Making Dreams Come True – the Prince Philip Cup Qualifiers

Four Pony Club teams now confirmed for the Prince Philip Cup Final at HOYS. Through to the final so far is: Romney Marsh, Oakley Hunt West, West Hants and Eglinton Hunt. Come along and support your teams! With Group Discount available for 12+ people, why not bring the whole Branch along? Secure your tickets today to avoid disappointment. Call 0844 581 8282 or visit The Ticket Factory

Qualifying for Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) in any discipline whether it’s in showing, showjumping or dressage is a great achievement, but those who qualify for the Pony Club Mounted Games Prince Philip Cup Final have had to overcome obstacles (quite literally!) to get to “The World’s Most Famous Horse Show”.
Saturday 15th of July saw the Northern Zone Qualifiers reach their climax and it was Eglinton Hunt Branch who came out on top. Any team wishing to compete in the final at HOYS has to contest qualifiers in their relevant Zone. The Zones are; Northern, Southern and two Central Zones, all of which see the teams battle it out against one another in a number of different cavalry style gymkhana games. Six teams go through to the final at HOYS; the first four are decided by the Zone qualifiers while the final two places are hotly contested at the Pony Club Championships Friday 18th – Tuesday 22nd August, where the teams which finished in 2nd-7th place in the Zone qualifiers will once again compete against each other to take the final two places in the Final at HOYS.
Competing in Pony Club Mounted Games allows members the chance to have fun with their ponies and encourages friendships which last a lifetime. Originally developed by Prince Philip, the games were designed for “ordinary children on ordinary ponies.”
Fresh from their win at the Southern Zone Qualifier, West Hants commented: “Qualifying for HOYS was a dream come true. The team are great friends and we have trained and ridden together for over eight years. The team is very lucky to be coached by Jo Morris and her daughters Kate and Annie, who have trained the team from the start.”
The Prince Philip Cup final will be held at Horse of the Year Show on Sunday 8th October in the Andrews Bowen International Arena. All qualifying teams will compete in different heats throughout the week, their totals calculated, and the winner crowned.
The teams which will be heading to the Pony Club Championships to compete for those final two places are:
Southern Zone: Poole & District, Banwen & District A, Wylye Valley, Llangeinor Hunt A, Neath, Dulverton West Foxhounds
Central Zone 1: Sir WW Wynn’s A, Staff College & Sandhurst, Bramham Moor, Pendale Forest, Sir WW Wynn’s B, Badsworth Hunt
Central Zone 2: Atherstone A, Cotswold Vale Farmers A, North Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Atherstone B, East Sussex
Northern Zone: TBC