The Pony Club celebrate its 90th Anniversary at the Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing (2-4 August 2019)
This year is a special year for The Pony Club celebrating its 90th Anniversary, and the Magic Millions Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park is the perfect place to host this occasion as it is the home of The Pony Club Patron, HRH The Princess Royal. The Pony Club internationally has organised a ‘Ride Around the World’, which sees 90th Birthday celebrations on Saturday 3rd August in 27 different countries, starting in Australia, the home of the event’s title sponsor Thoroughbred Auction house, Magic Millions.
The Pony Club was formed in 1929 and is the fourth biggest youth organisation in the UK with near 40,000 members and the biggest equestrian youth organisation in the world. It is dedicated to teaching young people to ride, care for horses and to develop into well rounded members of society. The Pony Club has also helped produce the overwhelming majority of leading international riders, both past and present – 11 out of 12 riders for the UK Olympic team in Rio were Pony Club graduates.
In the UK, Pony Clubs around the country are organising their own celebrations, with the pinnacle taking place at The Festival at 3.00pm on Saturday 3rd August with a mounted parade in the main arena in front of HRH The Princess Royal. The children will be representing 42 different Pony Clubs, from eight different areas from as far afield as Devon, Wales and Warwickshire, as well as the local Pony Clubs of Gloucestershire. The parade will take place to the sound of a specially composed piece of music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, himself a keen supporter of The Pony Club with his wife, Lady Lloyd Webber, its current President.
The Pony Club has a long history with The Festival with local members ‘slip collecting’ on the cross country course over the weekend (collecting the score tickets from the fence judges and taking them to the central scoring team); providing entertainment in the main arena with mounted games and Pony Club showjumping; several Pony Club members will also take part in the Dodson & Horrell Arena Eventing which takes place on Sunday; and, many of the top riders competing in the Magic Millions British Open will have also been Pony Club members themselves.
“When I was asked if The Festival would be able to host a celebration to mark The Pony Club’s 90th Anniversary, I jumped at the chance. Having been in The Pony Club myself, along with Zara, we know just how important it can be in the lives of young pony mad children. As well as offering education it is also a great organisation for friendship and social interaction, especially in today’s tech heavy world. I am looking forward to seeing what The Pony Club has planned for the main arena and being part of the bigger global celebration,” commented Peter Phillips, Event Director.
To find out more about Ride Around The World visit http://bit.ly/PC_RideAroundTheWorld or search on social media under the hashtag #PonyClubWorldRide
As well as this celebration and the showjumping phase of the competition, the main arena will also host plenty of exciting competitions and entertainment over the weekend including:
- the Shetland Pony Grand National
- the Pony Club Mounted Games
- a Parade of the Duke of Beaufort Hounds
- Ye Olde Redtail Falconry Display
- and the Military Tug of War
With five British Championships including the Magic Millions British Open Championship; the Smith & Williamson British Intermediate Championship, the Dodson & Horrell British Novice Championship, the TopSpec Challenge for the Corinthian Cup and the RoR/NTF Retrained Racehorse Championship taking place, there is so much for the eventing fan. There are also a host of fabulous trade stands to browse around, the Rural Crafts marquee and the Festival Food Walk to make your Festival experience even more enjoyable.
When buying your tickets don’t forget you can also bring your caravan and stay on site, so you don’t miss a moment of the action.
To purchase your tickets including the Hamptons International Garden Club membership and to pre book your table for lunch or afternoon tea visit www.festivalofbritisheventing.com
Advanced ticket offers are available until the end of July, so don’t delay!
