New Zealand Pony Clubs Association
Encyclopedia
Auckland
Bay of Plenty
Canterbury
Franklin
/Thames Valley
Gisborne
/Wairoa
Hawke's Bay
King Country
Manawatu/West Coast
Marlborough
/Nelson
/West Coast
Northland
Otago
/Southland
Taranaki
Waikato
Wairarapa
/Wellington
Waitemata
/Rodney
The New Zealand Pony Clubs Association (NZPCA) consists of 82 clubs encompassing 250 branches that work together to promote and improve the quality of riding and horse management instruction for riders and their coaches throughout New ZealandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
Canterbury
Canterbury, New Zealand
The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...
Franklin
Franklin District
The territorial authority of Franklin District was abolished on 31 October 2010 and was divided between Auckland Council in the Auckland Region to the north and Waikato and Hauraki districts in the Waikato Region to the south and east. It was administered from the town of Pukekohe...
/Thames Valley
Thames Valley, New Zealand
The Thames Valley is a non-administrative region in the North Island of New Zealand. Broadly, it is the valley component of the Waihou River catchment . The lower part of the valley is more commonly known as the Hauraki Plains. Geographically the valley extends as far as Piarere, although this is...
Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
/Wairoa
Wairoa
Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula...
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...
King Country
King Country
The King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and from the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east to near the Tasman...
Manawatu/West Coast
Manawatu-Wanganui
Manawatu-Wanganui is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, around the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Horizons Regional Council.-Administration:...
Marlborough
Marlborough, New Zealand
Marlborough is one of the regions of New Zealand, located in the northeast of the South Island. Marlborough is a unitary authority, both a region and a district, and its council is located at Blenheim. Marlborough is known for its dry climate, the picturesque Marlborough Sounds, and sauvignon blanc...
/Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
/West Coast
West Coast, New Zealand
The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...
Northland
Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
/Southland
Taranaki
Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
Wairarapa
Wairarapa
Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
/Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
Waitemata
Waitemata
Waitemata can be:*Waitemata Harbour, a large bay in New Zealand*Waitemata City, a local government body on the shores of Waitemata Harbour, now part of Waitakere....
/Rodney
Rodney District
The Rodney District of New Zealand was a local government area in the northernmost part in New Zealand's Auckland Region, created in 1989 from the amalgamation of Helensville Borough and Rodney County. The seat of the district council is at Orewa, and the district includes Kawau Island to the...
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The NZPCA has 8,800 members, which makes it one of the largest youth sporting organizations in the country.
With almost all clubs having branches, rallies are usually held at branch level, leaving clubs to organize other things, such as certificates and inter-branch competitions.
The eighty-two clubs are divided into sixteen areas, twelve in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
and four in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. Each area is entitled to have one representative on the NZPCA committee of management, and send one team of up to six riders to both the NZPCA Horse Trials Teams Championships and the NZPCA Teams Dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
Championships.
National Championships are held annually for horse trials and dressage. Showjumping and mounted games
Mounted Games
Mounted games is a branch of equestrian sport in which very fast games are played by people of all ages on ponies up to a height of 15 hands.They require a high degree of athletic ability, good riding skills, hand-to-eye coordination, determination, perseverance, and a competitive spirit, which...
currently have separate North and South Island Championships. There are also North Island and South Island Horse Trials Teams Competitions; the South Island competition is called Springston Trophy and the North Island competition is named Timberlands after the club that hosts it.
History
The formation of the New Zealand Pony Clubs Association began in 1944, when Dorothy Campbell read about the British Horse SocietyBritish Horse Society
The British Horse Society is a membership-based equine charity, with a stated vision of "a society which provides a strong voice for horses and people and which spreads awareness through support, training and education"...
and Pony Club
Pony Club
Pony Club is an international youth organization devoted to the educating youths about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over 30 countries worldwide...
in the magazine Riding, which inspired her to write to the secretary of the organisation.
At that time, many children in New Zealand were growing up on farms and most had ponies and often rode them to get to school. There was no television and not as many other sports activities available as there are now. So these children spent a lot of time with their ponies, but there was often no instruction available to teach them to ride safely or to care for their ponies properly.
Dorothy Campbell thought that both children and ponies would benefit from some organised activities and she arranged to hold a first fund raising gymkhana
Gymkhana (equestrian)
Gymkhana is a term used in the United Kingdom, east coast of the United States, and other English-speaking nations to describe an equestrian event consisting of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders on horses...
in Hawkes Bay. She was amazed by the number of riders who attended.
As a result of this enthusiasm, Dorothy established the Heretaunga Pony Club, which became affiliated to the British organisation. Over the next two years, quite a number of other pony clubs were formed, and a meeting was called in Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
on 15 October 1946, at which the NZPCA was formed.
From this beginning, the NZPCA has grown to encompass 16 areas with 82 clubs and 250 branches throughout New Zealand.
See also
- Pony ClubPony ClubPony Club is an international youth organization devoted to the educating youths about horses and riding. Pony Club organizations exist in over 30 countries worldwide...
- Pony Club AustraliaPony Club AustraliaPony Club Australia is an association which teaches young people to ride horses through over 850 member clubs. Australia has the largest pony club membership in the world with just under 55,000 financial members. In Australia, there are over 850 clubs spread over the seven states and territories...
- The Pony ClubThe Pony ClubThe Pony Club is a voluntary organisation founded in England in 1929. It has now expanded internationally and Pony Club branches can be found worldwide...
- United States Pony ClubsUnited States Pony ClubsIn America, Pony Club began in 1954. It is called the USPC or United States Pony Club. USPC headquarters are at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky...