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How is Pony Club
organized?
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Briones Valley Pony Club is led by a District Commissioner
(DC), two Joint District Commissioners, a Treasurer, a Secretary, and an
executive board. We belong to the Middle California Region of the
United States Pony Clubs. Our Region consists of 22 clubs located
from the San Francisco Bay Area south to Fresno. The United States
Pony Club is part of an international organization with over 12,000 members
in the United States.
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What are the requirements for
membership?
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Briones Valley Pony Club accepts members
as young as 7 years of age. Qualified applicants not meeting the age
requirement must demonstrate an acceptable reading ability and shall be
approved by the Executive Board.
Members graduate from Pony Club on
December 31st of the year they reach their 25th birthday. In Pony
Club, the age on January 1 determines the age of the member for that year.
Membership in Pony Club is a significant
commitment. Pony Club members represent the Club at all times, in all
places, during all activities.
Each member should always exhibit good
horsemanship, good sportsmanship and courtesy to all.
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How does all of
this happen?
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With
parent participation and a lot of volunteer hours!
Parent Participation
Parents are welcome to observe the
Saturday mounted and dismounted lessons. They are also expected to
volunteer with the Club.
One Saturday a year, a parent will be
appointed Parent-In-Charge for the
day. Responsibilities include taking attendance, bringing refreshments,
and assisting the instructor as needed.
Sponsors
Parents and friends are invited to become Sponsors of
Briones Valley Pony Club. Please visit our Sponsors
page
for more information.
A Sponsor has voting privileges, takes an active part in
Club activities and attends monthly and Annual meeting of Sponsors.
The BVPC Sponsor Roster includes friends in the local
community who are interested in supporting Pony Club.
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What are dismounted meetings?
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During
dismounted meetings members learn about feeding, shoeing, veterinary care,
and other areas of Horse Management. Under adult supervision, the more
experienced Pony Clubbers instruct and assist younger members.
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What are mounted
meetings?
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Mounted meetings are scheduled sessions where Pony Clubbers
receive group riding instruction. As with dismounted meetings, the more experienced
Pony Clubbers instruct and assist younger members under adult supervision.
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Can you tell me
about BVPC's instructors?
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Chris Bearden -- USPC Graduate
"A"; 3-Day Event rider and trainer at all levels; proprietor of Poplar
Place Stables.
Carol Bearden -- 3-Day Event
rider and trainer; proprietor of Poplar Place Stables.
Sigrid -- graduate HA.
Kirstin Mennella -- Mid-Cal RIC.
and various other local PC talent |
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When and where
does Briones Valley Pony Club meet?
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We meet two Saturdays a month. See our Calendar
for
exact dates.
Mounted meetings are held at:
Poplar Place Stables
1105 Bear Creek Road
Martinez CA 94553
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How do the
ratings work?
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Pony Club
provides a structured curriculum of both mounted and dismounted skills and
knowledge for our kids to follow. Ratings provide a progression for the
mastery of these skills. At rallies, the ratings provide a framework
by which our kids can compete against kids with similar abilities.
The lowest rating is D-1, and the highest rating is A. The only rating
level and test that can be skipped is D-1; the rest must be mastered in
sequence. Ratings are achieved by performing specific tests against a
prescribed standard of proficiency, both mounted and oral, before a
recognized Pony Club examiner. Kids have the opportunity to go for
their ratings twice a year at ratings clinics that are offered in fall and
spring.
Follow
this hyperlink to the Standards page to find the
USPC Standards of Proficiency for each of the ratings, as well as
the USPC Flow Charts and Test Sheets.
Follow this link to the view the
Ratings
Information page, where you can download our BVPC Ratings
Prep Guides for each rating level, USPC Study Guides, find
Regional and National C-3 Testing information as well as Regional and
National B, H-A and A Testing information.
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What is a rally?
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A
rally is a Pony Club competition where teams of Pony Clubbers compete
against each other. For many Pony Clubbers, competing in a rally is
one of the best things about Pony Club. Except for Quiz, rallies are
mounted competitions usually made up of teams of 3-5. All of the team
members ride in the competition except one, who acts as the stable manager,
helping with all the essential ground work that must be done to support the
mounted competitors.
