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FAQ's
1. What
is so special about pony club? What is so special about pony club?There are several things that make pony club unique. They can be summarized as follows: (1) riding in the open (2) horse management, (3) team competition and (4) parent-free assistance at competitions. Pony
club encourages kids to master learning how to ride and how to take
care of their pony. What's unique about the riding part is that pony
club kids learn to ride in the open from the earliest age. We are not
confined to the ring! Everything comes together at Rallies, this is the pony club form of competition. It turns a traditionally independent endeavor, into a team competition. With the emphasis on TEAM. Having the chance to blend your riding and horse management skills as a team, without any parents' help, is what rallies are all about. What is the age limit to be a pony club member?Pony club accepts all ages up to age 25. Do I have to ride a pony or can I ride a horse?<Members may ride either horses or ponies. How do the ratings work?Pony Club provides a structured curriculum of both mounted and unmounted skills and knowledge for our kids to follow. Ratings provide a progression for the mastery of these skills. At rallies, the ratings provide a framework by which our kids can compete against kids with similar abilities. The lowest rating is D-1, and the highest rating is A. The only rating level and test that can be skipped is D-1, the rest must be mastered in sequence. Ratings are achieved by performing specific tests against a prescribed standard of proficiency, both mounted and oral, before a recognized Pony Club examiner. As the ratings level get higher, members are expected to develop the ability to critique their own riding, and articulate a deep knowledge of riding and horse management. Kids have the opportunity to go for their ratings twice a year at ratings clinics that are offered in fall and spring. The standards of proficiency for all the ratings are outlined in the Pony Club manuals, as well as the national web site, http://www.ponyclub.org. The sequence of ratings is as follows: D-1, D-2, D-3, C-1, C-2, C-3, B, HA, A What is a rally?A rally is a Pony Club competition where teams of Pony Clubbers compete against each other. For many Pony Clubbers, competing in a rally is one of the best things about Pony Club. 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. On the day of the rally, 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. This is wonderfully liberating for parents and kids, and stimulates 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. A great deal of preparation goes into getting ready for a rally, not the least of which is attending mounted practice sessions, often on weekdays after school. A non-qualifying rally is a one-time rally, with no progressive competition for winners. By contrast, winners at regional qualifying rallies have the opportunity to move on to advanced competitions at Pony Club Championships, which are held in Lexington, Virginia for the eastern half of the United States. Every three years is considered a festival year, in which national championships are held among pony clubbers from all over the country. National championships are hosted in Lexington, KY. What is horse management?During the day of a Pony Club rally, each team is required to set up a complete and organized tack room and stable (usually using an empty horse trailer) containing all the necessary gear. Saddle racks, bridle racks, first aid, equipment, tack, etc. is all set up in the stable. Everything must be labeled and in proper cleanliness, repair, and condition. Points are taken off for things like dirty tack, and missing required items. Outside the context of rallies, horse management refers to the general care of horses. There is a lot to know, and the discipline of horse management is just as important, if not more important, as learning to ride. We must have healthy and happy ponies in order to ride! Just as it is with riding, mastering horse management is a lifelong goal - one can never know it all. Pony Club's emphasis on good horse management makes the Pony Club experience complete - it's not just about riding! We want our kids to know how to take care of their horses responsibly and safely. How do I find a horse or pony?Unless you are a professional, you should enlist the help of a trusted horse professional. This should be someone either personally known to you, such as your instructor, or someone with an upstanding reputation and verifiable references. Your child's instructor will be the best judge of the suitability of a mount, and should work together with you and whomever you enlist to help you search for the horse. Even knowledgeable and experienced people work with a professional to find the right horse. It is worth every penny to pay a professional to help you. Having said that, purchasing a horse takes a lot of legwork, parental involvement and money. Professional advice should be balanced with the family doing their homework. The most significant cost of a horse is not the purchase price - it's the ongoing costs of stabling, feed, veterinary care, trailering, instructors fees, training fees, competition fees, tack, etc. Great care should be taken not to overmount your child. Your child should have the ability to satisfactorily ride the horse at their current ability. It's a bad idea to buy a horse for your child to grow in to. Similarly, a green horse with a green rider is a bad combination. Green horses are appropriate for only the most skilled and experienced riders, typically not pony clubbers. For children in general, there should be an inverse relationship between the skill and experience of the rider and the horse. An experienced and well-schooled horse is the best choice for D-level kids. An aggressive child rider does not equate to a skilled rider. A green horse with an aggressive child rider makes for disappointment. What kind of saddle should I buy?As your child advances, you probably will wish to buy a saddle that is appropriate for the discipline that your child chooses to concentrate on. The saddle must fit the child AND