FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How is Pony Club Structured?

Pony Club is an international organization that is broken into regions and each region is comprised of clubs. Keeneland Pony Club is a club in the MidSouth Region of the United States Pony Club, a member of the International Pony Clubs. All rules and policies of the International, United States Pony Club, the MidSouth Region, and Keeneland Pony Club are followed. Pony club provides a structured curriculum of both mounted and unmounted skills and knowledge for our kids to follow.

All policies, manuals, and complete information for the United States Pony Club and links to regions and clubs can be found on the national website, www.ponyclub.org.

Do we really need our own pony or horse?

Ownership of a horse or pony is not required for membership, but members must have consistent access to use of the same pony or horse and use of a trailer to get to meetings. According to United States Pony Club policies, all mounts must be at least five (5) years old and may NOT be stallions.

How is Pony Club organized on the club level?

Each Pony Club is led by a District Commissioner (DC), two Joint District Commissioners, and a board. All of these positions are volunteer and mandated by the policies of the United States Pony Club. Keeneland is part of the Midsouth Region of 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.

What are mounted meetings?

Mounted meetings are scheduled sessions where Pony Clubbers receive group riding instruction. Keeneland Pony Club holds most of its mounted meetings at Masterson Station Park. They are usually on Sunday afternoons.

What are unmounted meetings?

Unmounted meetings are educational meetings where Pony Clubbers receive group instruction on various horse management subjects. The goad is to help kids get the instructional support required to master the standards of proficiency outlined in the various ratings.

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. The USPC ratings system measures each Pony Clubber's progress through the instructional program.

The D ratings are an introduction to the fun and challenge of riding, establishing a foundation of safety habits and knowledge of the daily care of pony and tack. The D-1 through D-3 Pony Clubber learns to ride independently and with control, maintaining a reasonably secure position at the walk, trot and canter and over low fences. All D ratings are awarded at the club level.

The C is a Pony Clubber learning to become an active horseman, to care independently for his or her pony and tack, and to understand the reasons for what he or she is doing. The C shows development toward a secure, independent seat and increasing control, and confidence in all phases of riding. The C-1 and C-2 ratings are awarded at the club level. The C-3 is a regional rating and reflects a basis of competence of riding and horse care that will make possible a lifetime of pleasure with horses.

The B, H-A, and A ratings are national ratings and require great depth of knowledge. Successful candidates are competent, all around horsemen, and are active, contributing members of USPC who participate in a variety of Pony Club activities. They are also thoughtful leaders who set a good example for all levels.

 The standards of proficiency for all the ratings are outlined in the Pony Club manuals, as well as the national website, www.ponyclub.org.

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.

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.

What is horse management?

During rallies, each team is required to set up a complete and organized stable 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. Keeneland Pony Club has supply trunks for rallies which members inventory and mark before each rally.

Outside the context of rallies, horse management refers to the general care of horses. Pony Club’s emphasis on exceptional horse management makes the Pony Club experience complete – it's not just about riding! We want our members to know how to take care of their horses responsibly and safely.

If we participate in the mounted meetings and rallies, do I still need other instruction?

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 mounted meetings.

What are flow charts?

Flow charts are charts that have the individual skills for each Pony Club level. Members need to have instructors initial and date when the member has mastered a skill. Flow charts must be completed before a member may take a ratings test to the next level. Flow charts ensure that the member is ready to test up to the next level.

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 is Quiz Rally?

Quiz Rally is an unmounted rally where teams compete against each other on their horse knowledge. Teams are made up of four members.

What is dressage?

Dressage is a discipline where the horse performs a series of movements in a flat arena in a prescribed sequence known as a “test.”

What is combined training or eventing?

Combined training (also known as eventing) has three phases of competition: dressage, cross country and stadium jumping. The different levels of competition are 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 is show jumping?

Show jumping is a jumping event in which the horse 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 in teams of either two or four.

What is tetrathalon?

Tetrathalon combines four events, only one of which is a mounted event: stadium jumping, running, swimming and target-shooting.

What is vaulting?

Vaulting is like gymnastics on horseback, and is not actively offered by Keeneland Pony Club at this time.

 What is polocrosse?

Polocrosse is a mixture of polo and lacrosse on horseback.

 

All policies for the United States Pony Club can be found on the national website, www.ponyclub.org.