Erin Tallarico gives Olney Quick Draw McGraw, owned by Imogen Weaver, a pre-race kiss before her daughter, Libby Tallarico, mounts up for a Howard County pony race in 2021. Photo credit: Robert Keller
Racing over fences is back in full force this spring with longstanding events joined by a few new dates on the racing calendar. In most cases, both point to point races and National Steeplechase Association sanctioned steeplechases include races for junior riders on horses and ponies.
“They are in a lot of places this year. We’re pretty excited that a lot of race meets have decided that pony racing adds something fun and exciting to their event. And people like them,” Alissa Norman, director for the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation said.
The goal of the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation is to get young riders interested in racing to build the pool of future jockeys.
“Whatever we can do to give young riders a chance to be in a racing environment is our goal. We’d like to get them some experience and some enthusiasm for racing so this is something they want to do when they grow up,” Norman said. “There’s a decent crop of American jockeys right now, but a lot of our jockeys are Irish and English simply because we don’t have enough people who want to be a professional jump jockey. We need to grow the field of jockeys and the most fun way to do that is to start when you’re a kid, racing ponies.”
There are many benefits to getting young riders interested in racing at an early age. Pony racing is another way to get young riders out of the ring and into the countryside where they are faced with a new set of riding challenges that require new skills.
“Fox hunting and pony racing, hunter paces, trail riding and paper chases; all of these things are so good for kids because it’s not always just round and round in circles. You’re not always on flat ground. You need to know how to control your pony in all situations,” Norman said. “Yes, pony racing is fast and probably a little scary for the kids, but especially for the kids who like the adrenalin rush it’s right up their alley. They do have to have control of their ponies, they need to know how to steer, they need to be able to pull their pony up, they need to be able to control their pony at the start when everything’s all exciting and the ponies are raring to go. They need to have control, and this is a nice way to teach them that.”
Looking at a pony race program you may find familiar family names. Often the pony riders come from racing families, where racing is a familiar experience. Norman points out that pony racing is not for every child. She has observed that the interest seems to rise and fall in waves as one crop of riders ages out and new faces come in. At a recent clinic it appeared to her that about half of the riders were new, which is very encouraging.
“There’s new blood and that’s exciting,” Norman said. “Maybe they’ve done Pony Club, or they think it’s fun. If your kid thinks the show ring is a little uptight and boring, pony racing is not uptight and boring. Then there are the kids who can do both.”
There is a wide variety of ways for the racing community to involve youngsters. It can begin with the very youngest children in lead line races where the deciding factor in the victory often is the speed of the person leading the pony.
Racing quickly becomes more serious as the riders move up to pony races on the flat. The race distances typically increase with either the pony size or the rider age, depending on the race condition book.
Some meets offer racing over fences in either a shortened and lowered course or in the field master’s chase format, which follows traditions from the hunting field. The entries must follow a field master, who takes them through the course of low fences. Passing the field master could be cause for disqualification, or a penalty to drop to the back of the pack. The riders must demonstrate good hunting protocol, typically following in a pack. The riders’ goal is to jump well, follow at the pace set by the field master and remain in good position until reaching the final stage of the race. Here the field master pulls aside and lets the field turn their attention to racing for the finish line.
For older riders mounted on horses, the flat race distances are longer, sometimes with separate divisions for Thoroughbreds and non-Thoroughbreds so that the children mounted on former racehorses and those on horses with no racing experience will each hopefully have a competitive field.
At the other end of the size spectrum there are sometimes specialized races for Shetland ponies. These may be run on the flat or cross country over small pony sized, national type fences, or the races can be staged inside any large arena.
“Some race meets have the little jumps so they can do the junior field master chase. Some events don’t have the fences available to do that, so they have flat races,” Norman said.
Good competition is key to encouraging the young riders. Neither a hollow victory nor a distanced loss in a lopsided race is very good for any of the riders. The thrill of a head-to-head gallop is what makes racing so exciting for everyone.
Each race meet decides which type of pony races to include on their card. Sometimes the selection is based on tradition, while other events make their decision after considering the interest among hunt members and their families. They also consider the popularity of pony races with their spectators.
“There’s nothing cuter than kids on ponies,” Norman said. “The attraction of steeplechasing is to have a lovely day out in the country, with something fun to watch. You get to watch the show, hopefully on a beautiful sunny day, with your friends out in the countryside.”
For those with a young rider interested in trying their hand at racing, there are a wide selection of possibilities. This spring’s pony races, as compiled by the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation are listed below:
April 3; Green Spring Valley Hounds Point to Point; Cockeysville, MD; pony flat races and Junior Field Masters Chase.
April 3; Brandywine Hills Point to Point Races, Northbrook, PA.; pony flat races, Leadline trot races and Junior Field Masters Chase.
April 9; Elkridge-Harford Hunt Point to Point Races, Monkton, MD; pony flat races and Junior Field Masters Chase.
April 9; Old Dominion Hounds Point to Point, Washington, VA; Young Rider Flat Race.
April 10; Mount Harmon Wicomico Hunt Point to Point Races, Earleville, MD; Pony flat races, Leadline trot races.
April 16; Mini Manor Lead Line Trot Races, Monkton, MD, Leadline trot races.
April 17; Blue Ridge Hunt Point to Point, Berryville, VA; Young Rider Flat Race.
April 24; Loudoun Hunt Point to Point, Leesburg, VA; Pony Flat Races (entries at U.S. Pony Racing) and Young Rider Flat Race
May 7; Howard County Cup Races, Brookeville, MD; Shetland flat races, Junior Field Master’s Chase and Leadline trot race.
May 8; Winterthur Point to Point, Winterthur, DE; Small and Large Pony flat races. (entries at the Winterthur website)
May 14; Willowdale Steeplechases, Kennett Square, PA; Pony and Young Rider flat races.
May 15; Potomac Hunt Races, Seneca, MD: pony and junior rider flat races. Conditions and entries for these events can be made at the Central Entry Office.
May 29 and 30; WHS Shetland Pony Championship; Devon Horse Show, Devon, PA; Shetland Pony Steeplechases.
June TBD; Chasin’ for Children Pony Racing, Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, MD; Pony flat races.
Conditions and entries for these events can be found at U.S. Pony Racing.
The Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation offers a wide variety of educational programs to help young riders get involved in racing over fences including clinics, camps, trips and awards programs. For more information, visit tgsteeplechasefoundation.org.