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The Welsh Pony and Cob
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The Welsh Pony and Cob
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Council Meetings |
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THE WELSH PONY AND COB SOCIETY
MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING HELD AT PRESENT Mrs. M.E. Mansfield (President); Mr. L. Bigley (President-Elect); Miss S.M. Hardy (Chairman); D. Ll. Williams.(Vice-Chairman); Dr. E.W. Davies (Publicity Officer); Mrs. W. Bond; Mrs. C. Fell; Mr. M.T. Daley, Mrs. E. Dart; Mr. E.T.E. Davies; Mrs. M.C. Edwards; Lady Evans-Bevan; Mr. S Franklin; Mrs. E R French; Mrs. P. Howells; Mrs. D. Jones; Mr. G. Jones; Mr. J.T. Kirk; Mr. D. Morgan; Mr. J. Parry; Mrs. J. P. Price; Mr. E.G. Prosser; Mr. J.A. Russell; Mr. J.K. Spenser; Mrs. D. Thomas and IN ATTENDANCE The Chief Officer/Secretary and Deputy Secretary. APOLOGIES Apologies for inability to attend the Meeting were received from Miss L. Hutchins; Mr. R. Manchip and Miss J. Sheil. REPORT OF THE COUNCIL WORKING GROUP HELD ON 29TH MARCH, 2007 The Committee Chairman submitted a Report, as printed. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE REPORT 7078 Before proceeding with the business of the Meeting Miss S. Hardy reported that no meeting had been held on the 18th April, 2007 although this was listed in the Agenda. The reason being that the draft Memorandum had not arrived at the Office until the previous day (25th April). (i) Judging and Showing Committee (Ref.Min. 7061) Reference was made to the asterisk in the second bullet point. This was incorrect and should be shown as ¶ to indicate Judges unwilling to travel. The Deputy Secretary stated that there would be no more than 3-4 judges with that marker on the Panel. (ii) Memorandum and Articles of Association (Ref.Min. 7063) Confidential Item Members of Council were circulated with pink paper copies (confidential) of the draft Articles of Association. Members were invited to take copies home to review at their leisure and put forward their amendments/suggestions at the Council Meeting to be held on 25th June, 2006 The Chairman confirmed that the Articles looked very different to the old ones and had been greatly simplified. The Chairman stressed that the paper was confidential, as Directors it was in order for members to take independent advice but they could not show confidential papers to a third party. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE COUNCIL WORKING GROUP 7079 Subject to the Resolutions referred to above (confidential items) IT WAS RESOLVED That the Report, as submitted, be adopted. REPORT OF THE EXHIBITION UNIT WORKING PARTY HELD ON 4TH APRIL, 2007 The Working Committee Chairman submitted a Report, as printed. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE REPORT 7080 (i) Sponsorship (Ref.Min. 7064(i)) Mr. S. Franklin reported that enquiries were being made with NFU and Brightwells with regard to having sponsorship on the awning of the Exhibition Unit, this would only be on display during the period of the shows. IT WAS RESOLVED That there would be no sponsorship on the sides of the Exhibition Unit awning. (ii) Operator’s Licence (Ref.Min. 7064 (ii)) The Deputy Secretary confirmed that a letter had been sent to the appropriate authority however to date no reply had been received. (iii) Chassis (Ref.Min. 7064(iii)) As requested members of Council had been supplied with the specification used to obtain quotations, those quotations had been included in the Report. The Working Party Chairman confirmed that each quotation had been considered on an individual basis. Unfortunately Mr. Daley had been late arriving and Mr. Franklin had again gone through the quotations to bring Mr. Daley up to date with the meeting. The final decision had been to purchase the Oakley however the cost of this was £6,000 over the amount authorised by Council. Mrs. Fell had been able to obtain donations of £6,000 to cover the excess. The Working Group felt that the Oakley was the best option and members present at the meeting unanimously agreed that the order be placed and confirmed. Mrs. Fell telephoned Oakley to confirm the decision and a letter of confirmation was sent from the Office, subject to contract. It was hoped that the Unit would be available for the Royal of England and Northleach and that the official launch would take place at the Royal Welsh Show. Members discussed at great length the specifications and asked numerous questions regarding, unladen weight, chassis cab –v- body prices, new purchase –v- used purchase, manual awnings –v- hydraulic, lifespan (20 years), re-saleable value, living facilities