Loudoun Hunt

LHPC Rally Team Information

General Rally Information

Rallies are Pony Club events that allow members to test their knowledge and skills in both horse care and riding in a fun, cooperative, but also competitive, team atmosphere. Rallies can be offered in various formats. They can be rallies (qualifying and non-qualifying) administered by the Region with Clubs and Centers sending teams to compete or small events where one club or center holds a competition.

Pony Club values teach independence and teamwork. This means that parents, coaches, and chaperones are not allowed in the barn area to allow the members to compete independently. Members work with their teammates under the supervision of Horse Management Judges. These are trained volunteers who are available to answer questions, do safety checks, and to judge and score the teams on their overall organization and horse care skills.

In all disciplines members compete as part of a team. Teams may be of mixed ages and skill levels. To ensure that competition is fair, members are judged based on their certification level. Each team in Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, and Polocrosse has 4-5 members with a Team Captain as well as a Stable Manager. Team Captains are responsible for representing the team in all official matters, while Stable Managers are in charge of coordinating the team schedule. As a team, members work together to ensure that each horse and rider is properly turned out and prepared to compete to the best of their abilities.

If you have questions about the role of the stable manager, please click here.

Mounted Rallies may revolve around a specific discipline such as eventing or dressage, while others may be designed to work with members that have attained a certain certification, such as D-2 or D-3. Dressage, eventing and show jumping are usually two day Rallies which require your horse to stay overnight in the barn. Also some two day Rallies are not local and you may have to stay at a hotel. However, Rallies are not always mounted events.

Quiz Rallies are slightly different. Quiz Rally is a great Rally for new members. Team members are unmounted and are tested on their equine knowledge in four separate phases. In some phases members may collaborate to answer a question and in others, they must answer individually. Topics range from horse care to horse sports to general equine knowledge and can offer a hands-on component.

No matter the type of Rally, you can be assured it will be a learning experience!

Rally Dates

Rally Dates for the current year can be found in the Calendar.

Rally Participant Forms

Approximately six weeks before the rally date, the Club Rally Coordinator will receive the Rally invitation and forward to the Club membership with additional information for the specific Rally. Entries are made electronically using the entry forms attached to the VRPC calendar and followed up with mailed checks, payment invoices, and other paperwork. To download a specific Rally invitation and entry forms, please open the Calendar and navigate to the desired date. District Commissioners must approve each horse/rider combination for safety prior to a member's acceptance to compete at that Rally.

The paper work required is basically the same for all Rallies and includes the following:

One Current Negative Coggins for Competing Mount (for all rallies except Quiz and Horseless)

An additional release form may be required for the specific site of a Rally. The Club Rally Coordinator will advise and provide the release form, if this is needed.

Checks for rally entries should be made out to VRPC with the rally name noted on the check and mailed or you may pay on-line when you enter and a copy of your invoice provided to the Cub Rally Coordinator. All completed forms, invoices, and checks should be sent to LHPC Rally Coordinator. See your Pony Club roster for contact information.

Teams

Most mounted Rally teams usually consist of 3 (short team) or 4 (full team) members and a stable manager. Once the closing date for the Rally has passed, the DC will form the teams and select the Captain based on the Club members that have registered for the Rally. Sometimes there are too many or not enough members to form either a short or full team. The members can go to Rally as a scrambler and will be placed on a team with members of another Club or Center. Being on a scramble team is a great way to get to know members from other Clubs or Centers.

Volunteers

A parent or parents of each competitor is strongly encouraged to volunteer at Rallies. The Region requires each team provide at least three parent volunteers for each Rally.

The Club Rally Coordinator will contact parents concerning specific volunteer opportunities at each Rally.

Chaperone Rules and Duties

If you want to be the team Chaperone, please read and sign a copy of the Chaperone form and return with your Pony Club member’s Rally paperwork. Chaperones can volunteer for other Rally jobs as well as being a Chaperone.

A list of chaperone rules and duties is available on the United States Pony Club Forms page.

Rally Prep/Checklist

Click here to download the Rally Prep Checklist.

USPC Championships

What are Championships?

Each year Pony Club offers Championship competitions in seven disciplines; Dressage, Eventing, Show Jumping, Games, Polocrosse, Tetrathlon, and Quiz (non-riding, knowledge based competition). Championships generally follow the same format as a Qualifying Rally. Members compete as part of a team and are judged on riding abilities as well as horse management skills. USPC Championships are the largest Rallies ever.

Championships, held at locations in the East, Central, or West, bring together hundreds of members each year. Every third year Championships along with an education experience called Festival will be held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. All Pony Club members must qualify to compete at USPC Championships. Championships teams are formed with members from different Clubs and Centers throughout each Region and sometimes other Regions. Competing as part of a team teaches members the importance of working together, cooperation, respect for others, and communication. This allows all Pony Club members to have a positive experience at Championships, creating life-long friendships.

Pony Club members, their parents, coaches, volunteers, friends, and siblings all have activities to see and do while in attendance. Championships are a time of excitement as friends are made, goals are met, and awards are given. With seven disciplines running over several days and a trade fair with many equine vendors, there is something at Championships for everyone.

Those wishing to compete in the Championships will need to qualify in Virginia Region's Qualifying rallies. Check with your DC or check the VRPC website at http://vrponyclub.org/Championships for qualifying information.