Pony club season is in full swing and a host of Walcha riders are set to put their best feet forward in the southern Zone 13 competitions.
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Guyra and Bundarra have hosted their competition days with Uralla’s this weekend, followed by Kingstown and Armidale, before Walcha’s on December 3.
Like all junior sports experience, Walcha Pony Club are undergoing a rebuilding stage with young members coming through the ranks.
“Everything comes in waves,” president Annyka Overton said.
“We had a lot of years there where we had five or six families with three kids, so five years ago we had huge numbers of older riders and associates because of all these families but the last ones are in year 12, so we are right back down to the little guys. Give us another five years and they will be older ones.”
Overton said joining the pony club is the perfect way for young riders to experience different disciplines, including showjumping, which was re-introduced into Zone events last year.
“It is good to keep the pony club thing alive because there is so much more they can get within the actual rally days,” she said.
“It gives everyone a bit of an opportunity and it is not expensive. Official stuff is getting crazy expensive, whereas pony club we can still go afford to go out.
“It is surprising how much fun it [jumping] is. A lot of kids have this idea that they'll fall off and it is scary but once they get going they realise it is a tonne of fun.”