FAQ8 What is a RALLY?
"Rally" is the pony club word for a competition; as in "Our team took 3rd place at the dressage rally last week", or "the polocrosse rally was the best rally ever!"
A rally is a Pony Club competition where teams of Pony Clubbers compete against each other. For many Pony Clubbers, competing in a rally is one of the best things about Pony Club. Except for the Quiz and Horseless Rallies, rallies are mounted competitions usually made up of teams of 3-5. All of the team members ride in the competition except one, who acts as the stable manager, helping with all the essential ground work that must be done to support the mounted competitors.
No USPC rallies are open to the general riding community; meaning, you must be a current pony club member to compete at a pony club competition. And no pony club rally may be run for profit. The competition fee is established by the club hosting the rally and that fee is to be set at a price to cover the expenses of the hosting club, not to make a profit from that fee.
During rallies, parents are not allowed to interact with their children at all. It is up to the team to pull together to take care of all the details and logistics, fostering teamwork and leadership within the Pony Club teams. In addition to the riding performance of the team members, the rally teams are also scored on horse management.
Click here to read what happens at a US Pony Club rally. Click here to read "The Order of Things At a USPC Rally".
What rallies are available in our region? There are currently 7 rallies hosted by clubs in the Delmarva region. Shore Riders does not currently host any of these competitions, although we have club members who compete at each of them. With the approval of the Shore Riders District Commissioner, our members are allowed to participate in any rally within the Delmarva Region. If a rally is not offered in a particular sport within our region, our members are allowed to attend that sport’s rally in a different region (with the approval of the Shore Riders D.C. and the Regional Supervisors of both regions). For example, there is no Mounted Games rally offered in the Delmarva region but we are regularly invited to participate in the Games rally hosted by the Eastern PA region.
There is only one rally per sport, per region; e.g. there is only ONE D level Dressage Rally, only ONE C level Show Jumping Rally, etc. For 2016 the following rallies are available to our members:
- Dressage (May, C & D level)
- Show Jumping (D2/3 – October, C/B/A – June)
- Eventing (May, C level // July, D level)
- Tetrathlon (May)
- Mounted Games (Spring, with the E.Pa. region)
- Polocrosse (Spring)
- Quiz (February)
- Horseless Rally (March)
Currently the Delmarva region does not offer a Polo or Western Reining or Western Dressage rally. With permission from our District Commission and Regional Supervisors of both regions, a member may attend a Polo or Reining rally in a different region. Click here to go to the Delmarva Regional Calendar.
Is my child required to compete in pony club rallies? No, competing is not a membership requirement. We have had members who did not compete in rallies. However, more so than any other club activity, it is at a rally where your child will learn the most about independence, confidence, teamwork, and the principals of fairness. If the lack of a trailer or mount is keeping you from competing, there are several unmounted options available: both the Quiz and Horseless rallies are unmounted rallies, and most rally teams need an ummounted stable manager, or you could volunteer to help the rally organizers on the day of the rally (they are always in need of volunteers!).
For Rally forms and additional information on Rallies go to our "Forms" page.
Below are two videos regarding USPC Rallies; The 1st shows one of our members at his 1st Turnout Inspection. And the 2nd shows the proper procedure for how to jog your mount for horse inspection.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A RALLY TURNOUT INSPECTION? What does it look like? Below is a 7 minute video showing an entire turnout inspection for one of our D2 members. (aka Formal Inspection) At every USPC mounted competition ("Rally"), before beginning to ride, the competitor must attend a Turnout Inspection. The Turnout Inspection (also referred to as "Formal Inspection", or simply "Formals") is done for several reasons, primarily to ensure the competitor meets all safety requirements and that his/her mount is fit for the activity. For the member who is competing for the first time at a Pony Club rally, this Turnout Inspection can sometimes cause concern. This is mostly due to simply not knowing what happens at a Turnout Inspection. This video shows the Turnout Inspection of one of our D2 members at a Tetrathlon rally. It is pretty typical of most turnout inspections; the examiner will check the rider's attire, the tack, and the mount and be finished in about 4 or 5 minutes.
(This video was made to show that he satisfied the requirements of the Horsemanship Boy Scout badge, which is why it shows a low course jumping round at the end.)
HOW TO JOG-OUT YOUR MOUNT (aka Horse Inspection) - see video below