Do I want to go to this rally? Can I fit this rally into my schedule? Am I qualified to go to this rally? Can I afford to attend this rally? Do I have the time to prepare for this rally? Do I have a horse to available for me to ride at this rally? Do I have transportation for me and my horse to get to and from the rally? Do I have a place to stay once at the rally?

Get organized! Take care of your finances Get you and your horse fit Decide: Will I be a mounted competitor or horse manager? Consult more experienced club members about the mile long to do list Everything that will be used during the rally MUST BE LABELED! It is also a good idea to read over the Show Jumping and Dressage rule books

The unmounted competing member of the team (one per team is required) The Horse Manager’s job is to be the extra helping hand of the team Responsible for making sure that the team is organized and presentable (before, during, and after the rally) AKA: SM

You can’t put a price on the fun and great times one will get to experience at a Pony Club rally…but you can put a price on pretty much everything else…  Mounted Competitor: $90-$110 or more per rally (entry fees, stabling fees, hotel/camping fees for competitor, gas and possible trailering fees)  The total fees for a Pony Clubbers’ first rally will usually cost more (tack, horse, show clothes, Foxwood polo, paddock boots and/or tall show boots ect.) Note: parents, don’t panic, remember, many things needed for a rally that you cannot afford/acquire can always be borrowed if need be! Also, remember, when in doubt go to EBay!!

 Horse Manager: $45-$55 or more per rally (same as a mounted competitor, minus the stabling fees and horse transportation)  All Competitors: for every Pony Club rally will need their club polo, Pony Club pin, and a pair of sturdy paddock boots for minimum attire

 There is a lot of preparation required in the getting ready for any rally – one day or four days (for basics, see hand out) The list may seem to be endless, but be strong, take a deep breath, and put your nose to the grind stone, we’ll all get through this together and have a great time along the way!  If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask, DON’T BE SHY!

Double and triple check your own personal list of stuff (the team will get penalty points if anything needed is missing, so be responsible and do your part!) It is a good idea if your are a team captain or even the horse manager, to take the time to contact the other team members and remind them about what they might’ve been assigned to bring team kit wise a few days before the rally (see kits list for details). Double check that you have transportation for you and your horse to get there and back (you must provide appropriate travel bandaging for your horse, which can be borrowed if need be) Finally, the journey to Mega Rally will be fairly long, so make sure that if you are trailering horses, to take frequent rest stops so that you can check up on the horses to make sure that there are no problems and that they have plenty of hay and are comfortable.

 Upon arrival, there will be a lot of kayos consisting of both the two and four legged kind  Your first and top priority will be and always is the care and comfort of the horses  List of things to do:  - stall set up (ask members for proper procedures)  - unload and unwrap the legs of horses  - stuff for feed and tack stalls will be placed in appropriate areas but are not allowed to be properly set up until the next day with the rally officially starts  Note: Upon the start of the first day of any Pony Club rally, there are strict regulations and restrictions regarding the interaction of competitors and parents…

o To do list cont… o - Once all that is done, the horses will be fed and watered for the night and final touches such as sweeping/raking the barn isle are to be made o - By this time, it is usually pretty late at night, so with the horses stalled and comfortable for the night and everything accounted for to be set up the next day. We all go ahead and retire to wherever we shall be staying for the next few days (usually a hotel, campsite, or sometimes at a fellow Pony Clubbers residence)

Before any riding takes place, horses must be insured that they are sound enough to compete, this is done through the process of a jog-out  Procedure -horse and rider will line up in the designated area and walk in the waiting arena until they are called -Once called up, the rider will trot their horse in hand while jogging beside them. -If a horse is lame, the rhythm in which the horses legs move while they trot will be uneven

 Proper Attire: -Rider: Club polo, ASTM/SEI helmet, gloves, riding crop, riding pants/kakis, and clean sturdy paddock boots -Horse: Only has to wear a bridle (cleaned and well oiled w/ clean bit) and should be groomed to the standards of the competitors’ rating

 Once every rally, a HM judge will come to every team and ask a competitor to show them items from a kit (of judges choice) and explain it’s usage  During this time, the HM judge may also inspect feed and tack stall

o The purpose of formals is to assure safety and neat attire appropriate for formal competition riding at you rating o Formals take place one hour before a competitor’s designated ride time o A formal inspector will check horse and rider for safety and cleanliness of horse, tack, and rider’s attire according to the standards of their rating o There are penalties given for offences such as unclean tack, loose stitching, missing Pony Club pin, dirty horse, improper attire, ect. o Lateness to your assigned formal time (even by one minute-the HM judges securitize their watches) will result in 5 horse management penalty points, plus 1 for every minute after

Black ASTM/SEI helmet Black or brown gloves-white for dressage only (optional) Long sleeve white shirt w/ neckband collar Black tall boots or black paddock boots with half chaps White stock tie with plain stock pin Solid black, navy blue, or grey hunt coats (no pinstripes) White, buff, canary, or tan breeches (jodhpurs for young children)

Turn back inspection takes place one hour after your ride time During the time between ride and inspection, you and your team mates work together to make sure that: -Horse is clean (cooled off and free of all sweat marks and hooves picked out) -tack is clean (free of jockeys and bit clean of rust and saliva debris) -Saddle blanket clean of all loose hairs -Boots dusted off and polished

 The actual inspection: -You will be judged on how clean your tack, saddle pad, and boots are. -How well your horse is cooled off and groomed (judges can tell the difference between the textures of sweat and water, so you can’t fool them) The purpose of turn back inspection is to make sure that both horse and tack are properly taken care of after your ride

 For overall team scores and horse management scores, ribbons are handed out for every place and there is one for each member of every team  At Mega Rally, awards are given out for: -Horse Management (Top team score is given the golden pitchfork) -Overall Team Score -High Point Individual Score -Sportsmanship Award

When packing everything back up again, it is important that no one forgets anything (the high chance of loosing stuff is why it is important that everything is labeled). Also, that the property on which the competition was held is to be left in as good, if not better condition than when you arrived.

In conclusion, with all this info in mind, ask yourself the same questions seen on the second slide. If you can answer yes to all of those questions, I hope to see you at Mega Rally this year!