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Disciplines

At Mid Antrim Branch of the Pony Club we take part in a range of disciplines to suit riders of all ages, interests and abilities. Our club provides a supportive environment where members can learn, grow and have fun with their horses and ponies.

Through regular rallies, training sessions and competitions, members gain experience across multiple disciplines, helping them to become well-rounded and confident riders.

We encourage members to explore different areas of riding, discover their strengths, and build lasting friendships along the way. Each discipline we offer helps to develop horsemanship, responsibility, and a lifelong love of equestrian sport.

Take a look below to learn more:

Dressage

Dressage is a sport where horse and rider perform a series of predetermined movements set out in a dressage test with precision and grace. It emphasises the harmony between the two, showcasing the horse’s athleticism and the rider’s skill in communication and control.

A judge marks the test. They give you a mark out of ten for how well you carry out each instruction. At the end of the test the marks are added up and the winner is the horse and rider with the highest score.

Dressage Rulebook Dressage Tests

Showjumping

Show Jumping is where a horse and rider combination are tested over a course of colourful obstacles, known as fences, which can be easily knocked down if they are hit. The goal is to complete the course in the fastest time without getting any faults.

Faults are gained when a fence is knocked down, the horse stops at a fence (refuse) or the horse runs around a fence (run out).

Show Jumping can take place both indoors and outdoors, so is perfect to enjoy all year round.

Intended to demonstrate the horse and rider’s courage, athletic ability, precision, speed and partnership, your aim is to jump a clear round. If you manage to jump clear, you will go through to the second stage which is called a “jump-off”. A jump-off is a shortened course which is timed. The winner is the horse and rider with the least faults and the fastest time in the jump-off.

There are various levels you can jump at and you can go on to compete as an individual or as part of a team.

Showjumping Rulebook

Eventing

Pony Club Eventing is a thrilling equestrian sport that encompasses three disciplines: dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. It provides young riders with an opportunity to showcase their skills and compete in a supportive environment. The dressage phase requires precision and harmony between horse and rider as they perform a series of predetermined movements. Cross-country tests bravery and agility as horse and rider navigate a course of natural obstacles over varied terrain. Show jumping demands accuracy and speed as horse and rider aim to clear coloured fences within the designated time frame.

Dressage

Eventing dressage is the first phase of eventing competitions, focusing on the precision and harmony of horse and rider. During the test, riders showcase their horse’s obedience, suppleness, and athleticism. A judge marks each individual movement on the harmony, accuracy, and quality of each movement, providing scores that contribute to the overall eventing performance. Ideally it should look as if the horse is performing of its own accord, carrying its rider in complete harmony. Unlike in pure Dressage, riders are aiming for a low score.

Show Jumping

The second phase is Show Jumping which is over coloured fences. The poles in show jumping can be knocked down, so require careful and accurate riding. Go too fast and the horse may jump flat, knocking them down. Go too slow, and the horse may stop, and time penalties incurred. If any penalties are obtained, due to knocking poles down, having a refusal, or exceeding the optimum time, these are added to the rider’s dressage score.

Cross Country

This is the final phase and is designed to test the combination’s skill, fitness and courage over a variety of fixed fences and undulating ground. It should also demonstrate the rider’s knowledge of pace so that they complete the course within the optimum time allowed. Like the Show Jumping phase, if penalties are incurred during this phase, they are added to the rider’s score.

Scoring

At the end of the competition, scores for all the competitors are totalled. Each test is scored individually and the penalties accrued are added together for the final results. The lowest score is the winning score.

In the case of a team competition, the individual scores of each of the four team members are added together. If all four team members have completed the competition the best three scores count and the team with the lowest team total is pronounced the winner.

Eventing Rulebook Dressage Tests

Mounted games

Mounted Games is a team sport that combines a love of ponies and friends with various races. Teams of four or five riders and ponies take part in a series of exciting and exhilarating races that involve a mix of turns, handovers, skill, vaulting and galloping against other teams.

Often run on grass or all-weather surfaces, Mounted Games is an adaptation of Gymkhana and is great fun for you, your pony and your team. You can develop skills such as accuracy, agility, concentration, speed, hand to eye coordination, team work and sportsmanship whilst having lots of fun playing some thrilling games.

Mounted Games Rulebook

Tetrathlon

Tetrathlon is a team and individual competition comprised of Shooting, Swimming, Running and Riding. It is a variant of, and major recruiting ground for the Olympic sport Modern Pentathlon. Competition levels progress with age. The Shoot involves shooting with air pistols at targets between 7 and 10 metres, the Swim is the distance swum in 2 to 4 minutes, the Run is normally cross country over a distance of between 1000m and 3000m, and the Ride is over a cross country course, the most exhilarating phase for many.

Classes are arranged as follows:

– Open (25 and Under)

– Intermediate (25 and Under)

– Junior (14 and Under)

– Minimus (11 and Under)

– Tadpoles (9 and Under)

– Beanies (7 and Under)

Tetrathlon punches well above its weight in terms of fun, inclusiveness, team ethos, training, parties, voluntary parent involvement, International competitions and exchanges, the development of enduring, geographically widespread friendships and the commitment until the last minute possible of many senior Pony Club members.

Tetrathlon Rulebook