Sports Update – March 2026
Following on from our February Pony Club Sports update, we’re back with the latest news and updates from across Pony Club Sports as the 2026 season gets underway. This monthly feature keeps Members and Volunteers up to date with key dates, important announcements and stories from around the country.
In last month’s edition, we introduced the Pony Club Sports Team at Head Office and shared an overview of what to expect from these regular updates throughout the year. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, it’s worth catching up to learn more about the team supporting the delivery of all nine Pony Club Sports. You can read it here.
We also highlighted the 2026 Sports Rule Changes in our earlier article – an essential read for anyone planning to compete this season. If you missed it, be sure to take a look back to make sure you’re up to date before competitions get fully underway this spring.
Based at Pony Club Head Office, the Sports Team continues to work closely with our dedicated volunteer committees to support competitions, championships and initiatives across the country. In this edition, we’re sharing the latest updates as preparations for the season continue to build.
March will bring us the Barrier Animal Health Spring Festival and Mounted Games Windsor Trials but this isn’t to forget the Area Dengie Quiz competitions that took place at the end of February, as well as all the preparation for the finals in April! Read on to find out more…
Barrier Animal Health Spring Festival
Entries are still open till the 15th March for the England and Wales BAH Spring Festival Finals at Addington on 28th – 30th March – get your entries in quickly!
For more information and links to each class, as well as news on who the official photographer is and who will be supplying merchandise, visit the Spring Festival page of the website. Additionally, for Scotland and Northern Ireland competitors, you will find lists of qualifier dates and lists of qualified riders.
Also, remember you can get 15% of all Barrier Animal Health products via Pony Club Perks! Visit the Resource Hub and login to access this amazing deal with the sponsors of the Spring Festival.
Additionally, you can book onto a FREE Diet Assessment and weighbridge session each day with Dengie! Booking is essential to guarantee a slot. This can be done via the Spring Festival webpage.
VOLUNTEERS – WE NEED YOU! If you can spare a day, half a day, or a few hours, please sign up on Rosterfy. All volunteers signed up on Rosterfy will be added to a prize draw for a pair of tickets to the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May, and ALL volunteers will receive a discount code to purchase tickets.
Dressage
We are pleased to be a part of an exciting opportunity for members to take part in an International Virtual Dressage Competition alongside other members from Pony Club International Alliance (PCIA) countries.
The PCIA Virtual Training Challenge will see teams participating in two rounds with the objective for each team to improve its score by taking on judges’ feedback and practicing the test between round one and round two.
There are two classes available for which we are invited to send a team of four for each. Pony Club members can apply to take part if they meet the class eligibility below and will be selected by the Dressage Committee based on the submission of a scoresheet of the member riding the specified PC test.
Click below for more information and to apply!
Eventing
There’s plenty for Members to look forward to this season. Join us at 7pm on 25th March for an Eventing Webinar with Patrick Campbell, who will share how to get started in eventing, explain key rules, and highlight the important dates to plan for in 2026. Don’t worry if you miss it – a recording will be added to YouTube!
We’re also excited about a new chapter for the PC110 Championships, which has moved from Wellington International to Bishop Burton College and run alongside the British Eventing Festival of Youth. We are hugely grateful to the Wellington team for hosting us so successfully over the past few years, and we look forward to welcoming members to this exciting new venue. Read more about it here.
There will also be a BE vs PC 100 competition for those not quite ready for the staggering heights of the PC110!
While the Festival of Youth is for British Eventing members under 21, Pony Club classes remain open to Pony Club Members up to the age of 25.
Remember: as a Pony Club Member, you can enter up to two British Eventing events before joining as a full BE member. Plus, if you’ve never been a BE member before, Pony Club Members are eligible for 40% off British Eventing membership!
Following the success of the first Nations Cup at Ballindenisk in 2025, planning is already underway for the 2026 competition. It proved hugely popular last year, and we look forward to sharing more details on the venue, eligibility and team selection soon.
One of the highlights of the Eventing calendar is the training prize awarded to the top five riders from the Chairman’s Cup and PC110. They are invited to two days of training with world-renowned coach Gill Watson at the Fox-Pitts yard in Hinton St Mary, generously funded by the Eloise and Katie Memorial Trust.
Gill Watson is one of the world’s most successful trainers of young event riders. Under her guidance, British Juniors and Young Riders have won over 90 European Championship medals, including 38 golds. She is a former Burghley winner, a British Dressage List 3A judge, on the FEI Judges list, a Fellow of the British Horse Society, and was awarded an MBE for services to sport. She has also received the BE Trainers and Millennium Awards and the Sports Coach UK Mussabini Medal, recognising outstanding success at world-class level.
This year’s recipients are:
Chairman’s Cup: Lottie Warham (South Notts), Kiera Whiteman (East Sussex), Olivia Fisher (Flamstead), Pippa Marsh (Owl House) and Maya Wakeling (Old Berks Hughenden).
