‘The best sport a child could do’ – why tetrathlon builds skills for life (and might even pave your way to the Olympics)

Tetrathlon is the multi-discipline sport that encompasses swimming, running, riding and shooting, building an impressive skill set, that requires precision, fitness and athleticism, as well as horsemanship.

Children’s sport should create friendships, develop confidence, build resilience and spark the early notion of hard work and reward. But most of all, sport at this precious age should be fun. Step forward tetrathlon. What started as a sport for boys in the 1970s, has become the ultimate competition format for the true well-rounded athlete – enjoyed by the whole family.

Pony Club tetrathlon combines four disciplines: pistol shooting, swimming, running and riding. The distances and fence heights are set by age group: beanies (seven and under), tadpoles (nine and under), minimus (11 and under), junior (14 and under) and intermediate and open (25 and under). In some competitions, boys and girls compete separately, in others there are mixed gender teams at all levels.

“We probably have a higher showing of boys than we do in the other traditional Pony Club sports,” explains Alex Connors, Area 9 tetrathlon coordinator. “It was launched as a boys-only sport to keep boys interested in riding. Then over the years, girls were welcomed in, so now it’s equal.”

Pony Club tetrathlon chair Mandy Donaldson says the cross-country riding and shooting tend to draw boys in. The shooting phase – overseen by a qualified range officer – uses air pistols with lead pellets. Under-eights throw beanbags instead for this phase. And becoming a proficient swimmer is a life skill whatever avenue they end up following.

“It has a real appeal and the dads like coming along for the shooting,” says Mandy, who became chairman after her children grew up competing in the sport.

“We have dads who have become involved in volunteering and done the range officer qualification. ‘Tet’ becomes
a real family affair.”

Tetrathlon “builds an interesting skill set”

There are growing discussions around the benefits of children taking part in multi-discipline sport and this is something tetrathlon naturally promotes.

“The ultimate tetrathlete is a classic all-rounder and I think that’s part of the appeal,” says Area 5 coordinator Richard Mulcaster, who has come full circle in the sport from competitor to parent, to coach and coordinator.

“It provides a really interesting dynamic. For example, if you can score maximum points on the riding phase and you’re a really good shooter, you don’t have to be an amazing athlete.

“Very few score really high on all four phases. You might have someone who is strong at running, but not swimming – and when you think about it, the physiques of runners and swimmers don’t tend to go hand in hand. That’s why I think it’s so good for children of all levels, it welcomes everyone, the children get together and encourage each other.”

Richard adds that tet builds an interesting mixed skill set.

“When you put all four together, there’s the precision of shooting, the fitness and athleticism of running and swimming and the horsemanship of riding. I think that’s unique and that’s the broad appeal,” he says.

“You’re competing against friends, but you’re really pleased to see them do well, because it’s so hard to achieve. Then there’s always a party or two.”

Tetrathlon cross-country: “no walk in the park”

The riding phase takes place over a cross-country course along with a mounted gate-opening exercise, and a slip rail obstacle that requires dismounting and remounting. There is a maximum 1,400 points on offer for a clear round within the time allowed; points are deducted for time-penalties, jumping faults or for taking the alternative learner (L) fence – a simplified option.

The cross-country phase is no walk in the park.

“Intellectually, they have to be way more mature than their level [of riding]. The cross-country is four-star lines,” says top eventer Harry Meade, whose children Lily and Charlie compete for the Beaufort, training every Wednesday after school.

Twelve-year-old Charlie’s ambition is to win the open boys: “It’s the coolest trophy, a silver sword mounted on a plaque, and you get to keep it for a year,” he says.

Alex says “tetrathletes absolutely love a challenge” when it comes to cross-country.

“By having a learner fence, it means we can build our courses really top-end and quite difficult, on the basis that there’s a way for somebody who’s less experienced to get round, by taking penalties for doing those options,” she explains, adding that five-star eventer Nick Gauntlett is among the central England region cross-country tet coaches.

“We’re jumping really testing lines. We have difficulty finding schooling courses that would naturally be set up with the right kind of angles and questions at 80cm or 90cm, so very often we will cart around our portable jumps and get creative,” adds Alex.

Fife Hunt branch member Jessica Evans, 17, has been competing in tetrathlon since she was 11. Her goal for this season was the Pony Club championships with her gelding Todd.

“I’ve done a couple of British Eventing competitions, but nothing compares to tet lines. We went to Northern Ireland for the senior international and I’ve never experienced a course like it,” says Jessica, who chose tetrathlon because she wasn’t a fan of dressage.

“It becomes quite tactical because you need to think about your points. If you have a stop and then need to take the L fence, that’s a big chunk of points to lose, so you might be better just doing the L fence and taking those penalties to begin with.

“Anybody from any stage can do tet. I’m not the best swimmer, but you don’t have to be good at every event. Nobody judges, we just have fun.”

In tet, siblings can share ponies if they are in different age groups – and having the best horse or pony does not matter. For those who don’t ride, they can compete in three-phase triathlon competitions and the Pony Club offers non-ridden memberships.

“In the horsey world, you can buy a fabulous horse, pop someone on and off they go. But in tetrathlon, if you haven’t got out of bed and gone for a run, or stayed after school and gone to swimming club, you don’t get out as much as you could from the sport,” says Mandy.

“It takes away from being able to buy success, you can’t buy a faster run time or swim time.”

From Pony Club tetrathlon to the Olympics

Tetrathlon has produced many world-class athletes across the disciplines, including eventing, swimming, shooting and modern pentathlon.

Former Pony Club open tetrathlon champion Louise Waugh – née Helyer – won European medals for Great Britain in modern pentathlon.

“I had a brilliant time doing tetrathlon, it opened so many gateways to wonderful things,” says Louise, whose eight-year-old daughter Charlotte is now venturing into tetrathlon.

“I loved the challenge of the different disciplines and I made friends for life – they came to my wedding, and one is a godmother to my daughter.”

Another former tetrathlete is Kate Allenby, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“I grew up in Australia where everyone swims – then when we moved to
Dartmoor, I got some riding lessons. I joined the Pony Club without a pony and having crossed off all the events that needed a pony, one of the things that was left was tetrathlon,” says Kate.

“My parents were amazing. They found a local gun club that taught me to shoot and I later got a pony on loan. Everything came together and I never looked back.

“I progressed through Pony Club then on to British teams and I made friends around the world. That was the crux of it really, the friendships. There’s a photo on my parents’ wall and it’s me, Jeanette Brakewell, Nicola Wilson and some others at the Pony Club championships when we were about 17 or 18.”

Kate, now a school PE teacher, says tetrathlon teaches young people to “manage themselves”.

“It teaches you how to work out where your weaknesses are and how you can make the biggest gains. When you’ve got team-mates around you, you support each other,” she explains.

“If someone is better in one phase, they become your role model, but maybe you’re helping them in a different phase – it’s swings and roundabouts. Nobody ever gets too big-headed in tetrathlon because they’ve all got a strength and weakness.”

Those involved in the sport say tetrathlon is building valuable life skills – and the community spirit is only highlighted further by the number of people, both athletes and parents, who return as volunteers.

“It’s the best sport any child could get involved in and that’s why I’m prepared to come back and give back to the sport,” says Mandy.

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