Canadian Pony Club Essay

Introduction:

            Pony Club is an International horseback riding organization. The Canadian Pony Club was created mostly for fun, but at the same time to instruct horsemanship, sportsmanship, horse/pony care and responsibility to younger Canadians who can’t afford expensive lessons. Pony Club has a long history dating back to the late 20’s, and has become an important and fun activity for Canadian Youth.

Questions: 

1)     What is the history of Pony Club?

2)     How does the Pony Club work?

3)     What are the requirements of testing, and what are the different levels in Canadian Pony Club?

4)     How does the Badge Program work?

5)     What are the different activities/disciplines in Canadian Pony Club?

            Pony Club was founded on November 1, 1929 in Great Britain when the Institute of the Horse began a junior branch of their organization “Pony Club” to interest young people in riding and sport, while giving them the opportunity to achieve goals and to have fun. People in the country heard about the organization and the population grew from 700 members in 1930, to 10,000 in 1935. In 1947, the Institute of the Horse, Pony Club, and the National Horse Association of Great Britain combined and created an organization known as the “British Horse Society”. This still exists today as the main organization for Pony Club. The success of the Pony Club spread to many different countries in the world.

The Canadian Pony Club came about in 1934 when some people from the Eglinton Hunt Club heard about Pony Club from military comrades and decided to bring the club to Canada. A few men, (two of them named Colonel Timmis and Brigadier McKee) asked for permission to start the Eglinton Hunt Branch of Pony Club. Permission was given and the very first Pony Club in North America started off with approximately 200 members. There was very fast growth in membership, with branches beginning from coast to coast. Now, Canadian Pony Club has approximately 150 branches and 3,500 members, along with 1,000 active volunteers.

            Canadian Pony Club is broken up into branches, which is the local club of your community. Each branch has it’s own name, colours, instruction/education program and fees (which vary depending on the services provided). The Branch Committee, District Commissioner and sometimes an Assistant D.C run each branch. The District Commissioner is the chair of the Branch Committee and representative of their own branch. The Branch committee is usually made up of 5-10 volunteers, who are usually the parents or relatives of the Pony Club members. Different branches often organize activities such as fun days and camps to help branches meet member’s individual goals and the clubs objectives.

Pony Club is then broken up into larger divisions called Regions. The regions are responsible for helping with education, promoting growth, and overseeing operations of each Pony Club Branch in that particular region. They also set their own fees accordingly. There are 13 different Regions across Canada which are: British Columbia Islands, British Columbia Interior, British Columbia Lower Mainland, Alberta North, Alberta Central, Alberta South, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Western Ontario, Central Ontario, St. Lawrence and Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and P.E.I., and Nova Scotia. The Regional Chair, National Director and the Regional Committee run the different regions, which have a varying amount of people. The Regional Committee may also choose to elect people to be Treasurers or Communicators. If one region is exceedingly large, they may elect a “Regional Executive” to handle regular meetings because it would be too difficult to hold a meeting with too many people present. Also, many regions elect a “Visiting Commissioner” who is a person that is very experienced in different parts of the Pony Club operations. Many regions also frequently like to hold competitions between each branch in their region.

            Finally, the National Canadian Pony Club is the whole operation of the entire country. The Canadian Pony Club Board of Directors, the Member Directors, along with the National Chair, run the Canadian Pony Club operations. The Board of Directors is responsible to set the achievement standards for the country, set it’s own annual membership fees (which is addition to Branch and Regional Fee) has the National Competition Rules, and holds some responsibility for National and International Pony Club Competitions.

            Although Canadian Pony Club is meant mostly for fun, it is also meant for riders to become more knowledgeable in the horse world, which is why they have created  “testing”. These tests are meant for members to take if they wish, and if they pass, can move onto more difficult and challenging riding/horsemanship exercises. They are held twice a year, one in spring and one in fall so members can take two tests a year. The achievement standards are the same through the entire country, so members who want to “upgrade” are given the same test. There are three parts to the test, a written exam, a stable management exam and a riding exam. Usually the entire test takes about a day, because in the stable management portion, each member is tested individually.

