Home / Equestrian sports / Mounted games
Team games on horseback
Mounted games are fast relay races on ponies: riders pick objects off the ground, weave through poles and pass items to teammates. They are one of the most fun team sports for children and teens.
| Group | Team games on horseback |
|---|---|
| Also called | Pony Club mounted games, gymkhana games, Prince Philip Cup games |
| Olympic | no |
| Governing body | International Mounted Games Association (IMGA) |
| Where it is popular | Mounted games were born in Britain and are very popular in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The international association has members in 22 countries on five continents, including France, Belgium, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Canada. |
A team usually has five riders and ponies, and four of them race in each game. There are about 27 different games, such as swapping bottles, dropping items into buckets, popping balloons or carrying cartons. There are team, pairs and individual competitions. Teams earn points in each race, and the winner is decided by the combined total.
Ponies up to 152 cm (15 hands) are used, because it is easier to reach the ground and vault on and off a smaller pony. A good games pony is agile, calm and not afraid of noisy objects.
Riders must wear a safety helmet with the chinstrap fastened, and a body protector is often required for training. The last rider in each team wears a contrasting hat band so judges and spectators can see who is finishing.
The best-known event is the Pony Club's Prince Philip Cup, with its final at the Horse of the Year Show in October. The IMGA holds yearly world and European championships, including team, pairs and individual events.
Children can start at a Pony Club or a riding club with youth groups, where beginners first compete at walk and trot. A secure seat comes first, and games are always played in a helmet on a calm, well-trained pony.
The relays with objects and pole weaving from mounted games are easy to recreate on hobby horses and are a close cousin of hobby horsing speed races. What is hobby horsing →
Mounted games were inspired by Prince Philip as a sport for children without expensive ponies, and the first Prince Philip Cup was held in London in 1957.
Sources: 4everland.io, en.wikipedia.org, ponyclub.org, theirishfield.ie