Today was the New Jersey Region “D” eventing rally at the Bucks County Horse Park. I went and coached a team of kids from my old pony club, Amwell Valley Hounds. The new DC of Amwell is Paige (Cherry) DiRoberto. When my mom first signed me up for pony club as a nine-year-old, Paige was one of the older kids. Now her daughter Georgia rides and Paige has taken over the reins of leading the club.
Today I volunteered my time as a coach, but earlier this summer Paige asked me to give a couple of cross country clinics to Amwell kids. The first clinic was at the Bucks County Horse Park and it went well, but the second one was special. Paige got permission for us to hold the clinic at the farm that had been the home of the Amwell Valley Hounds Pony Club for probably over twenty years. It was the farm where both Paige and I had done ratings, rallies, fun days, and horse trials.
The new owner, Stephen Buxton, was extremely gracious. The week before the clinic he met with Paige and me and drove us all over the property so that we could plan the clinic. Stephen takes wonderful care of the farm. He has repaired and maintained most of the old jumps as well as adding some new jumps and trails. On the day of the clinic he watched all three sessions and even set jumps for me with my first student, Brittany Yard, who was prepping for her A rating that takes place this weekend.
Today at the rally, it was just like I remembered. For one thing, the heat was sweltering! For another, there was a pleasant level of chaos that is somewhat unique to Pony Club. At rallies, kids are grouped into teams of four and they competed against riders from other clubs in the region, both by their mounted scores and through something that is called stable management. Each team is judged in the stable area as well and that goes into their overall score. One of the most significant parts of a rally, though, is that adult contact is kept to a minimum. The kids are responsible for getting themselves ready and where they are supposed to be all on their own. Parents are not allowed to talk to their kids during the competition, and even someone like me, a coach, is not supposed to be in the stable area. It is a wonderful way to learn responsibility and teamwork!
Today I had one kid who showed up in tears because she had lost track of time and almost missed her show jumping round. I had another girl show up with her noseband buckled through her bit, and a third girl show up with one of her reins attached in front of the cheek piece on her bridle. Other than that it was a smooth day and it made me think of my very first pony club rally, which
was also an eventing rally. I rode my pony Cherokee Shay (pictured here with me standing next to my big brother Chris and his pony). When all of the adults left us alone, I loaded Cherokee onto a
teammate’s side by side trailer. All of the doors were open and all of the bars were down. Cherokee walked right on and kept walking, letting himself out the front door of the trailer and getting loose. We caught him and loaded him the proper way. Later that day on cross country I was going so fast that as I rounded a turn I fell off. I remember flying through the air and laughing because I was having so much fun. I think it was that day that made me first love the challenge of three day eventing, and also the thrill of riding cross country. Maybe today at the rally there were some future upper level riders in the making. If not, I’m sure there were a lot of kids who will have great memories of Pony Club for the rest of their lives.
