Area 8 Mounted Games 2025

On Saturday 24th May, six riders from Essex & Suffolk Pony Club headed to Stratford Hills for the Area 8 Mounted Games competition, kindly hosted by the Essex Farmers Pony Club. A huge thank you to the organisers for a brilliantly run event—we were made to feel incredibly welcome, and the support shown to our novice team was truly appreciated.

Essex & Suffolk proudly entered a Novice team made up of Lacey Wallis, Elsie Ivell, Tessa Frary, Belle Fryer, and their captain Ellie Wallis. Mia Rush also rode with the Suffolk Pony Club team.

For many of our riders—and their parents—it was a day of exciting firsts. Having read the Mounted Games rulebook (which rivals the family Bible in size!), we kicked off with the Tack and Turnout. The ponies and children all looked fantastic we didn’t let the side down. The judging was tough, and we came away with 8th, so not last (quite) but a position to build on for next year!

So, onto the fun bit…

The games were fast and fun and the atmosphere, pretty intense. It was by far the biggest ‘stage’ most of the children had been on. The children demonstrated great determination, skill and team spirit. Winning several of their races, the E&S team secured 2nd place overall – a fantastic achievement for their debut in team mounted games. Mia also did a super job on a very keen pony and was an asset to Suffolk’s team. Aside from the awesome results, the real highlight was seeing the huge grins on the faces of the children and hearing them cheering on their teammates. Certainly, a day to remember.

A massive thank you to Joel Ivell, Gill Baker, and our trainer Holly Farrer for their time, guidance and encouragement. And a very special thank you to Nicky Bennett for dedicating her entire day to support the team.

We’re so proud of all our riders and we can’t wait to see where this exciting, mounted games journey takes them next!