East Kent Hunt Pony Club, winners of the Prince Philip Cup Final in the Pony Club Mounted Games during HOYS in the NEC in Warwickshire in the UK on 9th October 2016
HOYS is to be held on 5-9 October 2022 at the NEC in Birmingham. This year, Naylors will be supporting the Pony Club mounted games.
What are the HOYS mounted games?
The HOYS mounted games competition is called the Prince Philip Cup. It was first held in 1957 and is a world-famous event, where teams go through a series of area competitions and zone finals to qualify for the final at HOYS. The area competitions are finished by June each year. The zone finals follow in June/July, before the third and fourth stages are held at the Pony Club Championships and HOYS.
The first phase is the Thistledown Developments Cup, which takes place across the first three sessions at HOYS and is considered a ‘warm-up’ to the Prince Philip Cup. Teams are awarded points based on their placing in each session, and the team with the highest total score at the end of the Thursday afternoon session is awarded the cup.
The Prince Philip Cup has six sessions, held from Thursday afternoon until Sunday. The four highest placed teams from these sessions go through to the grand final for the chance to be crowned overall champions.
In its rule book, the Pony Club outlines the objectives of the Prince Philip Cup. It provides “a team competition requiring courage, determination and all-round riding ability on the part of the team members, with careful and systematic training of their ponies. The objective is to encourage a higher standard of riding throughout The Pony Club and to stimulate among the future generation a greater interest in riding as a sport and as a recreation.”
When can I watch the 2022 HOYS mounted games?
The games will be held in the International Arena at HOYS. There are no set times provided on the timetable and the competitions follow on from other classes, so be sure to keep an eye on the arena.
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The general timetable is as follows:
Wednesday (Daytime and evening performance)
Thursday (evening performance)
Friday (evening performance)
Saturday (Daytime and evening performance)
Sunday (Daytime and evening performance)
Four teams will ride in each session and at the end of each the four highest placed teams go through to the final.
Only six teams make it to HOYS each year. The teams competing in the 2022 Prince Philip Cup are:
Morpeth Hunt
North Hereford Hunt
Oakley Hunt (West)
Poole and District
Rockwood Harriers
Wheatland Hunt
Who won the HOYS mounted games in 2021?
The West Hampshire branch of the Pony Club won the title for the third time in a row, having also won in both 2018 and 2019.
The team members were Megan Pink, Katie Upshall, Bella O’Hara, Henry Chick, Layla Conrath and Phoebe Chick.
The West Hampshire became the first team to retain the trophy since Oakley Hunt West back in 2012.
Eglinton Hunt hold the record for the most consecutive wins; they won five years on the trot between 1992 and 1996.
What are some of the rules for Pony Club mounted games?
Ponies must be ridden in plain snaffles with a straight bar, single or double joint in the middle.
The full branch team consists of four or five riders, and four or five ponies not exceeding 148cm.
Riders must be members of The Pony Club at the closing date for entries to the competition and they must not have attained their 15th birthday by the beginning of the current calendar year.
Riders must be suitably mounted for their ponies, following the below guidelines:
A rider weighing over 54kg may not ride a pony 128cm or under.
A rider weighing over 60kg may not ride a pony 133cm or under.
A rider weighing over 66kg may not ride a pony 138cm or under.
Which games will teams compete in at HOYS?
Some of the games run in the 2022 competition include:
BendingPG Sports Quoit and BottleRopeBiffa Waste Services Stepping StonesTwo mugBall and FlagHollywood Bowl Race (3m)Odd SockFour Flag
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Former H&H showing editor and deputy features editor
Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.