The pattern of these different levels are: E, D, D1, D2, C, C1, C2, B, B2, HA, RA, and A. Level “E” is the level most riders start at when they first join Pony Club. There are no requirements, other than membership. The highest levels in Pony Club are HA, RA and A. HA is the highest non-riding certificate a member can achieve, RA is the highest riding certificate a member can achieve, and A is the highest level overall that can by attained in Pony Club.

In the “D” level portion requires usually nothing more than walk, trot, canter, and jumping small cross-rails in the riding portion. Then once riders graduate to higher levels, riding becomes more challenging and they may move onto competitive jumping and dressage. Levels B, HA, and A are tested by National examiners. Any levels lower than that are under Regional control. Depending on the Region, achievement tests from C1 or C2 level can be held at one or two main locations in the region. They may also decide if they wish to have National examiners present at the time of testing.

            The marking system for the practical test (riding and stable management) is a rating from 1-10, one being terrible, and ten being excellent. Then it is put into a percentage, and members must have at least 65% on all parts of the exam or else they fail the test. (Ex: 90% on written exam, 80% on stable management and 50% on riding, is NOT a passing mark.) For any testing, members must be qualified in all standards they wish to attempt. They also must have been a part of Pony Club for at least 6 months, have been to 60% of the meetings, have all fees paid, have their old certificate for all testing above D, have taken and passed all levels below the one they are attempting and they must be the appropriate age. D test must be age 7 or older, D1- 8 or older, D2- 9 or older, C-10 or older, B-14 or older, HA or RA-16 or older. Also, members trying out for RA and HA must have attended a screening clinic former the practical exam. B, B2, HA and RA have to have fulfilled a First Aid Course and submitted a filled out application form, along with their fees and a duplicate of their First Aid certificate.

All riders must have an approved helmet and boots when testing and must have a completed Medical armband for all testing levels. They must also have a capable horse to ride during the mounted part of the test and should be groomed well for the test level. The horse must have safe and clean tack, and rider must have proper grooming kit, halter and lead rope. If participants don’t have this minimum equipment, they will not ride or pass the test. When doing the stable management part of the test, riders can wear sweaters and sweatpants over their riding clothes, but shorts, running shoes, skirts or tube tops are NOT acceptable. The rider must also have all necessary equipment/supplies to complete the test unless told otherwise.

             Canadian Pony Club has just started a new badge program that gives the club a chance to achieve many objectives while still learning and having fun. This program can give a lot of information on horses and the related topics. It can also help the intermediate and advanced members stay in the club without feeling like they are too advanced. It’s also a good way to encourage enthusiasm and team and individual research and reward efforts, broaden their knowledge and have fun. Members may participate if they wish and can decide which or how many badges they want to include in their education program. The Branch Education Chair or committee administers the program. The Pony Club Badge Program offers: 18 Junior Badges (D levels and younger ages), 6 Horsemanship Badges (Junior and Senior) 6 Arts and Recreation Badges (Junior and Senior) 6 Regional Recognition Badges (Junior and Senior), 18 Senior Badges (C level or higher) as well as a few Specialty Badges.

            Pony Club members have the chance to compete in different shows and competitions. The different disciplines are: Dressage, Show Jumping, Tetrathon, Prince Philip Games, Quiz and Rally.

The word “Dressage” means “conditioning of the horse’s mind” which means giving the impression that the horse and rider are working together as one. Dressage is a specific pattern in the arena, only flatwork. During Dressage, the rider learns proper use of their hands, legs and seat, while the horse practices balance, straightness, rhythm, collection, impulsion and extension.

Show Jumping competitions test the rider’s ability to mix speed with accuracy over a course made up of mainly knock-down jumps. The objective is to complete the jumping course with the least number of penalties and without going over the time limit.

