Competition season is in full swing for the Young Pony Club

The Young Pony Club are celebrating another successful competition weekend, after 5 riders travelled to compete in the recent Canowindra Pony Club’s two day competition and Gymkhana. Local pony club riders Mercadez Cartwright, Phoebe Apps, Lexi Shoemark, Charlotte Callinan and Miley Richens competed in several events across the weekend, including dressage, show jumping, equitation and ring events. All of these showcased their hard work, close partnership with their horses, as well as an incredible dedication to their sport. On Saturday, the Canowindra Pony Club opened the two day competition with a dressage, showjumping and equitation competition. Dressage is an equestrian sport where a rider and horse perform a sequence of precise, memorised movements in an arena. It’s a training discipline which showcases their harmony, communication and partnership. Charlotte Callinan and her horse Flo working together to win all the awards. Phoebe and Miley both performed outstandingly in this event, with Phoebe placing first in Dressage 1.1, and Miley placing 2nd in her Dressage Prep 1 event. Showjumping events involve riders and their horses navigating a course of obstacles such as fences and walls in a designated arena. The goal is to jump all the obstacles cleanly and quickly as possible, without knocking them down. Both Phoebe and Mercadez competed in C Grade Showjumping, with the two girls placing 2nd and 3rd respectively. Miley also did extremely well, placing 3rd in her Showjumping Intro event. The third component of the competition was Equitation. Equitation is all about the partnership between rider and horse, and involves a rider skillfully using posture, balance and other subtle cues to communicate with their horse. They demonstrate this communication by completing a showjumping course with designated tasks, and are marked on how smoothly horse and rider perform. Charlotte and Miley both competed in the Intro Equitation event. Both girls showed excellent partnership with their horses Flo and Rumba, and placed 2nd and 4th respectively. Mercadez and Phoebe also demonstrated impressive horsemanship in this event, with both girls competing in C Grade Equitation. After amazing demonstrations with their horses, Mercadez and her horse Aura came 1st overall, and Phoebe and her horse Shars Prince placed 3rd. On Sunday, the Canowindra Pony Club hosted their annual Gymkhana. All five girls competed in ring events, showjumping and sport events. Not only did they once again show off their fabulous skills and horsemanship, they also brought home even more competition and event winnings. Lexi and Charlotte both competed in the 11& under 13s division, placing 1st Rider and 3rd Rider respectively. Both girls also showed off their skills in their Pony Club Mount events, with Charlotte coming in 1st and Lexi right behind her placing 2nd. Miley, Lexi and Charlotte also competed together in the Team of Riders event, where they had to ride in line formation and perform tasks together as a team. The Young Pony Club are extremely proud of all five girls for the dedication, sportsmanship and hard work they demonstrated throughout the competition. The Young Pony Club has had the privilege of teaching and watching all five riders learn and grow with their horses, and loved seeing the girls perform so well. All their hard work and practice at the Young Pony Club rally days certainly paid off. Congratulations to the Canowindra Pony Club and committee for hosting such a fun and fantastic event.