as opposed to B & B, etc.. Mr. M.T. Daley voiced concern that the Exhibition Unit came in over-budget by £6,000. Mr. Daley felt that the sponsorship should have been offered to other vehicles and should not have been tied to the Oakley. Mr. Franklin replied that the sponsorship were offered to enable the Society to afford the Oakley. Mrs. C. Fell explained how the Oakley became available. After further discussion the Chairman of Council quoted the Resolution that appeared in the Meeting of 11th December, 2006 giving authority for the Exhibition Unit Working Group to go ahead and purchase a vehicle up to £50,000. In her opinion that was authority to act. Mr. M.T. Daley still maintained that the Working Group had overspent and had gone outside its remit. Mr. Daley also stated that he had not voted in favour of the Oakley. Mr. Daley stated that he wished to resign from the Exhibition Working Group. Mr. Daley also asked what were the ties linking the sponsorship. The Chairman of the Working Group confirmed that there were no ties linked to what was, in essence a donation or a gift rather than sponsorship. Mr. Franklin also confirmed that the vote had been unanimous to accept Oakley and Mr. Daley had taken part in that vote. Mrs. E. Dart wished to record that she did not mind what kind of Unit the Society had however she was concerned with regard to the donation. Members asked 2what was happening in Council” and Council members reply “we don’t know” and then Council gets accused of hiding things. Mrs. Dart wished assurance that there were no ties at all linked to the donation. The Chairman of Council wished to record that there were no ties whatsoever linked to what would be a cash donation. The Chief Officer/Secretary stated that there was no reason not to accept the gift being offered as it did not contravene any requirements governing such a gift. Mrs. Dart asked what signage would be on the Unit. Mrs. Fell stated that this had not been decided but the Society Logo would be on the front Welsh Pony & Cob Society Exhibition Unit on the back in English and Welsh. The colour will be as close as possible to the green on the Society’s headed paper. Mr. Davies agreed that powers were given to act and the cost of the Oakley did not differ greatly, in total, from the others. However, Mr. Davies wished to record that he was concerned that the Group had chosen to go with a 7.5 ton as opposed to 10 ton chassis, he personally would have preferred to go with the 10 ton build. He also believed that the re-sale value would be higher. Mr. Kirk replied that the Group had given much thought to a more powerful Unit however the Group also took into consideration the fact that a number of staff members would have to go through the HGV Licensing process to enable them to drive a heavier unit. Mr. E. Prosser wished to record his congratulations to the Working Group for all the hard work they had done in securing an Exhibition Unit for the Society. They had carried out the remit given to them. (iv) Disposal of the Current Unit (Ref.Min. 7067) IT WAS RESOLVED That the Working Group’s recommendation to dispose of the current Exhibition Unit at one of the Brightwells Sales in Leominster be approved. IT WAS FURTHER RESOLVED That members of the Society (via website) and Council members be informed of the date of the sale at which the Exhibition Unit will be offered. CHIEF OFFICER’S REPORT 7081 Members of Council were circulated with a copy of the Chief Officer’s Report (i)Staffing Restructure Members were also circulated with copies of a graph of the current Staffing Re-structure and copy of a letter of acknowledgement sent to the Chairman of Council from Mr. Tony Morris who had recently resigned his position with the Society. Members considered at great length the information contained within the Report and the Chief Officer/Secretary answered a number of queries put to her during the discussion. (ii) Pont (Grazing Animals Project), The Chief Officer/Secretary had attended a Meeting of PONT and the Hill Improvement Societies. Concern had been reaised with regard to the number of Section A semi feral Welsh Mountain Pony breeding mares and they wished to discuss ways of supporting a viable long term . There were two potential viable options. 