the pony, so it is not wise to buy a saddle for a surprise gift. If we participate in the mounted meetings and rallies, do I still need my own instructor?Pony Club will hire and schedule instructors and coaches for mounted meetings and rally practices. But most of our members work with instructors individually (or in groups) in addition to these Pony Club sessions. In addition to the obvious requirements for a good instructor, it's important that your instructor understand and enthusiastically support your membership of Pony Club. Instructors specialize in specific riding disciplines, and it's important to use one that is consistent with your child's interests or goals. How is Pony Club organized?Red River Pony Club is led by a District Commisioner (DC) and sponsors. We are part of the Midsouth region of the United States Pony Club. Pony Club is an international organization with over 10,000 members in the United States. The international organization has its own executive board and we are required to follow the by-laws and rules mandated by this parent organization. Are there any other organizations I should join to complement my RRPC membership?For the more advanced rider, competition in recognized United States Eventing Association (USEA) events is required in order to qualify for some of the championships. Membership information is available at the USEA web site, http://www.eventingusa.org. Locally, the Delaware Valley Combined Training Association http://www.dvcta.org and the Oley Valley Combined Training Association http://www.ovcta.org offer clinics, speakers and competitions which may be of interest. The DVCTA has a special arrangement with RRPC and offers free participation for pony club members in its schooling shows which are held on our grounds. What's the deal with "the Pony Club way"?Pony Club is steeped in tradition and has a long history. As such, over the years, a lot of very wise horse people have decided the best way to provide horse management -- everything from tying the knot on your pony's lead shank to the proper sequence to follow when grooming a horse. These "Pony Club ways" typically have to do with horse management subjects, and rarely are controversial. Pony Club always places huge emphasis on safety. Sometimes there are "other" ways to do something, and we add those techniques to our body of knowledge, recognizing that there is a RIGHT way, a WRONG way and a PONY CLUB way. These Pony Club ways are especially important when attending a rally, a rating clinic or answering Quiz questions. What are mounted meetings?Mounted meetings are scheduled sessions where Pony Clubbers receive group riding instruction. What are educational meetings?Educational meetings are unmounted meetings where Pony Clubbers receive group instruction on various horse management subjects. The goal is to help kids get the instructional support required to master the standards of proficiency outlined in the various ratings. What is Quiz?Quiz is an unmounted rally where teams compete against each other on their horse knowledge. It is sort of like Jeopardy for horses. It's a great way to get started with Pony Club, and you don't even have to have a Pony to participate. What are the different Pony Club programs?Official Pony Club programs (instruction and/or competition at rallies) are offered in dressage, combined training, show jumping, mounted games, tetrathlon, quiz, vaulting, foxhunting, and polocrosse. What style of riding does Pony Club teach?Pony Club teaches English riding using the balanced seat. This kind of riding is based on a modified dressage seat and includes riding on the flat (ring riding) jumping, and riding in the open (trail riding and cross-country jumping). This differs from the forward seat (used in Hunter equitation) and the saddle seat (used with gaited horses). While riding on the flat, the balanced seat rider's position is upright, with shoulder, hip and heel forming a straight vertical line. Emphasis on the balanced seat combined with the activities and competitions develops skills in a broad range of riding disciplines - dressage, jumping and combined training (eventing). Not coincidentally, these three equestrian sports compete at the Olympic level. What is dressage?Dressage is a discipline where the horse performs a series of movements and in a flat arena in a prescribed sequence known as a "test". What is combined training or eventing?Combined training (also known as eventing) is sometimes referred to as the triathalon of equestrian sports because the horse and rider must complete three phases of competition: dressage, cross country and stadium jumping. The different levels of competition are Elementary, Beginner Novice, Novice, Training, Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced. The lower levels of combined training competitions are called Horse Trials. Higher levels of competition are conducted over two or three days, the ultimate being the three-day event. What's a combined training rally? What is show jumping?Show jumping is jumping a course of fences inside a fenced ring or stadium where the rider's goal is to jump cleanly without knocking rails down, and often for speed. What are mounted games?Mounted games are a series of competitive games played on horseback. What is tetrathalon?Tetrathalon combines a mounted competition with unmounted competition and is comprised of stadium jumping, running, swimming and target-shooting. What is vaulting?Vaulting is like gymnastics on horseback. What is polocrosse?Polocrosse is like lacrosse on horseback. So what's missing from Pony Club? What other English riding disciplines exist?There are several english riding disciplines that are not offered by Pony Club. In our area, the most significant discipline that is not represented in Pony Club activities is Hunter equitation and competition. The hunter style of riding exists only in the United States, and is not competed at the Olympics or in any other international competition. Do we really need our own pony?Ownership of a horse or pony is not required for membership, but always borrowing a horse can become frustrating and difficult. |
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