Keep an eye on this page for useful information regarding our Club and competitions, from what to wear at rallies to how to get you and your pony sparkling for the turnout judge!
Competing at a Pony Club Gymkhana
Tack & Turn Out
This competition involves you presenting you and your pony to a judge who will give you a thorough check over to try and decide exactly how clean you and your pony really are! In this competition new tack and clothing is of no benefit, being sparklingly clean is the name of the game!
To give you an idea of where to get started when getting ready for this competition i have composed a list as a guide to where the judge may check for dust, dirt, grime and remains of your pony's bedding or breakfast!
Check List:
1. Pony's Body (This needs to be free from stable stains and dust! This can be done by either giving your pony a very thorough grooming, or if it is warm enough, a quick wash with some buckets of warm water! To help repel stable or grass stains apply some form of coat shine to prevent the stain from being absorbed by the hair- just don't apply it on the face, neck or saddle area as this will make it too slippery to ride correctly and safely!)
2. Pony's Tail (Make sure you give this a thorough wash! Whilst still wet, spray liberally with a form of mane and tail conditioner and leave to dry. Brushing a wet tail will damage and break the hairs, whic will eventually lead to a pony having very little tail left at all! When the tail has dried your body brush will now glide through the tail to ease out any left over knots. If your pony is one of the native breeds of Great Britain, then the tail can be left natural, if not, then it can either be presented either pulled or french plaited. Just before you present to the turn out judge brush a couple of drops of baby oil through the tail to give it an extra sparkle! )
3. Pony's Mane (If your pony is one of the native breeds of Great Britain, they do not need to be plaited up, and should be shown with a clean flowing mane! Anything else needs to be plaited up! Plaits can be secured with either a needle & thread, or elastic bands. The mane is best washed to remove any dust from the roots. Do not apply mane & tail conditioner though as this will make plaiting up incredibly difficult!! If you have a native pony, leave the mane to dry naturally, a few drops of baby oil spread through with your fingers will help moisturise the hair and leave it glossy without being slippery. If plaiting, try to get an odd number of plaits down your pony's mane as this will stop the neck looking like it can be split equally in two, therefore giving a better picture. To help give your forelock plait extra jazz try french plaiting it as you would a tail! Practice makes perfect!)
4. Pony's Hooves (These need to be picked out, scrubbed clean and then oiled! It does not matter whether your pony is or isn't wearing shoes.)
5. Rider (Light coloured jodphurs, e.g beige, cream, yellow, white; Clean Shirt; Pony Club tie or a hunting stock; Pony Club badge attached to left lapel of show jacket; Show Jacket, can be either black, blue, or a tweed; Hat, correctly fitted and hopefully Pony club tagged; Hair net the same colour as your hair, you can also add a ribbon or scrunchie to match your outfit if desired; plain coloured gloves, e.g black, navy, brown, white, cream, yellow, try to match them to your outfit; and finally polished to perfection riding boots, these can be black or brown in colour and can be either short jodphur boots or long riding boots. Don't forget to clean the soles of your riding boots! If wearing short jodphur boots secure your jodphurs over them with either elastic on the bottom or a pair of jodphur clips that match your boots.)
6. Pony's Bridle (This needs a thorough cleaning and soaping. Remember to check that you don't have excess soap left over in the holes on the bridle straps, and that you polish soap off your buckles as it dulls them making them look dirty! If your pony is plaited up and you are wearing a navy or black jacket you can wear a ribbon wrapped coloured browband on your pony, native ponies look best presented in clean work-man-like leather/leather-like bridles where possible. Before presenting to the judge check that the inside of your reins have not picked up any dirt or grease as it is a common area for people to get marked down on!)
7. Pony's Saddle (This needs a thorough cleaning and soaping. Don't apply too much soap to the seat of the saddle as should it rain this can seriously hinder riding ability! Make sure you thoroughly soap under your saddle flaps, and your girth straps though as these are an area often checked by judges of turn out! Stirrup treads often hide a lot of dirt, and judges know it is an area often forgotten, so don't lose easy marks, take your stirrups and treads apart and give them a really good scrubbing!)
