The Pony Club offers members aged 3 – 25 years a chance to learn and take part in a range of horse related activities both ridden and non-ridden.  Whether you are on lead rein or hoping to compete we have something to offer everyone!  Scroll down through to get an overview of the wide range of activities we offer in our club and clck here for an example programme.

To find out about the competitions we run check out our open Facebook page or visit the News section on this website.

Dressage, also known as flatwork, is an integral part of our club’s training for all members, starting from lead rein level and upwards. It enhances a rider’s ability to communicate with their horse or pony through their aids, fostering better posture and balance. For the horse, dressage improves balance, strength, flexibility, rhythm, obedience, and fluency between gaits. The goal is to create a harmonious partnership between horse and rider, allowing for increasingly complex manoeuvres.

Members often progress to receive lessons from professional trainers such as Karen Lisk our Team dressage trainer. Training takes place in indoor or outdoor arenas during the winter and transitions to grass as the weather improves.

Dressage competitions, beginning at lead-rein level, provide members with opportunities to showcase their progress and are encouraged at all levels. We organize several dressage competitions and encourage participation in external events to gain experience. Additionally, we send qualified teams and individuals to compete at The Pony Club Regional Dressage Championships and The Pony Club National Championships.

Eventing is a demanding equestrian discipline, involving a combination of horse and rider performing dressage, show jumping, and cross country. At the Pony Club level, eventing typically takes place in a single day.

Training in all three areas is provided through rallies, with summer sessions on grass for cross-country training. For lead-rein riders, this involves small, almost pole-height jumps to start. We have a small cross-country course in our area, where we host training and mini-eventing competitions during the summer, providing a supportive environment for young and novice riders to build confidence.

More experienced riders jumping 60cm and above are encouraged to attend rallies at external venues we hire and also to take part in competitions. We select members each year to represent the club at Area Eventing and have been successful in competing at regional and national Pony Club competitions. Member participation is optional but always encouraged, as it’s an opportunity to showcase their progress at all skill levels.

Formation riding has been a new activity for SDWPC in 2023. Members of all including lead-rein learned how to ride a drill in a formation to music together. The members have been involved in the choreography of manoeuvres, which is quite tricky when you have an 11.2 pony following a 16hh horse.

We have then been lucky enough to be invited to a number of local shows in 2023. This has also been an interesting learning experience with most of the formation riding taking place in big main arenas watched by large crowds of the public, which can be a bit overwhelming for horses, ponies and riders!

In addition, we recently entered two teams in the National Virtual Dressage competition, the seniors won their class with the theme ‘Country’, and the junior team came second with their ‘Bee’ theme. We are very proud of all of them.

Handy Pony – In this activity, the pony and rider complete a series of obstacles or activities whilst being timed. At every member show, super pony event or fun event SDWPC run we have a handy pony section. This can be the class where the smallest, hairiest pony out does the smartest dressage or show jumping pony – because he’s not frightened to stand on some carpet, walk through a tunnel of flapping flags or have his owner leading him whilst bouncing up and down in a hessian sack!

Trec – Similar to Handy Pony as most of this competition comprises of ridden challenges you would meet out riding in the countryside. Obstacles often include going over bridges or under low-hanging trees, opening gates and negotiating various types of terrain. The winner is determined by points gained for accuracy, not touching something, not dropping something or doing it in a certain gait i.e. trot! This is great fun and members have really enjoyed these sessions.

Working Equitation – A step up as it’s a real test of the horse’s temperament and training, the rider’s skill and ability and the relationship between the two of them to navigate a very tricky course of obstacles. Competitions judge rider harmony, elegance and speed of execution. There are three phases – Dressage, Ease of Handling, Speed and at the International level, cattle penning.

A core part of Pony Club is learning how to care for every aspect of horses and ponies. Training starts for beginners right through to professional qualifications. Older members who join will be accessed by the DC to find the right level for them to start.

South Devon West Pony Club prides itself on encouraging and training young people to achieve the highest levels of horse care. In addition to passing PC Efficiency test right up to AH level we also have a number horse care teams who compete at Areas, Regionals and at Nationals.

