The Pony Club - Endurance

🌟 𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 – 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗕𝗬 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗠 🌟

From crossing the sea to every single competition… to producing her own young pony from scratch… to winning multiple national awards… 12-year-old 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 is the perfect reminder of what makes our sport so special. 💚

This season, Alice and her New Forest mare Pumpkin (aka Ashley Kate) achieved something extraordinary:

🏆 Junior Championship – Merrie Trophy
🏆 Reserve Zarpa Trophy
🏆 Snowflake Trophy
🏆 Pony Club Intermediate League Champion
🏆 Young Volunteer of the Year

Not bad for a combination who only started endurance in 2022 — and who begin every ride with a 𝘁𝘄𝗼-𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽 just to reach the mainland! 🚢🐴

Alice’s story is full of the courage, kindness, and community spirit we see throughout endurance. She’s produced Pumpkin herself, navigated the challenges of training on the Isle of Wight, thrown herself into volunteering at rides, and inspired other Pony Club members to give endurance a go.

And the best part?
✨ She wants more young riders to join her.
✨ She believes endurance is for everyone.
✨ And her message to newcomers is simple:
“𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 — 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.”

Whether you're a Pony Club member looking for something new, a young rider dreaming of bigger challenges, or a parent searching for a friendly, welfare-focused discipline… Alice’s journey shows exactly how rewarding endurance can be.

📖 Read Alice’s full story on our website to discover how far a young rider and a small chestnut pony can go — with determination, family support, and a community cheering them on.

👉 https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/NEWS/News/Junior+Champion+Spotlight+Alice+Critchison++A+Young+Rider+Making+Waves+Across+Land+Sea+and+Endur

💚 Endurance GB – the sport that suits every rider, every pony, every adventure.

Photo kindly provided by LRG Photography.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Volunteers needed! ⭐⭐ ⭐
The Endurance Fun Ride is happening once again at the JCB Pony Club Championships on Sunday 10th August, Offchurch Bury CV33 9AW.
These events cannot run without the help from our army of volunteers.
If you can spare sometime from 12:30 - 6pm on Sunday 10th to be a crossing or starting steward for the fun ride, please sign up on our volunteer database, Rosterfy.
https://pcuk.org/championships-volunteers/ -and-sign-up

For those wanting to take part in the ride itself - it is open to ALL (including non PC Members) and is a 5km off-road loop around the Championships venue. Entries are still open till 1st August.

Championships Volunteers | The Pony Club UK Can you spare any time to volunteer at our National Championships? We have a variety of roles available, so there is something for everyone!

Pony Club Members - remember to enter the Endurance Relays class at Cirencester!

Last few days to enter Cirencester ride before late entry fees kick in. Home of the Inter-Regional Championships, a Regional Qualifier for National Championships and offering a staggering 43 different classes and distances from 16km PR to 162km CER, there really is something for everyone here over the weekend. Camping and corralling available, on site showers, catering and licensed bar on site. To all our friends in The Pony Club - Endurance and Pony Club , note that this event is hosting our of our innovative 'Pony Club Relay Rides' giving younger members a chance to experience our discipline as part of a team event. Full details on all aspects of this event can be found here https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Events/Calendar/View?id=2774 Any queries please get in touch!

Applications to Committees - Open!

The Pony Club seeks applications from Volunteers who are interested in joining the following National Committees in 2025:

➡️ The Finance and Risk Committee
➡️ The Training Committee
➡️ The Centre Membership Committee
➡️ The Safety and Welfare Committee
➡️ The Rules and Compliance Committee
➡️ The Volunteers and Officials Committee
➡️ Dressage Committee
➡️ Endurance Committee
➡️ Eventing Committee
➡️ Mounted Games Committee
➡️ Polo Committee
➡️ Polocrosse Committee
➡️ Pony Racing Committee
➡️ Show Jumping Committee
➡️ Tetrathlon Committee

The Pony Club is a Volunteer-led charity which strives to educate, enhance and enrich the lives of our 32,000 young Members through equestrianism.
If you have the time, expertise, enthusiasm and knowledge to contribute to one of our National Committees, please do apply to join them.

These committees oversee their areas of expertise or responsibility, setting and distributing policy and appropriate goals.
The Sports Committees administer all aspects of the 9 Sports supported by the Pony Club, organise competitive activities at Regional and National Pony Club events and oversee the growth and health of each Sport.

