Apple Valley Pony Club

Pony Club Pledge:

As a member of the United States Pony Club, I stand for the best in sportsmanship as well
as in horsemanship. I shall compete for the enjoyment of the game well played and take
winning or losing in stride, remembering that without good manners and good temper, sport
loses its cause for being. I shall endeavor to maintain the best tradition of the ancient and
noble skill of horsemanship, always treating my horse with consideration due a partner.

What Is Pony Club?

Pony Club is one of the leading junior equestrian organizations in the world, represented
throughout 30 countries! The United States has over 600 individual Clubs spread throughout
48 states and the Virgin Islands, with more than 12,000 members.

Pony Club provides opportunities for instruction and competition in English riding, horse
sports and horse management for children and young adults up to 25 years of age. The term
"pony" reflects the age of the members, rather than the size of the mount. Horses and ponies
of many different breeds, shapes, and sizes are seen in Pony Club activities.

It is not necessary for a child to own a horse or pony, but they must have access to one when
required. Programs are offered in dressage, eventing, show jumping, mounted games,
tetrathlon, quiz, vaulting, foxhunting, and polocrosse.

During "unmounted" meetings members learn about feeding, shoeing, veterinary care, and
other areas of horse management. Under adult supervision, the more experienced Pony
Club members instruct and assist younger members.

Pony Club Mission Statement:

The mission of the United States Pony Clubs is to provide a program for youth that teaches
riding, mounted sports, and the care of horses and ponies, thereby developing responsibility,
moral judgment, leadership, and self-confidence.

Apple Valley Pony Club:

Our club was founded in January of 2006. As of January 2008 our membership has grown to
19 members ranging in age from 6 to 13 years old. Our meetings and rallies are hosted by
the Cedar Brook Equestrian Center in Sutton, Massachusetts.

We hold full club meetings once a month; these meetings are unmounted in the colder
months and mounted when the days are warmer. Recent unmounted meeting topics include
a lesson in Emergency Equine Medicine by a local DVM, a field trip to Cummings School of
Veterinary Medicine (Tufts) in Grafton, and a shoeing demonstration by a local farrier. At a
mounted meeting, each club member gets a skills appropriate riding lesson and participates
in fun programs designed to strengthen their knowledge of equine safety, management and
pony care.

Members may attend additional meetings where they learn the skills required to compete in
one or more of the various rallies (inter-club competitions) sponsored by Pony Clubs within
the Central New England region. Some of the rallies that we will be training for this year are:
Quiz, Dressage, Show Jumping and Tetrathalon.

Please contact any of the officers listed on the "Key People" page for additional information
or to make arrangments to visit us during a meeting.