The Objects of Pony Club:
• To encourage young people to ride and to learn to enjoy all kinds of sport connected with horses and riding.
• To provide instruction in riding and horse-mastership and to instil in members the proper care of their animals.
• To promote the highest ideals of sportsmanship, citizenship and loyalty, thereby cultivating strength of character and self-discipline. W
hy Pony Club
The main aims of the Association are that Pony Clubs teach their junior members to ride well and enjoy all kinds of sport connected with riding, to instil in them the proper care of their animals and to offer them the opportunity of being taught a higher standard of riding than they might otherwise get. To this we have added in recent years, a program for those young (or not so young!) people who are interested in learning more about horsemanship, but are not yet lucky enough to own their own horse or pony. www.readysettrot.com
Pony Club wants to encourage enthusiasm amongst the young people of today and
have them properly taught the many branches of horsemanship so that they will be the capable horsemen and women of tomorrow. By setting a standard which is practical for Australia and schooling the junior member along those lines, they will know what is expected of them when they take part in competitive riding and will be quite confident that they will be judged on that standard. It is important that members should enjoy themselves and make new friends, so that when it comes to competition they will think more of the fun of competing than in the rewards they might gain. Pony Clubs members have to bear in mind that instructors spend valuable time, without pay, passing on knowledge gained through many years of experience. Those receiving this voluntary service and benefiting from this first-hand information for the very small charge of their Club membership, can best show their appreciation by at all times being loyal to their Pony Club and its instructors, and by keenly supporting all its endeavours to progress and increase its membership. More about pony club....
The Pony Club movement is an international voluntary youth organisation for young people interested in horses and riding. It is represented in 15 countries and has a membership exceeding 102,000 – making it the largest association of riders in the world. Origin
The movement originated in Britain in November 1929 as a scheme to encourage young people to ride, whilst providing the opportunity for these young people to benefit from instruction at a higher standard than many could obtain individually. LEASING AND BORROWING you haven’t yet bought a
Pony Club membership
In Qld, Pony Club membership is open to anyone with our insurance available only for those from 2 years to 80 years of age. However in some states in Australia, membership is only for those under 26 years of age, of any riding ability but a number of former riders remain with their Club as Adult Supporters, Committee members and Instructors, thus continuing their interest and involvement. In PCAQ Junior members are those under 17 years of age, whilst Associate Members are those 17 years and under 26 years of age. Membership of Pony Club provides children and young adults with the opportunity to build and develop character, responsibility and consideration for others through their involvement with a living animal, which is an excellent medium for developing these attributes. Riding is also one of the few sports where male and female can participate on an equal basis. The Pony Club aim is not to produce individual riders of exceptional ability, rather to help ALL members improve their riding skills and to enjoy the experience. Pony Club mounts!!!!! Much care is needed when selecting a horse/pony for a Pony Club member, as it needs to be reasonably well mannered and obedient, and able to be ridden safely with other horses and ponies. Pony Clubs are an excellent starting point for further enquiries regarding the selection of suitable ponies. It is part of the legal responsibility and role of the coach to assess rider and mount suitability for pony club activities and coaches have a responsibility to the organisation to ensure this safety requirement is fulfilled. Coaches are trained specifically to do this. Parents need to be certain that they and their children are fully aware of all the responsibilities and commitments of owning and caring for a horse before they consider purchasing one. If in doubt about the commitment and level of responsibility a child will take on when owning a pony, it may be better to hold off from the final purchase. It may be more realistic to lease a pony in the early days, so as to gauge how committed the child and you will be. There are many different policies that MUST be adhered to by all pony clubs. Each pony club also has their own constitution and can have their own by-laws and policies as well as the PCAQ ones. PCAQ information is all available on their website. Members are encouraged to subscribe to the monthly PCAQ newsletter themselves for $35 a year. This will keep you up to date with any news and rule changes. We ask members to take the time to read the policies as well as the rule books. As you can appreciate there is too much to be learnt and not enough time to learn it at a pony club muster........ Not when there is riding to be done!! To save paper, costs and help the environment we do not have copies to hand out. The History of Pony Club Association
Pony Clubs have existed in one format or another for a very long time, but in 1959 the Pony Club Association of Queensland was formed. At first everyone ‘did their own thing’. When one Club visited another, a decision had to be made on the rules of the day. There was no uniformity in any respect. Sir Wallace Rae was elected as the first President of the PCAQ. Uniformity of rules, Standard of Instruction, a Constitution to make the Clubs and Association workable and the ideals for Pony Clubs were evolved by the Association. We may gauge the success of this venture by the growth attained by Pony Clubs in Queensland. Biosecurity – PIC and horse health declaration forms
IMPORTANT!! With the increase of fatalities both horse and human due to Hendra and other viruses such as EI, when travelling to any pony club venue a horse health form is to be completed and left at the venue including pony club rallies. Each property needs an identification number known as a PIC for these records. Most livestock farms already have them – if you need one or a health form click on these two links
PIC rego - http://www.daff.qld.gov.au/4790_11217.htm
Horse health http://www.pcaq.asn.au/Forms/Microsoft%20Word%20%20H%20Form%20170%20Horse%20Health%20Declaration%2013.pdf
Brief History of Innisfail Pony Club
A very keen horseman named Archie Gordan first began giving pony rides to the locals in 1958 under the shade of the huge rain trees at the Innisfail show grounds. One thing led to another and Archie realized the need to encourage and provide opportunity to the local kids. They needed to enjoy and learn safely how to ride and to be good horse men and women. The need of a more professional and safe location was also realised and Archie being a man of high status within the community, acquired the land behind the race course from the local council. At the time it was just scrub but with the help of volunteer parents and community members the land was cleared with dozers etc., ready for use in 1960. The IHPC was then formed by keen parents who had meetings and having many discussions amongst themselves under the guidance of PCAQ which had then recently formed in 1959. The first club house was an iron building transported over from the show society to the current grounds. Originally it was used by a church group for serving food at the local show. In 1987 a new masonry block building (the current canteen) was built in Archie’s honour. Through the help of grants, fundraising, community support and donations as well as the tireless efforts of past members and also the current members, the pony club has achieved many great accomplishments by way of equipment, buildings and facilities and of course producing quality riders of all levels. Life Members
Archie Gordon Henry Sullivan
Wally Phillips 1995 Tom Mauloni 2001
Dianne Mauloni 2001 Max Neale 2002
Rhonda Mayocchi 2013
Clarry McDermid 2022
Janelle McDermid 2022
Former Club Patron - George Perkins
Club Patron as of 2022 - Max Neale
