PWPC Team Competitions

PWPC is proud to be represented by its members riding in teams and as individuals, in competitions across the levels and disciplines, throughout the year.

The information below gives guidance to our members about the different competitions, the process of team selection, opportunities for individual riders and, the support PWPC will provide along the way.

What are team competitions?

 Pony club team competitions take place across a variety of disciplines. PWPC focusses predominantly on dressage, showjumping and eventing [1] and competitions for these can be grouped into three categories: Area competitions, Invitation competitions and Friendly competitions.

 Area

Area Competitions are where Pony Club members compete as teams and individuals to try to qualify for The Pony Club Championships or Regional Championships. Competitors – whether part of a team or entered as an individual – are eligible to qualify for the championships so everyone counts regardless of whether you’re in the team or not. Area qualifying rounds are held in each of the 19 Pony Club Areas (we are Area 8) and there are various levels to compete at based on level and eligibility.

It is vital that you check eligibility rules for each level. These are detailed in the rulebooks, available on the PCUK resource hub. Key rules to remember are:

• PC70 Regional competitions are only open to members 13 and under on 1 January of the competition year. There is a PC70 PLUS ODE and SJ class open to older members.
• New rule for show jumping: horse and rider combination must not have previously achieved a double clear in any competition with a starting height of 20cm or more above the height of the class you wish to enter in the previous or current calendar year.

If you are well placed in the Area Qualifying competitions, as a team or individually, you may qualify for the championships. The number of qualifying places can be found in the rulebook, but is usually proportional to the number of entries.

Regional championships are run with the qualified riders from a group of Areas (we fall within Eastern Region, which Areas 8, 6, 11 and 12), at Preliminary/PC70 and  Grassroots/PC80 level. National Championships are run with the qualified riders from all Areas at Novice/PC90, Intermediate/PC100 and Open/PC110 levels.

 Invitation

These are very special events that do not necessarily have a championship and are always lots of fun. As a club, we are invited to these which is an honour that not all clubs get.

Friendly competitions

Events are run ad-hoc throughout the year, and we welcome parents to take a team-manager role here by promoting the competitions across the membership and coordinating teams. These are typically show-jumping competitions, many of which hosted by branches from neighbouring Area 12 and held at Bury Farm,  and are great fun particularly as a get together during the winter months. We will generally share these on our Facebook page for visibility, if you spot them first, please feel free to let us know.

As well as having the Champs as a focus, Area 8 runs an eventing league with riders’ placings recorded from all Area 8 ODE that have taken place throughout the season. This is sponsored by Bib-eaz and some lovely prizes are given out to the top rankings. Take a look at the Area 8 website for further details.

How are the Area or Invitation teams and individuals selected?

All PWPC members will be invited to express their interest in representing the branch. This will be sent to members via email, about two months ahead of competition season and considered by the Team Manager, DC and discipline coach. They will select teams and individuals based on capability, previous performance and engagement in the club. The main aim is to form teams of members that are capable and competent at that level and collectively have the best chance at doing well.

We will run reserve lists for all oversubscribed competitions should a member be unlucky in the run up to the competition e.g. pony lameness. The Committee’s decision is final as relates to team structure, as we have to declare that we are confident that members are safe at the level they are competing at. This same declaration applies to individual entries too.

Tean riders must be available to compete at National or Regional Championships should you qualify. Please check the dates before you put yourself forward for the Area competition.

What support will I get from PWPC?

We hope all our members will attend as many of our rallies and training sessions as possible. In the lead up to the qualifiers and ahead of champs, we will organise extra training events at Luffenhall, subject to demand

There will be WhatsApp groups for each discipline and /or event to help ensure all relevant information gets to you. You will be invited to join the WhatsApp group after you have submitted your declaration of interest form.

Entries

Entries are most commonly taken through Horse-Events by the individual member. We will use the WhatsApp groups to let you know when entries have opened. On the whole, we will be asking you to all to enter as individuals, as we are now able to make team selections via our own Branch log-in to Horse-Events.  Of course, we will let everyone know first who is on a team and who is riding as an individual.

As for payment, we ask that you cover your own entry fees and related expenses. The branch has contributed to the cost of Champs in previous years, but this has come at quite an expense (reflecting the success of our members!) and we have taken the financial decision that this is something we cannot continue doing going forward.

What happens on the day?

First and foremost, we have fun! Whether the result is what you wanted, or if it wasn’t the best day, these are brilliantly sociable events where we can all cheer each other on, enjoy team course-walks and celebrate taking part with a great picnic with your team friends after the competition. We always try our best to send a team manager, to help support our members and deal with any questions that may arise.

For more information

Your Entries Manager for 2025 is Zoe Brown; please feel free to contact her on puckeridgewestern@pcuk.org  or call her on 07845 734023.

[1] There are also area competitions in Polo, Mounted Games and Tetrathlon. Of these, we have members active in Tet/Tri. Please contact our Tet/Tri Manager for information.