, in-demand speaker, and accomplished equestrian competitor, Dr McLean shared with us his knowledge and experience in understanding and improving horse behaviour and performance.
Dr McLean has made a career out of using ethical techniques to improve the quality of the horse and human relationship – resulting in happier, healthier and well performing horses. His clinic included a two hour lecture on ethology (the study of horse behaviour in relation to its normal environment); equine learning theory (how horses learn); using science to better understand the horse and its responses; and biomechanics (the science of movement), and included:
This was then followed by a two hour “hands on” demonstration with our very own Pegasus horses. Many thanks to Dr Andrew McLean for coming to visit Pegasus and for everyone who attended. |
This year's Ride for Pegasus a resounding success!
More than 80 enthusiastic riders and their horses participated in last weekend’s 10km Ride for Pegasus in support of riders with a disability.
The annual event, hosted for Pegasus by the ACT Endurance Riders Association, raised over $11,700. Pegasus Riding for the Disabled ACT Executive Officer, Jane Thompson, thanked the ACT Endurance Riders Association, everyone who supported the event, and the many volunteers who assisted in the smooth running of the day. “We had wonderful support from the community with riders of all ages and abilities attending and raising much-needed funds for Pegasus’ horse-facilitated therapy programs and activities. “Six of our young Pegasus riders participated in a special 2km section of the event where they demonstrated, to the wider horse-riding community, the skills they’ve learned in their Pegasus classes. It was a fantastic day out on horseback for all involved,” says Ms Thompson. Even the weather cooperated, which provided a great setting as riders rode from Equestrian Park, through the Arboretum on the Bicentennial Trail and back to Equestrian Park. Each participant received a gift bag donated by Masters Home Improvement and a Certificate of Completion. Rider Milly Baker personally raised over $1500 and was the recipient of a beautiful woollen horse rug donated by Horseland for raising the most funds individually. See our photo gallery here... Tack n' Treasure triumph
Pegasus held its first-ever Tack n' Treasure sale on the weekend (13 June) and there were plenty of enthusiastic early birds here at 7am vying for the best bargains.
Close to $5,500 was raised which will go towards purchasing specialised tack and related aids for our program participants. Thank you to everyone who donated their tack to us and to everyone who participated in the lead up to the day and on the day itself. A big shout out to the Lions Club of Belconnen for supplying the wonderful sausage sizzle! Family Week
We recently celebrated Family Week – a much-loved tradition here at Pegasus where parents, siblings, grandparents and carers come and see their loved one in action.
Our rider’s families and friends jumped at the chance to attend, with a large number of enthusiastic and supportive family members coming along to watch their loved one ride, meet their horse, take photos, chat with other parents, ask questions, provide feedback, and discuss progress with our Coaches and volunteers. Family Week is all about having some fun and celebrating the achievements of our program participants. But, it’s also a valuable opportunity for Coaches to consult with parents and receive insight into their child’s personal goals in other areas of their life. Having information about a rider’s personal aims allows Coaches to tailor riding programs to include and complement these personal goals. Thanks for such a great turnout! Of course, parents are always welcome to visit Pegasus at any time to watch their child ride, so feel free to visit again soon! |