Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and relevant Government Directions and restrictions
regarding social distancing, the RPSBS Ltd Board of Directors issues the following directives:

2020 State Annual Meetings
All State Annual Meetings for 2020 are to be replaced by online reporting.
Audited State Financial Reports, State Chair Reports, State Treasurers’ Reports, Board Directors’ Reports, acceptance of nominees to the committee and the 2019 State Annual Meeting minutes are to be posted on the relevant State web sites by 24th May, 2020. Minutes of the 2019 State Annual Meetings are to be ratified by state committee members who were present at the State Annual Meetings by email and then signed off by the State Chair before being posted. A State Facebook Page announcement is to be posted when the material has been uploaded to the State web site.

Election of State Committees
If there is no need for a ballot to be conducted, members whose nominations for election to the State Committees and are deemed eligible will be accepted onto their respective committees as of 24th May 2020. If a ballot is required, that ballot will be conducted by the National Office when staff are once again working from the office at full capacity. Until that time state committees requiring an election will remain as at 1st April, 2020.

Election of State Committee Office Bearers’ Meetings will not be held due to the current Government restrictions in place relating to ‘social distancing’. All face to face meetings are to be postponed until further notice. This raises issues in maintaining requisite voting anonymity and therefore the decision has been made that all existing office bearers as of 1st April, 2020 will hold their positions until a meeting for the election of office bearers is able to be called.

If an office bearer resigns from their position, the Chair (or Acting Chair) will call for nominations from the State Committee members by email for that vacant position. If a vote is needed the National Office will be informed and electronic voting will be conducted by the national secretary. This will guarantee the confidentiality of the committee members’ votes. Due to the recent office bearer’s elections, Western Australia office bearers will retain their positions until the 2021 WA Election of Office Bearers’ Meeting held immediately after the close of the WA 2021 State Annual Meeting.

RPSBS Ltd. Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of RPSBS Ltd. Members and forum scheduled for Saturday 28th June 2020 at Sydney Airport Holiday Inn is postponed to a date and venue to be announced.
RPSBS Activities: No RPSBS shows, Clinics or Seminars are to be held until further notice. Due to the current Government imposed restrictions on social distancing, members need to assume that there will be no activity before 1st September 2020. This is dependant on the current COVID-19 related restrictions and is subject to review considering any changes to the Government restrictions.

RPSBS Judges
No RPSBS Judges will be removed from the RPSBS List of Judges in 2020 for failing to have attended a RPSBS Judges’ Seminar in the last three years. All judges, however, will be required to complete and return the 2020 Judges’ Audit form in September
All RPSBS State Committee Meetings and RPSBS Board Meetings will be conducted by electronic means until further notice.

RPSBS Leaderboard Competition
Reminder to members that the RPSBS Leaderboard Competition closes 5.00pm Friday 24 April. Since shows have now been cancelled, members have been offered the opportunity of submitting results they missed lodging earlier in the Leaderboard season.
Announcements about next season’s Leader Board Competition will be postponed until such time as this crisis has passed.

Newcomer Registrations
Newcomer Registrations for the 2019-2020 or 2020 year (depending on the State) will
rollover to the next Newcomer Year so that all animals presently registered as a Newcomer will be able to compete in the next year’s competition.

Financial Difficulties
The Board is very aware that many of our members will experience financial difficulties
during this unprecedented crisis. The Board recommends that members submit
registrations, transfers, leases etc even if it is necessary to delay payment or organise with the office a regular manageable payment arrangement that may commence sometime in the future.
The Board appreciates that many animals may have to be transferred during this period and is most anxious for these animals to not be lost to the system.

The moratorium on extra charges for the registration of animals not registered in their year
of birth that was due to expire on 30/6/2020 has been extended to 30/6/2021.

Joint Memberships
The rule pertaining to Joint Memberships has been altered from having one person only authorised to sign to any of two to sign. This means that a Joint membership can nominate two Adult persons to operate the membership. The membership retains the one voting right.

Western Australia Committee
At the recent Special Meeting of the Western Australian members of the RPSBS Ltd the nominated committee members and elected office bearers were confirmed as the duly elected RPSBS Ltd. Western Australia Committee. The Board is pleased to congratulate and endorse the Committee and Office Bearers as elected for the ordinary term of a newly elected committee member.

Next Board Meeting
The next Board Meeting will held by video conference on Saturday 28th June 2020. Agenda items for this meeting include a forensic examination of the Society’s finances looking at initiatives to decrease costs and maintain memberships during the recovery phase of this crisis, and the 2020 revision of the Judges’ Handbook.
Deadline for submissions to the Board and all reports is 4.00pm Monday 8th June 2020.

• In line with government recommendations and with the safety of staff in mind, the RPSBS Ltd office will be closed from 4pm Friday 27th March 2020 until it is deemed safe for normal operations to resume. Procedures have been implemented for member work to continue to be processed and all staff will work from home in order to ensure minimal disruption to member services.
• Although the phone will be diverted during normal phone operating hours, we would ask
  that members please email individual staff rather than phone as there will be only one line
  operational. If you need to speak to someone about something that cannot be resolved
  online then a staff member will return your call.
• It would be appreciated if as much paperwork as possible could be emailed to the RPSBS Ltd rather than posting in order to reduce the amount of exposure staff need to have with the post office.
• We would like to remind members that the RPSBS Ltd will accept registry transactions
  without payment at the time of lodgement. This gives members the opportunity to keep
  paperwork up to date in times of hardship and pay it off as circumstances allow. Please note however, that transactions cannot be completed until we are in receipt of final payment and where members submit a lot of paperwork they should advise when sending payments which transaction they would like the payment applied to.
• Thank you for your understanding and please stay safe. We are all in this together.

• EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: 10% OFF Advertising If booked & paid in full before Friday 17th April, 2020
• Please download our media kit here
• Why advertise?
  • Promote your stud or business to a riding pony audience.
  • Free promotion on our social media channels.
  • Priority photo inclusion.
  • Adverts over 1/2 size get a free foal photo inclusion in
    our foal gallery.

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  Story Submissions
  We are on the look out for members and registered riding ponies with interesting stories, i.e does your pony compete in a different discipline such as harness, campdrafting, etc? Has your pony beaten the odds? We also welcome submissions for our ponies and people remembered.
  We would love to hear from you. Email annual@rpsbs.com.au

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  Photo Submissions
  We are now looking for photo submissions from members. Advertisers get priority photos, and more than one photo included. Remember you must be a member and the pony a registered riding pony for inclusion. Photos are included on a first come first served basis, so get your photos in!

  Photos will only be accepted via submission using our online form: 

  Submit your photos at: https://www.rpsbs.com.au/upcoming-annual/