Tetrathon is a competition with four parts in it: swimming, running, riding and shooting. The riding portion of the competition is similar to a cross-country course, but is scored similar to stadium jumping. Points are scored in the running portion by how fast a person can run in a 2 km cross-country course. Swimming is based on how fast a person can swim in 800m (beginners only swim about 100m). Finally, in shooting, points are scored for the total amount of air pistols shot. (10 for beginner, 20 for junior/senior)

The Prince Philip Games (PPG) is played by five riders and five ponies. (No horses allowed) On a team, riders must be under 15 as of January 1 each year to be able to play First Division PPG. The PPG are meant mostly for fun and to develop good timing, speed and a sense of space and direction while playing. The games are similar to relay races, such as to run a course, swerving in and out of poles to the other side of the course, and then drop objects into a bucket. The names of the races that are held at the PPG are: Ball and Bucket Race, Ball and Cone Race, Ball and Racquet Race, Balloon Bursting Race, Bottle Race, Canadian Hockey Race, Egg and Racquet Race, Egg and Spoon Race, Fishing Race, Five Flag Race, Two Flag Race, Grooms’ Stakes, Hi-Lo Race, Housewife’s Scurry, Hurdle Race, Litter Race, Milk Race, Old Mug Race, Three Mug Race, International Mug Race, Newspaper Race (Daily Mail), Old Sock Race, Pony Club Race, The Postman’s Chase, Potato Picking Scramble, Potato Race, Pyramid Race, Ring Race, Nine Ring Race, Rope Race, Sack Race, Sharpshooter’s Race (Aunt Sally), Spillers Pole Race, Tack Shop Race, Team Relay Bending Race, Tire Race, Wheelbarrow Race, Windsor Castle Race, and Wizards Castle Race.

The Canadian Pony Club Rally is a competition that is held in every region in Canada where the different branches compete. The Rally has a three phase riding portion and also a stable management portion. The three riding phases are: Dressage, Endurance, and Stadium Jumping. Riders who compete in the Rally are usually at the “C level” or higher, although some regions hold adapted Rally’s for “D level” riders. Participants are sorted into teams with usually two or three riders and horses, with one or two unmounted members who are either captains, Stable Managers or Helpers.

The Canadian Pony Club Quiz is a fun activity that tests a Pony Club member’s knowledge of Horses and many Pony Club activities. The participants compete in teams without ponies or horses, and take a three-part exam. Which are a written quiz (done independently), a visual quiz (must name objects shown, it is also independent) and finally an oral test, which can be done independently or by a team. Each individual MUST study for the Quiz!!

Conclusion:

            This report really interested me because I really love horses. When I was first told about heritage fair, I knew right off the bat that I was going to do a report related to horses. I thought of doing one particular horse, but it didn’t exactly spark my interest. But once my mom mentioned Pony Club, I thought it would be a great idea to find out more about the fun and challenging club that I belong to. It was great to find out how the club first began and also about all the different disciplines the club competes in. It really made me excited to think about how perhaps, someday I might be able to compete at an International riding level. I learned a great deal while doing this report such as how all the different divisions and parts of the Pony Club works, as well as learning a little about the Prince Philip Games I am so excited about. Hopefully the Pony Club Branch I belong to will have a chance to compete and try a lot of those different activities.

By Seleena

This is a picture of my Heritage Fair display.

Here is a picture of what show jumping looks like.

Bibliography

1)     Harris, Susan E. The United States Pony Club Manual Of Horsemanship.

New York: Hungry Minds Inc, 1994

2)     “Canadian Pony Club” 1996-2005. Internet.

http://www.canadianponyclub.org

Canadian Pony Club Homepage

This site gave me most of my information I needed for my report. It is full of any information you need about Pony Club, from beginners, to advanced. It gives you a walk-through of the process of working your way up to becoming a better rider, along with information of the various Pony Club Disciplines, activities and more.