LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT What a difference a year makes! Last year, due to COVID-19, Pony Club’s activities were curtailed, postponed, or modified considerably. One of the 2020 casualties was the always-popular Pony Club Festival in Lexington. Well, I am so happy to report that this past July, at the spectacular Kentucky Horse Park, The United States Pony Clubs produced what has to be considered one of the best Festivals ever! Hosting National Championships in eight disciplines, the Horse Park was abuzz with action-packed competitions, drawing competitors from as far away as Hawaii. Following the Championships, the Pony Club team, comprised of exceptional volunteers and staff, put together an amazing array of educational programs, seminars, camps, and activities, again attracting participants from throughout the USPC Regions, including one participant from the St. Croix Pony Club in the U. S. Virgin Islands. It was both an honor and terrific fun to be able to attend and participate in the 2021 Festival. At every turn, the Pony Club spirit was evident, and very rewarding to see. The legions of volunteers who give selflessly of their time and expertise make the Festival a reality. Jump judges, umpires, ring crews, announcers, scribes, parking monitors, quiz assistants, goaltenders, safety personnel, cooks, drivers, stabling assistants, office workers, scorers…the list goes on and on. Our Pony Club competitors and participants have much to appreciate, when one considers the volunteer army that makes such an event possible. Then there is the remarkable, dedicated, and skilled Pony Club National Office staff. The coordination required for an undertaking such as the Festival is phenomenal. Making sure that there are sufficient supplies and volunteer staff, timing events so that there is no inadvertent conflict of space or equipment needs, lining up the legions of volunteers for competitions and educational programs alike, manning the ever-popular Shop Pony Club store, soliciting countless sponsors and trade show participants, making sure entries are complete and reflect appropriate qualifying requirements, creating educational program schedules that allow for maximum participation…this list goes on and on as well. I am so very proud and appreciative of both our National Staff and the hundreds of volunteers that continually make Pony Club the most exceptional educational opportunity in the United States.
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DISCOVER USPC
Summer 2021
