Pony Club in Australia has moved on from the days of routine sports like jumping, games and dressage (‘flat work’). Nowadays you could see members doing tetrathlons, tentpegging, polocrosse, horse archery, quiz, vaulting, horse ball, working equitation and more.

PCA CEO Dr Catherine Ainsworth said that during the recent school holidays, clubs were posting on Facebook about their camps and fun days. “It is great to see so much activity going on, and members trying new things. We now also offer a Leadership Certificate, a 12 month course and mentoring program to prepare members for their future career.”

L-R: Shooting for goal in the new sport, ‘horse ball’; Brian McCarthy coaching beginners horse archery at a Queensland Pony Club.
Photos courtesy Pony Club Australia.

Pony Club Australia has developed guides for 15 different disciplines, with more to come, and Clubs can download them from the PCA website. PCA has also started creating webinars on different disciplines so members can ask questions of the experts – a real boon for rural and regional clubs.

All sport guides take into account the new syllabus which has more focus on equitation science, horse welfare and rider safety; this syllabus is a world first and creating a lot of interest amongst the world wide Pony Club community.

L-R: In pony racing, organised for Pony Club by Thoroughbred Industry Careers, each rider gets to ride in a prominent trainer’s colours – and this rider won in Ciaron Maher’s. This sport is helping create interest in a career in thoroughbred racing or breeding; Horse archery coach Bianca from Warida Wholistic Wellness has been teaching horse archery to Pony Clubs in South Australia for several years.
Photos courtesy Pony Club Australia.