Equitation
Equitation is all about the art of horse riding. It is a class where your riding ability is judged against others within your set age group. It is a simple and fun class to do that really helps develop your skills as a rider. Even if your pony does not behave itself entirely, as long as you handle the situation in a manner the judge deems to be correct then your marks will not be affected. It is a bit like a dressage test but with marks for the riders, and without a test to learn!
It is a class that involves all competitors to enter the ring at the same time on the right rein, and walk around the arena clockwise. They will then, depending on ability, and what the judge is wanting, be asked to show trot as a group and canter.
After the judge has seen the riders perform as a group, she will then call them in to line up, she may do this in order of who she currently judges as the best, or she may just call everybody in together. Whatever she does always stay alert, looking out for other peoples ponies and any instruction the judges steward may be giving you.
Once lined up you will be required to do a short show. The judge will either tell you what they want you to do or you have to come up with one of your own. This is not a dressage test, short and simple is what they are looking for.
The basic principles that the judges will be looking at:
1. Your head and upper body being straight and upright, whilst remaining relaxed. Head should be looking up and where you are going!
2. Hips, legs and feet, relaxed, with legs quietly hugging the pony's sides, whilst your heels are down and your toes not sticking out!
3. Shoulders, elbows, and hands, again should be relaxed, and soft, with a steady hold of the reins. Shoulders should be upright, not tipping forward, and you should not be balancing yourself on your pony's reins.
4. Your overall empathy with your pony, this is the judges overall impression of how well they think you ride your pony, if your pony is fizzy they expect you to ride it calmly and quietly in an attempt to calm t down, if your pony likes to take life a little slower than the rest, then they are looking to see you encouraging him along calmly without rushing him out of his natural way of going and upsetting him.
I will insert some diagrams of an example show soon here.
One of the main things to remember when you enter the ring for equitation, is to SMILE and be polite to your judge and steward at ALL TIMES!! If you are lucky enough to get a rosette, don't forget to say thank you to the judge when she presents you with it. If she asks you to do a lap of honour, it is traditional and correct to do so on the right rein, the same direction that you should enter the ring in.
Show Jumping
Our show jumping courses vary in heights, so we have something to offer everybody!
Before your first Show jumping competition, it is helpful to have jumped your pony at home over small jumps, but if not don't worry!
The collecting ring is a busy place at a show so make sure you are alert when you enter it to warm up for your class. Before you start jumping your pony, make sure they are warmed and loosened up first. It is good to start with a small cross pole to get your horse concentrating and for you as a rider to see what mood they are in. You can then progress to an upright and a spread. REMEMBER the practice fence should never be put up higher than the size of the class you are warming up for, neither should poles be laid out in front of the fences to act as false ground lines and such like.
When it is time to walk the course, make sure you don't rush it and walk it carefully. Walk the lines as you would ride them on your pony, and try to get straight for every fence.
Do not over jump your pony before you take him in the ring to compete as this may tire him out.
Basic Penalties:
Knock Down 4 faults
Refusal/Run out 4 faults
Horse Fall tbc
Rider Fall tbc
3 Refusals/Run Outs Elimination
If you are lucky and jump clear, you will be asked to jump off. This requires jumping a shortened course against the clock, the fastest time with the fewest penalties from knock downs and refusals wins. With a jump off you can either go steady and make tighter turns into the fences, or use the space of the arena and ride your pony faster and straighter to the fences. The top show jumping riders that you can sometimes watch on TV use a combination of these two methods. It can be very useful watching other people, what ever level they are competing at.
REMEMBER With all show jumping competitions, do not start jumping until the starter has either blown their whistle or beeped their horn, otherwise you will be eliminated.