1. The Grazing Animals project produces a book of Conservation Grazing Profiles that requires updating. It is being suggested that PONT and WPCS work together to gather the knowledge of Hill breeders to develop a comprehensive profile. PONT would apply for and administrate a grant for this project. It is important that we are involved in developing this profile as it is about animals registered in our Stud Book. 2. A larger project that PONT are interested in developing with WPCS support is to provide a subsidy for passporting and microchipping for registered animals over a 2 year period with the aim to reach 1,000 breeding mares. This is recognised as a short term project and has to be linked to developing public awareness, publicity and underpinning the viability of the Mountain Ponies for the future. It is imperative that a scheme of this nature does not become a cash cow and it would need to be focused on the animals and the numbers of breeding mares, not the breeders. PONT have estimated the funding bid would be around £50,000 (includes project management costs and administration). Whilst discussion took place the Deputy Secretary contacted the Office and according to the Annual census returned recently by Hill Improvement Societies, there was on record a total of 906 fillies, 3 years old and over. (The census did not ask for 4 years old and over). On the proposal of Mrs. P. Howells and seconded by Mrs. D. Thomas, with 19 votes in favour, none against and no abstentions IT WAS RESOLVED That the Chief Officer/Secretary be authorised to confirm the Society’s agreement, in principle, to working with the project to develop funding. (iii) Draft Regulations on the Identification of Equidae Members had been circulated with a copy of an e-mail from Fiona Leadbitter of the Welsh Assembly supplying an update regarding Microchips, Keeper/Owner responsibilities re Passports, Register Equine Holdings and List of horses leaving and entering Equine Holding. Miss Leadbitter asked for the view of the Society with regard to some points that were being discussed at the next Commission meeting on 14th May, 2007. IT WAS RESOLVED That the Chief Officer/Secretary be instructed to respond to the queries put forward as follows: 1. Compulsory Microchipping Society is opposed. Unnecessary additional expense and not always successful 2. Keeper instead of owner applying for Passport Definitely opposed 3. Register Equine Holdings Opposed 4. Equine Holdings - Register of Animals entering and leaving premises Opposed, beauraucratic nightmare IT AUDIT 7082 The Chief Officer/Secretary circulated members of Council with copies of a draft confidential ICT Audit. The Chief Officer/Secretary also made a presentation to Council going through the Report in a comprehensive manner. The Chief Officer/Secretary referred members to the Recommended Priorities, Immediate Risks (0-8 months) and added that one of the main servers in the Office had recently ceased to function. This dealt mainly with e-mails and a temporary solution had been put in place. Considerable discussion took place and following various suggestions and ideas IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED That the Finance Committee be granted powers to act in relation to the implementation of the Recommended Priorities – Immediate Risks (0-8 months) with a maximum budget of £10,000 to spend. Before moving on the Chief Officer/Secretary highlighted the Confidential clause contained within the IT Report. The information contained was privileged, confidential and subject to copyright and could not be used in any form without the prior and written consent of Teamwork Technology Services Ltd. or the Welsh Development Agency. At this juncture Mr. J.A. Russell submitted his apologies as he had to leave the Meeting. CORRESPONDENCE 7083 Before proceeding with the Correspondence, Mr. L. Bigley declared an interest with regard to McCartneys. Mr. J.T. Kirk also declared an interest with regard to the item relating to Mc. Cartneys. (i) Czech Republic Society A letter received on 23rd February, 2007 from the Chairwoman of the Society in charge of the Welsh Pony and Cob Breeds in the Czech Republic was circulated to members of Council. IT WAS RESOLVED That the Chief Officer/Secretary be instructed to acknowledge the letter and respond to the relevant queries. IT WAS FURTHER RESOLVED That the Chief Officer/Secretary be instructed to obtain the view of Miss J. Sheil and that the matter be referred back to Council for further consideration. (ii) French Licensing Rules (Confidential) (iii) McCArtneys Auctioneers At this juncture Mr. L. Bigley submitted his apologies as he had to leave the meeting. Members of Council had been circulated with copy of a letter dated 1st March, 2007 received from Mr. C.W. Jones, McCartneys Auctioneers, Brecon Livestock Market, Warren Road, Brecon. Also circulated was a copy of the Society’s reply dated 9th January, 2007 to the initial enquiry received on 12th December, 2007. McCartneys wished to hold a Sale under the name of the Society. The Deputy Secretary stated that the letter sent to the Auctioneers had outlined the