MS. BELLE Balding has been elected as Chairperson of the Irish Pony Club. Ms. Balding, who is from Baltinglass, is a member of the Carlow Hunt Branch and has been a long standing member of the Irish Pony Club National Executive.

Ms. Balding takes over from Alice Mernagh who has completed ten years as Chairman of the Irish Pony Clubs. Ms Balding took over the role yesterday at a meeting of the National Executive in Horse Sport Ireland’s offices in Naas, Co. Kildare.

During her time in charge Alice Mernagh oversaw a number of changes in the Irish Pony Club, including the implementation of a code of ethics for the protection of Children in Sport and Garda vetting, with health and safety being at the cornerstone of what the organisation does.

Horse Sport Ireland Chairman Joe Walsh acknowledged the huge contribution made by Alice Mernagh in her role as chairman of the Irish Pony Clubs and said Horse Sport Ireland looked forward to working with Belle Balding.

He said: “Alice has been an outstanding ambassador for the pony club movement and has also made a huge contribution to the Horse Sport Ireland board. Her contribution to the pony club movement and the sport horse sector over the last ten years has been immense. I look forward to working with Belle Balding in her new role.

“The pony club makes a massive contribution to the equestrian sector in what they do for young people. Many of our top equestrian stars started riding in pony clubs, and without them our sector would be faced with a huge void,” he added.
 

From left: Alice Mernagh, Joe Walsh, Belle Balding