The biggest event on the Zone 13 Pony Club calendar came to town on the weekend with 150 riders turning out for the annual Jamboree.
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Three days of jam-packed equestrian action filled the showground with everything from show riding through to campdrafting events on offer.
The host club finished third on the pointscore tally at the end of the weekend but snagged a win in the campdrafting.
A host of the club’s competitors also managed to secure broad sashes: Abbie Kelly finished champion of the under seven girls and Monty Finlayson was the boys’ reserve. Mackenzie Ellem was reserve champion of the seven and under nine girls, Charlie Ward was the champion of the nine to 11-year-old girls and Mac Finlayson in the boys, while Matthew Sisson was the reserve in the 13 to 15-year-old boys. Sub juniors of Kelly, Ellem, Abbey Grills and Josh Bourke also combined to tally the highest amount of points for any team of four in their division.
Associate rider Ellen Light received the prestigious Keith Lowe award for service and dedication to Pony Club.
A minor hiccup on Sunday with an error in the length of the bending course was the only blip in a successful weekend for the Guyra club.
In a moving tribute to teenager Dolly Everett who took her own life after being bullied, all competitors donned blue armbands in honour of the 14-year-old.
Glen Innes clinched a narrow, overall win over Armidale in both the under 17 and associate categories.
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Zone 13 chief instructor Belinda Williamson credited the host club for a “very well run” event and was thrilled with the high level of riding on display.
“Their manners, their horsemanship, it was really good to see kids cheering other riders on irrespective of what club they're from,” she said.
“They ride competitively and are out to ride for their club and it's on to beat whatever club but at the same time when it comes to cheering riders on and wanting their mates to do well, they do. I watched several riders ride hack patterns that would win them a ribbon at Toowoomba or Sydney.”
“It's good to see that many riders presented beautifully to represent their clubs and no doubt we will be seeing some of you at the State Championships in April.”
She said there was vast improvement in the riders since the beginning of the competitive season while the team of fours event was the highlight of the weekend.
“We had kids there that, from when we started in the September-October school holidays in our camps and then into our interclubs, the level of progression in some of those riders was absolutely mind-boggling,” she said.
“At the end of the day, that beautiful presentation in the teams of four and that level of riding and horsemanship the riders have come up to since the start of our season in September.”
There was plenty of banter and prank pulling between the teams outside of the arena to keep the friendly rivalries among the clubs.
Walcha even went to the extent of chaining and padlocking their banner to prevent it being stolen.
“That tradition of snavelling another club's banner and 'what are you going to do to get it back?' has been in as long as Pony Club has,” Williamson said.
“They're all the good antics and the good side of Jamboree.”
Pony Club differentiates from every other sport wherein a rider has to communicate with their teammate, of the equine kind, through body language.
Not only to they have to communicate with them but there is a lot of after hours care which go into it.
“It is the best sport for young people because they have to respect their teammates, their competitors but they learn to respect their horse,” Williamson said.
“As they go through Pony Club they learn about feeding, shoeing and preparing their horse for competition and how to ride their horse to get the best. I love Pony Club from that point of view for kids growing up and learning that responsibility.”