What is Eventing?
Eventing gives Pony Club Members a competition which needs courage, determination and all-round riding ability combined with the careful and systematic training of the horse. Riders gain a deeper understanding of the different sports open to them.
Its main aim is to encourage a higher standard of riding throughout The Pony Club and to give younger Members a greater interest in riding as both a sport and as a recreational activity.
The sport could be termed an “equestrian triathlon”. It involves working with your pony/horse both on the flat and over jumps. Today, the sport is most known for its cross-country phase where horse and rider gallop over an outside course of solid obstacles which the horse has never seen before.
Eventing is an Olympic sport in which Great Britain has a long tradition amongst very competitive fields. The entire Great Britain Eventing team at London 2012 and Rio 2016 were ex-Pony Club Members!
Eventing is split into three phases: Dressage, Show Jumping & Cross Country.
Dressage
Dressage is a French word meaning training. Precision, smoothness, suppleness and complete obedience show off the horse’s gymnastic development.
Ideally it should look as if the horse is performing of its own accord, carrying its rider in complete harmony. The test is scored on each movement, rather like the scoring in figure skating, and the overall harmony and precision of the whole exercise is taken into consideration.
Show Jumping
The second phase takes place in the show jumping arena over coloured knock-down fences.
Cross Country
Finally, the cross country phase is designed to test the horse and rider’s ability over a variety of fixed fences and undulating ground, it should also demonstrate the rider’s knowledge of pace and the use of his horse across country.
Scoring
At the end of the competition, scores for all the competitors are totalled. Each test is scored individually and the penalties accrued are added together for the final results. The lowest score is the winning score.
In the case of a team competition, the individual scores of each of the four team members are added together. If all four team members have completed the competition the best three scores count and the team with the lowest team total is pronounced the winner.
How Do I Get Involved?
Pony Club Eventing Competitions are organised at a number of different levels:
- Branch/Centre Competitions - Friendly competitions organised by Branches or Centres for their own Members and Members of the surrounding Branches & Centres.
- Area Competitions - Open to all Members within The Pony Club Area, including qualifying competitions for the Championships.
- Championships - Teams and Individuals from every Area compete to decide the National Eventing Championships.
How Do I Progress Further?
The Eloise & Kate Memorial Trust Bursary
This bursary is donated by the Eloise & Katie Memorial Trust. The trust was set up in memory of Eloise and Katie Plunkett who both died of cancer; Katie from Leukaemia in 1996 at the age of 16 and Eloise from skin cancer in 2002 at the age of 27. The trust’s aims are to make grants to causes important to the Plunkett family and to Eloise and Katie. The three areas of work are: Cancer charities, Parkinson’s Disease charities, and Youth enabling charities. For further information on the Trust visit www.eloiseandkatie.com
The Bursary is awarded to the winner of each section & the winning Team at the PC110 Eventing Championships, and all five winners receive two days of Eventing Training with Gill Watson, FBHS.
Find out more in the Rulebook which can be purchased here
Eventing Contacts
