Brief report of the Council of Members meeting

On Tuesday evening, April 30, 2019, the meeting of the Council of Members took place at the Hippisch Verband in Putten.

At the opening, recently appointed Member Council members Melissa Mol (North Division), Lisan van Zante (Middle) and Wouter van den Hoorn (Middle) were also welcomed. The outgoing member council members Jan Jukema (Middle) and Erik Scholten (Middle) were also warmly thanked for their years of commitment.

There were no speakers. Jan Willem Sloof had sent a letter to the Main Board and Council of Members proposing that stallions could be voluntarily submitted for the performance test at the same cost as designated stallions and without obligations to the studbook. Because this would be an existing old arrangement that
to the background, the Main Board is certainly willing to look into this, provided the criteria can be ascertained.

Departmental meetings

A brief overview of the various department meetings was given.

At the South meeting, the Main Board was cautious. The Main Board indicated that this has to do with the current unclear situation about the status of that department. The Members' Council believes it is important to get clarity in the short term, and for this the board of the (former) South Division must consult with the Main Board.

North and Central had good department meetings with good substantive discussions.

Selection System

The response of the Main Board to the report of the NWPCS Committee to Improve the Selection System (also known as the Wijffelaars Committee.) was discussed below.

Comments were still made at the detail level (e.g., about the prescribed clothing, lunging stallions, connecting time limit to judge involvement). However, the main line was widely supported. The Main Board was mandated by the Council of Members to make further improvements along the way, and the Board's response to the plan was approved.

The final regulations performance test NWR/WPBR were approved unanimously.

The main board further wanted a ruling from the Council of Members on whether or not NWPCS skippers should be allowed to sketch and chip their own ponies. The Council of Members agreed, provided there is clarity that there are costs associated with chipping and a fee for
the chippers is.

New format IBOP

The new format of the IBOP riding test was welcomed by the Council of Members. The purpose of this test is a aptitude test according to the Main Board. The test over the past period went well. There were some technical comments from the Council of Members, but in principle everyone agreed with the proposal. A workable situation is the
most important of all.

With regard to the inspection regulations and the demand program of the mare inspections, a number of aspects were mentioned. One is to allow stallions to return after 1 year and to keep the 3-year-old championship separate from the youth championship. Also the importance of
animal welfare is named: it cannot be the intention in the use sections for small ponies to be ridden by overweight people.

However, the basis was good and the Main Board indicated that the proposal will be modified in response to the departments' comments. With that, the Main Board was mandated by the Council of Members to proceed with this proposal and the question program can be published in the near future.

Financial Statements

The 2018 financial statements were then discussed and the treasurer gave a brief explanation. The association's equity has increased, as has the membership and passport registration. In general, events are running in line financially, an exception being the Central Mare Show, particularly due to the necessary move from Kootwijk to Putten. The Youth Plan is also briefly explained verbally.

The Council of Members mandates the Youth Plan and approval of the Annual Accounts.

Working Groups

This was followed by a brief feedback from a number of working groups of our association. Among others, the breeding technical committee (FTC) was discussed (and the desire to revise the breeding plan, the current one dates from 2014) and the communication working group (compliments are given for the presence on social media and the website, a lot of appeal. The Welsh Magazine were still comments regarding frequency, quality of pictures and distribution).

The lustrum working group is busy with the field day North and field day in Putten, where Britt Dekker will also be present. This ties in with the perception of the youth, and will hopefully bring back many members and enthusiasm for the Welsh Pony.

Closed section

The closed session then included a number of appointments, including to the breeding technical committee and the reappointment of an NWPCS judge. This will be communicated soon from the Main Board.

Source: NWPCS Council of Members