What is Pony Club?
Originating in 1928 in Great Britain, Pony Club is now one of the leading junior equestrian organizations in the world represented throughout 30 countries! Pony Club is a misnomer; it is not a club for ponies. It is an educational organization that teaches horsemanship and the care of horses and ponies to members ranging from age 5 to 25.
The United States Pony Clubs (USPC) was founded as a non-profit national youth horsemanship organization in 1954. Today, there are over 640 Pony Clubs nationwide, including Alaska and Hawaii, with over 12,500 members. Riding activities include Eventing, Mounted Games, Show Jumping, Dressage, Vaulting (horseback gymnastics), Polo, Polo Crosse (combination of polo and lacrosse), Foxhunting, and Tetrathlon (riding, running, swimming, shooting). USPC also offers a knowledge-based competition called Quiz Rally. Pony Club offers team competitions (called Rallies) so members learn the importance of leadership, cooperation, sportsmanship, and friendship. Except for Quiz, rallies are mounted competitions usually made up of teams of 3-5. All of the team members ride in the competition except one, who acts as the stable manager, helping with all the essential ground work that must be done to support the mounted competitors. During rallies, parents are not allowed to interact with their children at all. It is up to the team to pull together to take care of all the details and logistics, fostering teamwork and leadership within the Pony Club teams. In addition to the riding performance of the team members, the rally teams are also judged on horse management skills.
Pony Club members are encouraged to progress through the nine stages of the progressive Standards of Proficiency, (something like Boy and Girl Scouts’ rank) which test knowledge and riding ability. Ratings begin at the D level and progress upwards to the A. Pony Clubbers who attain the B, H-A, and A rating levels meet standards of competence that are recognized throughout the horse world. The Pony Club member who reaches the “A” rating has the knowledge, experience, and maturity to evaluate and care for a mount’s needs efficiently and in a variety of circumstances, and to teach riding and horse care to others. The A is able to ride mounts at various levels of schooling with judgment, tact, and effectiveness; to train young mounts; and to retrain spoiled mounts.