The Midwest Region of the United States Pony Club held its annual “Mega Rally” June 18-20 at William Woods University. This was the fifth year for WWU to host the competition.

A “Mega Rally” is an event in which teams of horses and riders compete in the disciplines of show jumping, dressage, eventing and tetrathlon (swimming, riding and marksmanship). This year, Western dressage and trail riding were added.

The Midwest Region includes all or parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and the Dakotas. About 85 competitors from these states were in attendance, vying to qualify for the Pony Club Festival competition in mid-July at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. The festival is considered a National Championship competition.

“A Pony Club Rally, unlike a regular horse show, gives pony club members the opportunity to compete as part of a team. Members work together to earn awards in their chosen riding disciplines, and in horse management,” Melissa Purvis, administrative assistant in the WWU equestrian division and secretary of the local club, Hinkson Valley Pony Club, stated in a press release.

“Although some of the teams will be made of team mates from the same club, many of the teams are ‘scramble teams,’ composed of team mates who have never met or worked together before the rally.”

Pony Club differs from other competitions because the members are judged on their horse management skills, as well as their riding.

Article from the Fulton Sun newspaper