United States Pony Clubs: 2014 USPC Festival Recap

Source: News Release

2014 USPC Festival Recap

(Lexington, KY) —The United States Pony Clubs Inc. 2014 Festival wrapped up after 8 days of competition and education on July 21. USPC Festival is a triennial event hosted at the beautiful Kentucky Horse Park. The first part of the week is a national championships team competition while the second part of the week hosts clinics, demonstrations, and presentations aimed at offering education in all aspects of equine care and riding. While celebrating Pony Club’s 60th anniversary, USPC Festival gathered over 1,100 members competing in seven disciplines as well as a record number of Horsemasters participants.

Quiz -290 competitors
Eventing- 271 competitors
Show Jumping- 239 competitors
Dressage- 140 competitors
Mounted Games- 100 competitors
Tetrathlon- 49 competitors
Polocrosse-27 competitors

The educational portion of Festival featured over 600 members learning from Olympians such as Lendon Gray and Gina Miles, as well as other internationally known equestrians. Popular clinics were offered by The Kentucky Horse Park Mounted Police and the Iroquois Hunt, with more than 100 members choosing to participate in a mock hunt in the early morning fog.

Festival hosted more than fifty vendors in the upper arena concourse of the Alltech Arena, while activities such as the Opening Ceremonies, games, a polocrosse demonstration, and many of the clinics took place on the arena floor. Other venues included the dressage complex, five show jumping arenas, and the world famous cross-country course. Polocrosse fields were situated to the West and South of the Alltech Arena, with tetrathlon competitors completing three of their four competition phases on the Horse Park.

About Pony Club - The United States Pony Clubs, Inc. (Pony Club) was founded in 1954 as a nonprofit national youth organization to teach riding and horsemanship through a formal educational program. There are approximately 10,000 Pony Club members in over 600 clubs and riding centers throughout the country. Many of the nation’s top equestrians, including several of our Olympic team members, business professionals, government leaders and career military officers, have roots in Pony Club. Traditional members range in age from as young as 4 through age 25. Pony Club also offers educational opportunities to over 500 adult members in its Horsemasters Program.