The United States Pony Club Championships and Festival celebration is going on in Lexington. A part of me would give my left leg to be there (Nutmeg doesn’t listen to that leg anyway).
When I was young and free (ha), I attended four Championships and three Festivals plus countless Regional Rallys. The United States Pony Club is an organization for kids through young adults that focuses on sportsmanship, stewardship, leadership and horsemanship. Through horses they teach more than riding, they develop character and confidence and teach life skills. The idea is to give kids the knowledge to make them competent horse people who can stand on their own. The “Rallys” are structured so that the participants rely on each other instead of their parents to complete tasks. The barn area is a parent free zone, which means the kids are in charge of feeding, water, and cleaning up after their horses, and to some extent themselves. Plus they have to manage their time, probably one of the most challenging skills. There are older “mentors” of sorts who are in the barns to help out, keep an eye on things, and judge the performance of the participants in the barns.
As a kid, it’s awesome! You can focus on your horse and ignore the parents wanting a recap of your ride or worse yet, giving you a blow-by-blow of the ride. You get to hang out with your friends and the horses. Your day consists of getting up, feeding you, feeding the horses, watering, cleaning out the stalls, getting spruced up for jogs, the jog, your ride, cooling out and cleaning up after your ride, cleaning the stalls a few more times, watering some more, feeding in the evening and that’s it. You might even squeeze in a dip in the pool at some point. Even when you’re crazy like me and enter two disciplines with two horses, it’s still a relaxed and fun adventure.
More than time spent with horses, which is always good, for me, Pony Club became the one place I fit in with my peers. Rallys, Championships, and Festivals are some of my best memories. I really learned who I was. Sure, I’m a rule abiding nerd, so it really was the perfect atmosphere for me, but I learned a lot about having fun too. Pony Club truly helped develop me into the person I am.
To learn more about the incredible organization, check out www.ponyclub.org. It’s changed a lot since I was working through my ratings and traipsing around the Kentucky Horse Park, but I believe it is still a valuable organization, creating the horsemen and horsewomen of the future. It’s a Fresh Perspective with a refreshingly traditional approach.
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