On
the day of the rally, parents are not allowed to interact with their
children at all. It is up to the team to work together to take care
of all the details and logistics. This is wonderfully liberating for
parents and kids, and stimulates teamwork and leadership within the Pony
Club teams. In addition to the riding performance of the team
members, the rally teams are also judged on horse management.
A
great deal of preparation goes into getting ready for a rally. A
non-qualifying rally is a one-time rally, with no progressive competition
for winners. By contrast, winners at regional qualifying rallies have
the opportunity to move on to advanced competitions at Pony Club
Championships. In 2003, Western Championships were held at the Murieta
Equine Complex just outside of Sacramento, California. We were
fortunate to be represented by four Briones Valley Pony Club competitors on
the Middle California team! Every three years is considered a
Festival year, in which National Championships are held.
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What is a Quiz
rally?
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Quiz is an unmounted rally where teams compete against each
other on their horse knowledge. It is sort of like Jeopardy for horses.
It's a great way to get started with Pony Club, and you don't even have to
have a Pony to participate.
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What is Horse
Management?
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Pony
Club is unique among riding organizations because its educational programs
place equal emphasis on the teaching of riding skills, horse care
fundamentals and team participation with sportsmanship. The
organization is dedicated to the complete development of knowledgeable,
competent, responsible and caring horsemen and women. From the moment
they join Pony Club, until they graduate, a member is part of a program
designed to teach skills and to provide knowledge as members progress from
one rating to the next in accordance with the USPC Standards of
Proficiency. USPC prepares its members to take on the
responsibility of horse ownership by development of a broad network of
activities and educational programs that promote the health and safety of
both mount and rider.
The USPC prepares its members to take on
the responsibility of horse care. First, local clubs have a Horse
Management program designed to teach skills and to provide knowledge
necessary as their members progress from one one rating to the nest in
accordance with the USPC Standards of Proficiency. Second, USPC prepares
its members to take on the responsibility of horse ownership by judging
Horse Management practices at all competitive mounted rallies. The
competitors are judged within their respective rating levels on their
knowledge and application of sound and thorough horse care principles that
they have acquired through horse management instruction and through regular
practice. Horse Management instruction and experience in Pony Club is
designed to encourage inquiry into the nature of horse care and safety,
based on logical and practical reasoning as well as common sense.
Horse Management instruction also promotes sportsmanship and it helps
youngsters develop the confidence required for sensible decision making.
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What are the
different Pony Club disciplines?
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USPC offers competition at rallies in these
disciplines: Dressage, Eventing, Games, Quiz, Polocrosse, Show
Jumping, Tetrathlon, and Vaulting.
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What is Dressage?
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Dressage is a discipline where the horse performs a series of
movements and in a flat arena in a prescribed sequence known as a “test.”
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What is
Eventing?
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Eventing embodies the core activity of
Pony Club -- that of three riding disciplines: dressage,
cross-country and show jumping and horse management, providing members with
a broad equestrian base needed to enjoy any horse activity throughout their
lives in a safe and competent manner.
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What are Games?
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Games are intended to provide reinforcement to the riding
skills taught in Pony Club in a more relaxed environment than the formal
lesson in equitation.
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What is Show Jumping?
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A Show Jumping competition is one in which teams of horses and
riders are tested under various conditions over courses of obstacles.
Each riding test is intended to demonstrate the horse's freedom, energy,
training and obedience, as well as the rider's horsemanship. It is
not intended to be a test of speed and/or strength nor to be a competition
of individuals against individuals.
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What is Tetrathlon?
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Tetrathlon is a sport that combines four events:
riding a mount over a course of obstacles, shooting an air pistol, running
a cross-country course and swimming.
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What is Vaulting?
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Vaulting is gymnastics on a moving horse, an ancient sport
which traces its beginnings to the bull vaulting of the ancient Minoans.
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What is Polocrosse?
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The Australian game of Polocrosse is like lacrosse on
horseback, and was derived from an English equestrian exercise in the
1930's. USPC approved Polocrosse as a Pony Club activity in 1997.
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