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The excitement of doing gymkhana games during a lesson often obscures the fact that many valuable skills are learnt during these exercises. In general control of the horse and of oneself in the saddle is an added benefit of learning to play these games. Of course the fact that the culmination of learning these skills will bring the pupils prizes in Gymkhana Shows, is beside the point. Everyone whether they are adults or children enjoy playing and in many cases the horses and ponies also enjoy it to the extent that they can get carried away in the excitement. Never have so many falls’ been recorder in one place, as at a Pony Club rally where games are being held. Gymkhana Games are an important facet of schooling and in fact most countries have the National Pony Club Games, which is a prestigious title for any Club to hold. Below are some of the games that you can teach your pupils and the skills they will acquire when playing each one.
Bending Poles are one of the most common races today. A line of about four or five poles are set up, and the horse and riders have to weave in and out of them as fast as they can, turn round the last one, and bend back to the finish line. This can be played in teams as a relay race and the first team all home wins. If they miss bending round a pole they have to go back and do it again, the only penalty they incur is wasting time. This teaches the pupil to control his mount, as well as turning. Obviously the faster they go the harder it is, so if you have beginner riders get them to do this at a walk and a trot.
The Egg and Spoon race is another favorite. The participants each get an egg on a spoon and have to go from the start to the other end (usually around the last bending pole), and back as fast as they can without dropping the egg. It is often played with potatoes instead as they don’t break when landing on the floor, but beware of horses that eat anything. A child dissolved into tears at a pony club meet when his little skewbald ate his race paraphernalia after it landed on the floor! This is a wonderful event for teaching beginners to sit quietly on horseback and though the pony may be moving their seat moves fluidly with that of the horse. It is also an ideal exercise for riders with a ‘hot seat’ as they learn to sit still.
A popular race is the Walk, Trot, Canter, and Lead Race. During this race the riders walk from the start to a predetermined point. They then turn and trot back, to the start, where they turn again, canter to the same point as before, dismount and lead their horses back to the finish line. If they trot when they are meant to be walking they must turn a small circle. In this race they learn to encourage their mounts to ‘extend’ (throwing their legs out), their gait, while maintaining their pace.
A race, which will teach them to mount, dismount, and maintain control is Gretna-Green. What they do here is race from the starting point, dismount. While holding their ponies, they must put on a shirt (preferably button up), as well as a large pair of pants, remount, and get to the finish line. Great fun especially if you are picky about what buttons are done up and what aren’t.
A favorite among pony clubbers is the Pairs race. One rider starts on the pony, goes as fast as they can to the other side, where a partner waits. They then help the partner mount and get back to the finish line as fast as possible. Beware of this one as a number of falls are to be expected, as they help each other up. A variation of this is to have one start the race, dismount at the other end, and the partner has to mount and race back with no help from the dismounted rider. This is often a difficult thing to do on an excited pony, and can be especially fun when the game is played bareback. They will learn how to mount and dismount as well as how to work as a team.
The Sack Race is played the following way: they all line up at the start, and gallop to the opposite side where sacks are waiting for them. They dismount, jump into the sacks and hop back to the finish line. The first one home wins, and surprisingly this race is often the longest as ponies play up because the person leading them is jumping up and down and unsettling them. It took me three years to learn to put my feet into the corners and run!
Apple Bobbing is a firm favorite among the more sadistic race organizers. The ponies line up with their riders on one side. At the start the go as fast as they can to the opposite side, where the rider has to dismount, take off his hat and stick his head into a bucket full of water and apples. He has to get an apple into his mouth, without using his hands, and once he has one, he has to replace his hat, remount, and head for the finish, still holding his apple in his mouth. I still don’t know what you learn, but it’s fun to watch and at least the horse gets a well-deserved apple in the end!
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