There are 3 elements in the training programme; Achievement Badges, Progression Awards and Pony Club Test. All of them are interlinked with members working through the progression awards and achievement badges to get to the point where they are assessed ready to take the next level of PC Test.

The Achievement badges cover a diverse range of subjects both on horse-related and non-horse-related topics. For more detailed information on Tests and how the achievement badges and Progression awards inter link please visit here.

As the name suggests this does not require you to bring your pony or horse but is a large mechanical horse simulator permanently stabled indoors! It is a popular winter training session which we run at a local training venue that has the mechanical horse as a permanent fixture.

The idea is that each rider has a go at riding the mechanical horse and receives some coaching on position and achieving effective transitions up and down.

There are different mechanical horses for different types of horse sports. We are fortunate to have access to a horse that does dressage and can teach position. We also have regular visits from trainers who usually train jockeys and who focus on giving members the experience of sitting in a racing saddle and getting up and going in canter.

Mounted rallies at SDWPC cover all age ranges from lead-rein upwards. In the winter they take place at one of our outdoor or indoor with members taught by one of our in-house instructors. These lessons generally 3 to 5 people in them who have a similar ability.

In addition to flatwork, they will often cover pole work, show jumping and usually have a theme for the session such as Balance, straightness or Turns. In the summer these sessions will also include cross country rallies.

As young people develop their skills, we then offer training clinics with coaches who have experience in a specific discipline such as Dressage, Show Jumping or eventing.

These coaches will support our District Commissioner in the section of the teams in their specific discipline who will go on to represent our club in Area competitions.

Natural Horsemanship

Natural Horsemanship is a philosophy of working with horses based on the horse’s natural instincts and methods of communication, with the understanding that horses do not learn through fear or pain, but rather from pressure and the release of pressure

We have for the last few years had ‘Groundwork sessions’ taught to members by a local natural horsemanship coach, Nell Candelaria. The aim of these to improve the relationship between the horse and member on the floor.

We have had a number of members take part with their pony in local pony racing at point-to-point and national hunt courses where pony races have been taking place.

In recent years we have run the Racing badge which is very popular with members and usually includes some tuition on a mechanical racehorse from a trained coach who normally trains jockeys. This is always good fun!

As well as tuition we have also had members attend open days at race courses and at least two members have gone on to train at The British Racing School at Newmarket.

If you are interested in Pony Racing please let us know so we can advise on what we can offer and what is available within the wider pony club world.

All SDWPC members who attend rallies, training days and camps receive show jumping training from lead-reins right up through to senior section. In the winter much of the training is done in indoor or outdoor schools (menages) and as the weather improves, we move onto grass. As members progresses many of them go onto have lessons with professional show jumping trainers like Mandy Frost who is our SJ team trainer.

Many of our younger riders compete too! With the Mini-show jumping championships proving very popular from lead-reins rider up to those members riding 60cm.

In addition to training session we hold a number of show jumping competitions throughout the year from team jumping to individual jumping even bareback jumping! Everyone is encouraged to take part in other local competitions as well as locally held shows.

Members can also put themselves forward to represent SDWPC at team level and compete in regional qualifiers, and if they qualify, compete at the Pony Club Championships.

During the course of each year, we organise a number of club visits, family/social events and fundraisers. In the past, we have visited Totnes Fire Station, South Devon Dairy, learnt about dentistry and farriery and had a go at carriage driving.

Annually we have a Christmas party with a bouncy castle, an Easter Eggstravaganza, Summer Barn Dance and hold games of skittles and quiz evenings.

In addition to members’, we like to encourage their families and siblings to join in too.

PC Tetrathlon events, akin to the Olympic Modern Pentathlon, test participants’ overall athletic prowess, determination, and stamina. Tetrathlon consists of running, swimming, shooting, and horse riding across a cross-country course, usually spanning two days. On the other hand, triathlon involves running, swimming, and shooting and is typically conducted during the winter months when cross-country courses are not suitable for horses. These events are held in a single day.

Training involves members practising swimming and running at home, with organized pistol shooting sessions and running sessions throughout the year. Competitions are held at weekends across the South West with South Devon West also hosting one or two triathlons/tetrathlons a year.