If you are interested in joining a committee, fill in the application form found here: https://pcuk.org/trustee-committee/ and return to [email protected] by 5pm on 30th April 2024.
We would love to hear from you!🙌

Youth Committee Members 🐴🗣

👀 The Pony Club is looking for co-opted Youth Member(s) to join their Sport Committees. This role is to help voice the current Members' opinions within the Pony Club Sports and work alongside the current Committee Members and wider Coordinator groups to develop and grow the Sport.🔍

The Dressage, Polocrosse, Show Jumping, Endurance and Horsemanship Committees are looking for someone who is:
👉 Aged between 16 and 25 years old,
👉 A current Pony Club Member,
👉 Regularly involved with Pony Club training events and competitions for the relevant sport,
👉 Happy to attend circa. four meetings a year, these could be online or in person,
👉 Happy to get involved with helping run training and competitions and other activities undertaken by the committee/coordinators group,
👉 Happy to contribute ideas to the development and growth of the sport.

Why should you join?

This brilliant opportunity gives you a chance to help shape your Sport of interest in The Pony Club, plus it gives you the opportunity to grow and develop your skills whilst working alongside a committee of likeminded individuals.
You will build relationships and friendships along the way as well as learn all about how the organisation operates. Plus, it's great for your CV!😍

We'd love to hear from you!
➡️ Please apply using the form at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/t9e2XpN1hQ 🔗

⭐THE PONY CLUB ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS⭐

📆When: Sunday 20th August
📍Where: Well Vale, Lincolnshire
⏱Classes: Grassroots 20km, Novice 32km, Intermediate 40km, Open 52km
📣Qualification requirements:
▪️ Grassroots = none, open to all Pony Club members*
▪️ Novice/Intermediate/Open = Two rides of or over 20km at 8-12kph/30km at 8-13kph/40km at 10-15kph
📨Entries to be made at: https://www.endurancegb.co.uk/Events/Calendar/View?id=2074
⏰Entries close: 8th August

Competitors are invited to arrive the day before to enjoy a Games night on Saturday, before riding through the beautiful Well Vale estate on the Sunday. The Pony Club Endurance Championships are sponsored by our sponsor Equisafety.

*The Grassroots class is open to every Pony Club member over the age of 8 wanting to have a go at Endurance, so come along and see what it's all about!

Please send all enquiries to [email protected]

📣Calling all Hacking Challenge members 📣

🐎Reminder to get your trackers submitted by noon on Friday 30th to be featured in the June leader boards, as well as to get your Equisafety prize! Remind fellow members to get their trackers in too to boost your Branch or Centre's ranking on the Branch/Centre leader board!

📝Trackers can be submitted online at: https://events.pcuk.org/the-great-pony-club-hacking-challenege-completer
📧If you have any issues, please send them to [email protected]

⭐Please note, only Pony Club Trackers will be accepted. Please don't submit any screenshots from apps. These can be downloaded here: https://pcuk.org/sports/endurance/the-great-pony-club-hacking-challenge/

Remember to get your entries in for Lavenham 😍

⭐️Pony Club Endurance Regionals are BACK!⭐️
EGB rides at Boconnoc, Polesden Lacey Endurance, Lavenham, Dialstone, Coloured Cob and Hexham are all hosting Pony Club classes, so get your entries in now!
New for 2023:
📝All entry is through EGB, so no need to pre-enter through Pony Club.
🐎No qualification needed - the Pony Club classes are the perfect class to enter if you have never done Endurance before!

How to enter:
🆓Membership to EGB for Pony Club members is FREE! Simply sign up as a Club Member, and then enter the Pony Club classes.
✅For existing EGB members - you will still receive a grading in the Pony Club classes!

⏰Remember, entries close approx. 2 weeks before the competition date. Polesden Lacey are waiving the late entry fee for Pony Club classes so there is still time to enter. All rides information can be found at: https://pcuk.org/sports/endurance/competitions-and-events/endurance-regionals/

Any queries, please email [email protected]

⭐️Member success at Royal Windsor Horse Show⭐️
Huge congratulations to Alex Powell, a member of the Brecon and Talybont Branch who completed her first 100km CEI Endurance ride at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Alex, who's only 13, and Hope managed to secure 9th place and completed with an average speed of 16.1km/h despite the wet and muddy conditions - wow! 🥳

Only two years ago, Alex competed in The Pony Club Endurance Intermediate Championships, so has progressed incredibly in such a short space of time. Pony Club really does create well rounded riders, as the next day, Alex competed not one, but TWO other horses in a ODE! 🤩

If you have any Endurance stories you'd like us to share, please email [email protected]

Photo - Trevor Meeks