Rockwood Harriers Branch of the Pony Club.

Discipline Lead: Cally Duffitt

West Haddon Weekend report by Nikki Whitlam

Weekend of 12th July 2025

This weekend our mounted games team had a very exciting weekend at West Haddon friendly.

Seniors

Rockwood Hares:
Jacob, Darcy, Jess, Ayla & Izzy
Finished 5th in the final
They showed great team work and held their nerve, working on accuracy within the fast paced competition environment. They showed huge improvement throughout the weekend, even in the heat they finished every session with a smile on their faces. All should be very proud of how well they have done

Juniors

Rockwood Hares
Frankie, Amber, Olliarnah, Hattie & Poppy.
Placed 2nd in the B final

They ran some amazing races nipping at the heels of the eventual winners for the whole B final session. They put the pressure on and it came down to an exciting run off mug race. The Hares team finished 2nd by only a whisker. A huge achievement and fantastic result for the final competition before Zone next week. Good luck girls 🍀

Rockwood Crosses
Ellie, Ebony, Sienna and guest riders from Enfield Ivy & Betsy.
Placed 4th in the B final

Our guest riders brought their great skills to the team and all the girls grew huge confidence over the 3 sessions. Special mention to Ebony for most improved rider this weekend.

The juniors showed their training is paying off and their handovers were epic. They enjoyed showcasing their newly learnt vaulting skills which is fantastic in a competition environment.

Junior novice

Freddie, Eloise, Phoebe, Nora, Kinsley and guest rider Rosie from Wynnstay.
Placed 4th in the final. Developing their independant riding they had lovely positive rounds having fun with their team mates. These little ones love being on their ponies and trying their best and it really shows all over their faces

It was, as always, exciting to see each child’s progress throughout the weekend.

Well done to all children and ponies who coped well with the heat, we were blessed with a gentle breeze and fresh water on tap.

Thank you to West Haddon for having us, all trainers, helpers and happy camping parents to make this weekend a success.

Lots of fun had on and off the field. Paddling pools, pizza parties, pub quiz.

Remember the No1 rule of Mounted Games is to HAVE FUN and that’s exactly what we did

Atherstone Weekend report by Nikki Whitlam

Saturday 5th July 2025

We thought last week was windy, Atherstone weekend showed us more of it, and torrential rain!

Despite being soggy, all our teams had a great weekend, on and off the game field.

Our seniors Ayla, Jacob, Jess, Darcy and Bobby (guest riding from Atherstone- thank you) showed fab team work, cheering each other on, communicating well and celebrating their achievements during the games. They placed 8th overall.

Our Juniors, Amber, Ellie, Poppy, Hattie, Frankie really showcased their huge progress on the field. They have come a long way since being a novice team last year.
They brought home 9th place rosettes

Olliarnah was guest rider for Warwickshire Reds, fitting in the team perfectly and being a real team player, they took 8th place. We will still love her!

Freddy was a guest rider for South Trent, riding independantly and confidently he helped his team mates achieve second place. Very well deserved!

Huge well done to every child, parent, grandparent, pony and trainer for a successful and fun weekend!

See you next weekend

Rockwood Friendly at Factory Farm report by Nikki Whitlam

Saturday 28th June 2025

A successful day at our Rockwood friendly mounted games day at Factory Farm yesterday. Windy and sunny, all children and ponies did fantastic considering the high winds.

First off was the Junior teams.
In different team formations was
Rockwood A /Crosses – Olliarnah, Frankie, Ellie and Amber and 5th man Eloise who finished 4th
Rockwood B / Hares – Sienna, Ebony, Hattie and Poppy with 5th man Pheobe, finished 6th

Next up was the Senior session.
Rockwood Hares Eloise, Darcey, Jacob, Jess and 5th man Hattie finished 4th
Also, a mixed team with Ayla, Izzy, Holly (Badsworth) Layla and Zara finishing 6th.

In the junior novice we had:
Rockwood Teddies -Freddie, Nora, Connie & Kingsley.
Also a mixed team of Eloise, Pheobe, Olliarnah and 2 Bramham members.
All rode fantastic and very much deserved their rosettes and sweeties at the end.

Thank you to all children and parents and volunteers for your hard work, commitment and help over this week setting up and running the Rockwood day.

There were some very new combinations of rider/pony/team and you would never have known it watching them. A real positive day showing their progress. You are all a credit to your Pony Club 🐴

Mounted Games was one of the first Pony Club disciplines and is quite a special one. In most clubs it is a discipline run by volunteers and very much aimed at the young and grass root members on their ordinary ponies. Mounted Games Competitions are for teams of four or five members working together to complete different races against other clubs.