Society’s Conditions regarding official status, e.g. the Auctioneers would be required to hold a sale specifically for Welsh Ponies and Cobs for a two year period and these had to comply with the Society’s requirements, i.e. checked and dealt with in the same way as the current official Society sales with all entries being checked and catalogued, transfers recorded through the Office. Neither could the be part of a commercial sale. Due to the current Passport legislation this now meant that transfers had to be done on the day and this would entail a computer link to the Auctioneers premises. IT WAS RESOLVED That the Auctioneers be replied to re-iterating the Society’s Conditions for granting official status for Sales. (iv) List of Shows A letter dated 17th February, 2007 had been received from Mrs. A. Fowler, Tanywenallt, Llanbedr, Gwynedd. Mrs. Fowler felt that the pages devoted to the List of Shows in the Newsletter to be a waste of paper and expense. Those people who wished to show, for example with the BDS would receive such information from those bodies. Mrs. Fowler felt that the list should include what she termed “real” shows for the information of members. Mrs. Fowler also wished to place on record her extreme disquiet over the reality of losing Councillors such as Len Bigley. The Society could simply not afford to let valuable expertise be overridden by newcomers, as other Societies have done to their cost. IT WAS RESOLVED That Mrs. Fowler be thanked for her letter and that in future the List of Shows in the Newsletter and for distribution would revert back to it former format. IT WAS FURTHER RESOLVED That a comprehensive List of Shows in the current format be used for the website. At this juncture Mr. M.T. Daley referred to the list of officers, etc. included in the Newsletter and felt that this should contain the name of the Welfare Officer. The Chief Officer/Secretary stated that she had no objection to this but would seek the approval of the individual prior to making the name public. SERVICE ENQUIRIES 7084 (i)Sire Rating Show A letter dated 12th April, 2007 had been received from Mr. & Mrs. H.S. Davies, Foel Hendre Farm, St. Dogmaels, Cardigan. Mr. & Mrs. Davies had requested that consideration be given to recognising Cardigan Show as a Sire Rating Show for 2007 bearing in mind that United Council were not holding a show in the current year. IT WAS RESOLVED That there would no additional Shows added to the list of Sire Rating Shows for 2007 and that the competition would proceed, for the current year, without the results from United Counties Show. (ii) Miss Brodrick Memento As instructed at a previous Council meeting, the Office now wished to inform Council that the Miss Brodrick Memorial mementos, the bon-bon dishes, were now coming to an end. The last of the dishes would be awarded retrospectively at the 2008 AGM in recognition for 2007. IT WAS RESOLVED That the Chief Officer/Secretary be instructed to consider appropriate re-placements and to report back to Council with ideas and costings, etc. (iii) Transfer of Prefix (Confidential) (iv) No Breeder’s Signature The Deputy Secretary reported that the Office was dealing with an application for the registration of a mare foaled in 1995. As was the normal procedure, members of Council were not supplied with details of the animal or owner/breeder, etc. however these were shown above for the purposes of the Minutes. In accordance with the late registration requirements the mare had been DNA typed and it had been established that the stallion qualified as the sire. Unfortunately it had not been possible to DNA the dam. The Deputy Secretary also reported that although a one parentage test had been done, the breeder had confirmed in a letter dated 18th April, 2006 that he was not convinced that he was the breeder of the mare therefore he was reluctant to sign the application form. Unfortunately the breeder had now passed away and the form had not been signed. The Office sought the advice of Council as to whether or not the application be accepted. IT WAS RESOLVED That in view of the fact that the breeder had expressed doubts as to the animal and had decided not to sign the form that the filly be not accepted for registration. WELFARE CASE (confidential) 7085 Before proceeding with the particular item relating to the welfare case Mr. E.T.E. Davies asked what was the procedure with regard to members of the Society who could have been convicted of crimes, other than welfare, which could be thought of as being very serious. Mr. Davies was not, in any form, denying the importance of cruelty cases to animals but there were other cases involving adults, children, violence, etc. Mr. Davies