Handy Pony
Handy pony is a great test for you and your pony, and is very entertaining to watch! It involves you and your pony negotiating a course of obstacles against the clock. It is often split into age groups, so you only ever compete against others of a similar age to you.
Obstacles can include:
1. Weaving in and out poles.
2. Picking up a ball off a cone and moving it to another one.
3. Moving a flag from one cone to another.
4. Riding your pony into a taped box and then asking it to walk backwards out of it.
5. Riding your pony through a taped maze.
6. Picking a teddy bear up of a chair, carry it on your pony round a pole, then back to the chair and place i carefully back on the chair.
7. Swap mugs on top of poles on to the opposite poles.
8. Picking up a wooden cone of a drum and dropping it into a giant wooden money box.
9. Jumping off your pony and running along some stepping stones then getting back on.
10. Pick a cone up and carry it and put it down into a set area...
...the list is endless!!
The only way to practice handy pony is to use your imagination at home and create some obstacles of your own. Watching the older members do it can sometimes help you pick up tips on how to save time, and get faster times!
Further information and diagrams coming soon!
Mounted Games
Mounted games usually takes place at the end of the day, and involves you completing obstacle races against riders from your age group.
The games are often picked on the day, so it can just be a case of coming to every gymkhana and getting used to the different races. This is again a discipline where it can help to watch the older members and learn from them! They are great at improving rider balance, confidence and co-ordination.
Possible Games Include:
1. Bending- this involves you and your pony weaving in and out up a line of wooden/plastic poles, turning around the top pole and weaving in and out back down again. The winner is the pony who is first over the finishing line after bending in and out of the poles without missing any out.
2. 3 Mug- this race is set up with 3 mugs on your poles and you have to either move them all up one, or move them all down one. It is a technical race and it sometimes pays to be accurate with your mugs, rather than going to fast! The winner is the rider who is first over the finish line after moving all their mugs up/down one place successfully.
3. Cone & Bucket- this race is set up with 3 or 4 small cone like cups on the poles and you have to collect them one at a time and come back down to your bucket near the start line and drop them in to it. The winner is the first pony over the line after getting all their cones into the bucket.
4. Ball & Bucket- this race is more for the older members and involves galloping up to the top of the arena jumping off, picking up a ball off the ground, getting back on again and returnign to the start line to put the ball in a bucket. This is usually done 3 times. The winner is the first pony over the line after getting all 3 balls in their bucket.
5. Walk, Trot & Gallop- This involves walking up to the top pole, round the top pole and going into trot back down to the pole nearest the start line, around that and back up to the top pole, as you round the top pole you move up into gallop and gallop back to the finish line! The winner is the first pony over the line! If you break from walk into a trot, you have to turn your pony round in a small circle to cancel out the advantage of the break of pace, if you don't you can be eliminated from that race, or automatically be placed last!
6. Walk, Trot, & Run- This involves walking up to the top pole, round the top pole and going into trot back down to the pole nearest the start line, around that and back up to the top pole, as you round the top pole jump off and run, leading your pony back to the finish line! Lead rein jockeys just get helped off and run to the finish whilst the handlers wait at the top pole with the ponies usually. The winner is the first pony over the line! If you break from walk into a trot, you have to turn your pony round in a small circle to cancel out the advantage of the break of pace, if you don't you can be eliminated from that race, or automatically be placed last!
7. Flag- This race involves going to the cone containing flags at the top of the arena, picking one out and then moving it down to the other cone, situated near the start/finish line. This is often done with 3 flags, but you may only move one at a time. The winner is the first pony over the line after moving all 3 flags from the top cone to the bottom cone.
8. Sack- This race involves riding as fast as you can to top of the arena and then jumping off your pony, putting your legs in the sack and jumping all the way back to the finish with your pony. Lead rein jockeys just get helped off and into the sack to jump to the finish whilst the handlers wait at the top pole with the ponies usually. The winner is the first pony and rider over the line, with the rider still in the sack and still holding onto the pony!
Further information and diagrams coming soon!
