SIX LOCAL RIDERS ATTAIN D2/D3/C1/C2 RATINGS Campobello, SC– River Valley Pony Club announces the uprating of • Chloe Bosshard from D1 to D2 daughter of Holly and Daniel Bosshard of Hendersonville, NC, and granddaughter of Dana Kind, Columbus, NC • Katie Hay from D2 to D3 daughter of Anne Baskett and Bill Hay of Columbus, NC • Samantha Firby from D3 to C1daughter of Helen and Mike Firby of Tryon, NC • Darbie Barr from D3 to C1 daughter of Dodie and Robert Barr of Salem, SC (Darbie is a member of Greenville Foothills Pony Club) • Dakota DePalma from C1 to C2 daughter of Vicki and Anthony DePalma of Landrum, SC • Emily Dingwell from C1 to C2 daughter of Dawn and Terry Dingwell of Campobello, SC Many thanks to Sue Spiegel, Spiegel Farm, Campobello, SC for hosting the Club’s C1/C2 Rating on February 13-14. And, special thanks to Vicki and Anthony DePalma, Iron Bridge Farm, Landrum, SC for hosting RVPC’s D2/D3 Rating on February 20. The Club extends its appreciation to Brenda Yike, C1/C2 Ratings Examiner from Woodstock, GA; Karen Sadler, D2/D3 Ratings Examiner from Inman, SC; and Cathy Berlin, Impartial Observer - C1/C2 Ratings from Tryon, NC. To progress through the United States Pony Club Standards and Ratings proficiencies, each member must pass examinations that test horsemanship skills and knowledge. Each of the Pony Club rating levels is more difficult than the preceding one, and requires Pony Club members to learn more about horses and their care and to become increasingly accomplished riders and teachers of riding and horse care to younger members. The top rating, ‘A,’ is reached by fewer than one in 300 and denotes throughout the international horse industry a highly competent and knowledgeable horseperson. The leaders of River Valley Pony Club are Dawn Dingwell, Cathy Taylor and Amy Moore of Campobello, SC; Kathi Brian of Inman, SC; Abbie Just of Pickens, SC; and Helen Firby of Tryon, NC. There are 25 members of River Valley Pony Club which is a local chapter of the United States Pony Club, serving Landrum, Campobello, Inman, Spartanburg and Gowansville, SC, Tryon, Columbus, Green Creek and Hendersonville, NC, and the surrounding areas. Members range from the age of 6 to 22 and are Rated from Unrated to the highest being an H. Along with an emphasis on helping its members learn to ride and care for horses, Pony Club promotes teamwork, a sense of responsibility, safety, good moral judgment and self-confidence. To learn more about River Valley Pony Club, its calendar of activities and to view pictures from recent Club activities, please visit the Club’s website at www.RiverValleypc.org. To inquire about membership or to make arrangements to visit members and families during an upcoming, please e-mail your inquiry to info@rivervalleypc.org

LOCAL RIDER ATTAINS D-1 RATING Campobello, SC– River Valley Pony Club announces the uprating of Nicola Rountree-Williams from Unrated to D-1 at a testing held on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at Cathy and Wyllis Taylor’s Fox Meadow Farm, Campobello, South Carolina. Nicola, age seven, is the daughter of Elizabeth Rountree and Robert Williams of Tryon, North Carolina. To earn the rating, Nicola passed an examination that tested horsemanship skills and knowledge. The D-1 Rating is the foundational Rating of a serious of standardized rating tests within the Pony Club system. Each of the nine Pony Club ratings is more difficult than the preceding one, and requires Pony Club members to learn more about horses and their care and to become increasingly accomplished riders and teachers of riding and horse care to younger members. The top rating, ‘A,’ is reached by fewer than one in 300 and denotes throughout the international horse industry a highly competent and knowledgeable horseperson.  The leader of River Valley Pony Club is Mike Firby of Tryon, North Carolina. There are approximately 12,500 members of USPC in 625 clubs throughout the country. Along with an emphasis on helping its members learn to ride and care for horses, Pony Club promotes teamwork, a sense of responsibility, safety, good moral judgement and self-confidence. The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. (USPC) was founded in 1954 as a nonprofit national youth organization to teach riding and horsemanship through a formal educational program. Many of the nation’s top equestrians, including most of our Olympic Equestrian team members, have Pony Club roots. Members range in age from as young as 4 through age 21. Activities are English-riding based, and members ride both horses and ponies, depending on the size of the rider and the discipline in which s/he is competing. All Pony Club competition is team competition, much like the Olympic games, where members learn the importance of cooperation and teamwork. To learn more about River Valley Pony Club and the Club’s calendar of activities, please visit River Valley Pony Club’s website at www.rivervalleypc.org.