At Pony Club nationals, the junior mounted games championship is hotly contested: The top four teams qualify to compete in the annual Prince Philip Cup at Rolex. For the second year in a row, Maryland Region’s Wild Things team—Abby Doud, Courtney Swartz, Emily Hruda, Tiffany Tharp and Jamie Glueck—are making the trip to Kentucky to defend their national title. They’ll face stiff competition from the Capital Region’s Hyperactive and Danger Zone teams, and the Maryland Region’s Frootloops. Courtney, 13, was kind enough to send us this blog from the road. If you’re attending Rolex, be sure to catch the celebrity round on Friday—trust me, you don’t want to miss it. Thanks for writing this Courtney, and thanks for reading.
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The Wild Things at the 2011 Pony Club Nationals in Kentucky. (Photo courtesy of Courtney)
Let the countdown begin! We’ve set off for Kentucky to ride in the Prince Philip Cup. Last year at Pony Club nationals, our team brought home blue ribbons in both Horse Management and Overall. Since then, we’ve gone to lots of Mounted Games Across America events and had lots of practices. We’ve created a strong friendship on and off the field.
The first day that we ride will be an eventer round where the riders that jump over big jumps will ride small games ponies. This is a very fun experience for us kids to show off our skills that we have worked very hard on to show you.
The Wild Things walking the course at Rolex 2011. (Photo courtesy of Courtney)
Mounted games is a very active sport: We run and vault on our ponies at a gallop or put a flag in a cone. This sport takes hand-eye skills and braveness. The most important thing about this sport is teamwork and friendship. If you’re going to Rolex, please come and watch us play! Make sure you cheer for the Wild Things, it will be our second year riding in this competition!