PC110: Hope Mussell (Belvoir), Lottie Walsh (South Oxfordshire Central), Sophie Jackson (Silverton), Emma Scott (South Oxfordshire Central) and Gregor Montgomery (North Shropshire).
Sadly, this will be Gill’s final year delivering this training. We thank her for the incredible impact she has had on so many Pony Club riders and look forward to sharing plans for the future training prize soon.
In the meantime, Area competitions for Championship and Regional qualifiers are being organised – check your Area websites for dates, with a full list coming soon on the Eventing page.
Endurance & Hacking Challenge
Horsemanship
There’s plenty happening in Horsemanship this month:
There are several important opportunities coming up across Pony Club Horsemanship this spring.
Area Horse & Pony Care competitions will be taking place in the coming months, with dates now available. You can view the full schedule of Area competitions here.
The National Quiz Final Rounds have also been confirmed. Full details, including the qualifying structure and final rounds, can be found here. The entry link for the Final will be shared shortly.
Entries are also open for the Pony Club Thelwell Art Competition, with a deadline of 30th April. You can find out more and submit your entry here.
We have also announced a NEW exciting competition, the Horsemanship Home International which will be taking place at The Pony Club Championships. To apply please find the link below.
For regular updates, tips and news from the Horsemanship disciplines – including Horse & Pony Care, Quiz and the Art Competition—follow the Pony Club Horsemanship Facebook page here.
Whether you’re competing in Blue Cross Horse & Pony Care, testing your knowledge in the Dengie Quiz, or showing your creativity in the Thelwell Art Competition, Horsemanship gives every Member a chance to shine. It’s also a brilliant way to learn more about your pony, improve your care skills, and meet members who share your interests. Be sure to check the Facebook page for updates, tips, and inspiration from fellow members.
There is now also a new webpage for Horsemanship on the website, which brings together HPC and Quiz, all into one place!
Thanks to our sponsors – Blue Cross, Dengie and Thelwell!
Mounted Games
The Windsor Trials are now almost complete, with just the Scotland Trials still to take place on 15th March. Congratulations to the teams selected so far – you can view the full list using the button below.
The International Mounted Games Exchange team has also been selected. We wish Lily Penn (East Stirlingshire), Jack Cowan (Iveagh), Gwen Parry-Barrow (Swansea), Martha Fisher (Atherstone) and Harriet Brown (Little Margate Equestrian Centre) the very best of luck as they prepare for their trip to Kentucky this summer. The team will travel with chaperone Nicola Way, departing on 10 July for a 10-day visit.
Congratulations also go to Lottie Beachus (North Herefordshire), who has been named as first reserve. This year saw the highest number of applications in many years, and the standard of nominations was exceptionally high. Well done to everyone who was nominated.
A special mention goes to Harriet Brown from Little Margate Equestrian Centre, who becomes the first ever Centre Member to be selected for this trip – a fantastic achievement. Little Margate has been a great example in recent years of what Centre Members can achieve in Mounted Games, including multiple qualifications at Championship level.
Nominations for the PONY Magazine demonstration riders are currently being reviewed, and everyone who expressed interest will be contacted shortly. Thank you for your patience while the selection process is completed.
Polocrosse
Pony Racing
The 2026 season is officially underway! The Milborne St Andrew event went ahead successfully, despite being rescheduled a huge thank you to all the dedicated, hard working volunteers who made it all possible, with a special mention to Louly Thornycroft.
Results from the event are now live and can be viewed on the Pony Racing page of the website.
In more exciting news, Nottingham Race Day is back on the 2026 fixture list! Be sure to check the Pony Racing page for the full schedule and upcoming dates.
As part of the Pathway into Racing through Pony Racing, we would love to hear what our current pony racers and Pony Racing alumni are doing now.
The Pony Club and the British Horseracing Authority have partnered to learn more about the careers our pony racers aspire to pursue, or are already pursuing within racing and beyond.
By completing the survey below, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 voucher for Treehouse Sporting Colours, along with a Treehouse and Pony Club merchandise goody bag.
Tetrathlon
Winter Tri Final
We are delighted to announce the UK Tetrathlon Team for 2026 who will travel to Australia for the International Exchange. The selection camp was an impressive demonstration of athletic and riding ability alongside maturity, teamwork and enthusiasm, everyone who made the shortlist should be very proud of themselves.
The teams selected are:
Boys:
Marcus Cook – West Kent (Sevenoaks) (Captain)
Oliver Loud – The Wynnstay
Ryan Widdicombe – South Pool
Zachary Farnsworth – York & Ainsty South
Gregor Montgomery – North Shropshire Hunt
Girls:
Georgina Crawford – Wheatland Hunt (Captain)
Megan Jones – Brecon & Talybont
Annabel Lupton – Bedale West of Yore Hunt
Georgie Featherstone – Newmarket & Thurlow Hunt
Eleanor Clulow – South Durham Hunt
Georgia Grierson – Beaufort Hunt – (travelling reserve who will compete in a world team)
We wish them the very best of luck in their training and on to their journey to Australia. The team will be managed by Richard Mosley & Zoe Kennerley.