asked whether or not there was any criteria put in place for such matters. The Chief Officer/Secretary replied that there was no criteria set and that the issue might be whether or not the case was relevant to the Society. Mr. J. Parry referred on a general basis to members who may have been involved in sex offences, especially against children, however there was nothing in the Society’s Rules or Articles relating to such matters. The Showing and Judging rules did not prohibit members from judging children. On the proposal of Mrs. E.T.E. Davies and seconded by Mr. J. Parry IT WAS RESOLVED That the Chief Officer/Secretary be instructed to seek legal advice relating to the varied concerns outlined above, not limited to child protection, and report back to Council. At this juncture Mrs. M.C. Edwards submitted her apologies as she had to leave the Meeting. REPORTS FROM DELEGATES 7086(i) Ponies UK/NPS Mrs. J. Price asked whether or not the Society had received a Report from Ponies UK or NPS regarding Burleigh. The Chief Officer/Secretary reported that she had not received anything to date. (ii) Joint Measurement Scheme Although this item was discussed under Any Other Business this has been moved the appropriate heading in the Minutes. Mr. J. Parry referred to the amended rules with regard to measuring out animals at HOYS. Mr. Parry also referred to Section B ponies competing with FEI. Trials would be held for the next 12 months. ANY OTHER BUSINESS 7087 (i) Enrolment of Members In accordance with the Companies Act 1959/67 the Chairman of Council submitted the names and addresses of 135 new members as circulated to Council. IT WAS RESOLVED That the applicants, as listed, be accepted as member of the Society. (ii)Open Meeting Mr. J.T. Kirk referred to the first Open Meeting when members of the Society were eligible to attend and observe proceedings. Mr. Kirk felt that it was extremely important that Council were fully prepared for this event and acted in a sensible and orderly manner in their approach to the business at hand and gave careful consideration before speaking. The Chairman of Council agreed, Council members would be judged on their conduct. (iii) Society Website Dr. Wynne Davies wish to record his thanks to Anna Goodwin in the Office for her ensuring that the information he sent in was so promptly displayed on the website. The Chief Officer/Secretary confirmed the mutual appreciation on Anna’s behalf. (iv) Native Pony Dr. Wynne Davies reported that the Society was extremely fortunate with the space allowed in Native Pony. Dr. Davies also stated how fortunate the Society was in having a Chief Officer/Secretary so conversant with the Governance reviews, Data Protection, Employment Law, etc. He could see a light at the end of the tunnel. However, Dr. Davies was very concerned that over the past few years it had all been about presentations and very little to do with Welsh Ponies and Cobs, their welfare or many other aspects of the Breeds. He was extremely worried with what could be termed the total collapse of Section B breeding over the past 5 years., these were problems that had been put on the shelf, there were no Society pamphlets. There were many serious things to be discussed. On the proposal of Mr. J. Parry and seconded by Mrs. E. Dart IT WAS RESOLVED That the points raised by Dr. Wynne Davies be referred to the appropriate Committee/s. (v) Royal Welsh Ruling The Deputy Secretary referred to the Rule which had recently been considered and approved at the request of the Royal Welsh Show: “No judge will be permitted to show in the same species that they are judging at the Royal Welsh Show.” Whilst the rule had been approved no date had been agreed as from when this should be introduced. IT WAS RESOLVED That the Rule be introduced as from 1st January, 2008 and that as well as being included in the Rules for Judges, this be made known to members in the August 2007 and January 2008 Newsletters. At this juncture the Chief Officer/Secretary submitted her apologies as she had to leave the Meeting. (vi) Joint Measurement Board Although this discussion took place under Any Other Business the Minute has been moved to Delegates Reports. The Meeting closed at 5.30 p.m. This Report is prepared solely for the purposes of the Council Meeting. It is private and confidential to members of the Council. They must not be re-produced or disclosed to any other individual except by express authority of the Council. The remarks made by any specific members of Council as reported in these Minutes are their personal views and opinions and not the views and opinions of the Society unless ratified by the Society.
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