The spirited championships competition of the United States Pony Clubs was held in July in Lexington, Ky. as part of Pony Club Festival 2011.
Members of the local club, Clary Lake Pony Club in Jefferson, were among over 1000 competitors. The teams took 28th and 29th place in the Quiz Competition.
Members competing for Clary Lake Pony Club of the Northeast Region were Emma Allen and Olivia Richmond of Jefferson, Jordan Farrin of Walpole and Jordan Bowie of Windsor.
The girls did great and had a fun experience. Due to extremely hot weather the girls came to realize just how much water one can drink in a day.
A few of the girls’ favorite things were trading their Region pins with competitors’ pins from other regions, including Alaska, Virginia region, Northwest Region and the Carolina region.
They went to the International Games Exchange (relay games on horseback in teams of four). Teams competing this year were from the U.S., Australia, Canada and Great Britain.
Since the Championships were held at Kentucky Horse Park, they toured the breed barn and saw the Parade of Breeds show, which they enjoyed. They also were impressed by the Hall of Fame where they met some famous retired racehorses, Cigar and Funny-Cide.
Competitors in USPC Championships had previously qualified by attaining top scores at their regional rallies held throughout the country.
They vie for National honors in the riding disciplines of Dressage, Eventing (dressage, cross-country and stadium jumping), Mounted Games, Polocrosse (a combination of polo and lacrosse), Show Jumping, Tetrathlon (riding, running, swimming and marksmanship) and Quiz (an unmounted equine quiz bowl competition).
The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. (USPC) was founded in 1954 as a non-profit national youth organization to teach riding and horsemanship through a formal educational program. Many of the nation’s top equestrians, including our Olympic team members, have Pony Club roots. Members range in age from as young as four through age 25.
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. Pony Club competition is team competition, much like the Olympic games, where members learn the importance of cooperation and teamwork.
The USPC Festival Championships took place at the Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, Ky., and the overall organizer was Wayne Quarles, USPC Activities Director 859-254-7669, activities@ponyclub.org.