FINDING A GAMES PONY

A good games pony can come in any shape and form, and almost any pony can turn out to be one. There are two ways to get a good games pony. One is to lease, borrow or buy one that has done games before. The other is to train one yourself. This is much more cost effective, but can backfire if the pony turns out to be unsuitable or UNSAFE to do games.

Getting an already made games pony is easy and safe, but is not always an option, so what I am going to talk about are some of the different techniques for training a games pony.

A lot of people are reluctant to use their "good" ponies for games, and it is true that SOME pony are made " crazy " by doing games, but with proper patience and training, you can train a pony to do games well, love it, and still be rideable for other aspects of riding.

PONIES AND GAMES EQUIPMENT

The first thing to do with your potential games pony is to "introduce" it to the equipment. You do this by first showing the pony the equipment lying on the ground, then by slowly picking it up and letting the pony sniff it. Then, if the pony is still being quiet, you can gently and SLOWLY rub the pony all over with it. If the pony gets frightened at any point when you are doing this, STOP and go back a step. If your pony is still afraid of the equipment or of a specific type of equipment, you can try putting it in their stall and/or paddock.

Once your pony has been introduced to the equipment, you can get on and try riding past it. If your pony spooks at it, go back past it or around it until your pony is no longer afraid of it. If your pony is still not afraid of any of the equipment then you can SLOWLY start doing some of the skills with it, and slowly work towards doing them at the speed you want to be doing them at on the actual games day.

RIDING AROUND OTHER PONIES

Once your pony is used to the equipment you can start to get it used to working with other ponies. Start by getting a couple of friends to line up parallel to you, a safe distance away. Then get a friend or parent to be the starter, and have them raise a flag and say " You are under starters orders.", then drop the flag. Trot up to the end of the ring and back with your friends, until your pony is used to going parallel to other ponies. As long as it is still safe to do so, gradually increase the speed to game day speed. Once your pony is used to going beside other ponies, you can get one friend to help you teach your pony about being led from another pony.

Use a pony that gets along well with your pony. At first, stay on your ponies, and have your friend take your reins (without taking them over the pony’s head ). Walk up and down the ring until the ponies are used to going side by side. Once they are used to that, you can slowly up the speed to trotting. IF your ponies are okay with that, you get off, and have your friend lead your pony from their pony.

GIVING AND RECEIVING PASSES

Once your ponies are used to going together, take out a baton or flag, and have your friend walk towards you with it and hand it off to you. If it goes well, try it a bit faster, until you're up to game speed, than switch and have you walk towards them, until both ponies are used to passing to each other. Many people skip teaching their ponies to pass, and end up with a fidgety and nervous pony in the start box. As long as you take your time and don't rush yourself or your pony, you shouldn't have a problem. One other thing I suggest is to try and sit as still as possible while you're waiting for your turn to go, so that your excitement doesn't transfer itself to the pony.                                        

MOUNTING

A big part of games is how fast you can get on and off, and is the main part of several races. There are four types of mounts:  stirrup mount, stomach mount, swing vault, and running vault.

stirrup-

The stirrup mount is the easiest mount to learn, but is usually the slowest. To execute a stirrup mount, you need to be able to get your leg up to the stirrup quite quickly, and not have to fumble around to get your foot in the stirrup, Train your pony to stand until the rider is in the tack by gently backing the pony every time it moves off before the rider is in the tack. Your pony should always stand quietly when you mount, and wait for your signal to move off.

 If you have trouble getting your leg up to the stirrup, you can lengthen your left stirrup in the races where you know you have to get off. If your main form of mounting is with a stirrup, you MUST to have safety stirrups so you don't get dragged.

stomach vault-

The stomach vault is the easiest way to vault a pony at a stand still. Hold your reins and pommel in your left hand, and the cantle in your right, than take one bounce to gain some power. Jump and try to land with your mid-section in the seat of your saddle. From there, you can push with your arms and kick with your legs until you are up high enough to swing your leg over. Learn to do this fairly well on a pony that already knows about vaulting before you try to teach a green pony. Before you attempt this, you need to get your pony used to having your weight on their sides. You do this by first leaning up against your horse with most of your weight, and if your pony is okay with that, then you can CAREFULLY try to lean over the saddle with most of your weight, but don't try to swing your leg over until you have tried this a couple of times and your pony has been okay with it.

swing vault-

The swing vault is used as an alternative to the stomach vault, or when your pony is turning. To do this you stand facing the rear of your pony, between the head and the shoulder, holding the rein and the mane in your left hand, and with your right hand at your side. Then, with your knees bent for power, take two steps, first with your right foot and then with your left (but don't step past the saddle). Grasp the pommel with your right hand, and jump and pull while pivoting in the air, so you face the same way as your pony. Swing your right leg up and over the saddle, so ideally you end up astride. If you can't quite make the saddle, than try to hook your right leg on the cantle and from there you should be able to" squirm" on. DON'T ATTEMPT THIS UNTIL THE PONY IS USED TO YOU LANDING ON ITS BACK.  

running vault-

The running vault requires a lot of practice from you and your pony, but done right it is probably the most effective vault. First you have to teach your pony to lead, and stay at your shoulder at any speed. To teach a pony to lead beside you is probably the only time in Games when it is okay to use a whip on your pony. Start by walking with your pony in hand (it should already do this quite well) and if all goes well, increase your speed to a slow jog .If your pony falls behind you and does not want to keep up, GENTLY reach back and tap your pony on the flank. When your pony has learned to keep up with you at whatever speed you’re going, then you can start to learn the running vault. If your pony longes well you may want to get a QUALIFIED INSTRUCTOR to longe your pony while you learn to do this.

Start by asking your pony to trot alongside you, then when your pony is trotting nicely, take the reins and mane in your left hand, and the far side of your pommel in your right hand. Match your legs with his, bounce once to gain some power, and jump and pull at the same time, then kick your right leg back, and the pony's momentum will do the rest. Remember, as long as you can keep up with your pony, the faster he is going the easier it is to get up, because of the extra momentum. Again, don't try this until your pony is used to you landing on his back.

GENERAL SKILLS

Here are some of the tips I found help most games players.

•     When you do your part in a race, ride your own race and don't worry about what the other teams are doing.

•     When it is not your turn to go, still pay attention to the race, so you can tell a rider on your team what to do if he/she makes a mistake and does not know how to correct it. But ALWAYS keep your comments positive, and not critical.

•     Tell your teammates where the other teams are in relation to your team, so they know whether they have to do the race full speed to catch up, or can slow down and take their time.

•     Whenever you put something into or through something, hold the equipment so you can aim with your index finger.

•     Get as close to the equipment as you can to do a skill.

•     Pick an appropriate speed to do the skill at. Remember it takes a lot more time to fix a mistake than to slow down to do a skill.

•     Stay as calm as possible so you don't get your pony upset.

•     Steer with your body and eyes, as well as with your hands and legs.

•     Keep your eye focused on the specific skill and not anything else.

•     When taking a handoff, hold your arm in front of you, and not off to the side. Watch the equipment your teammate is passing you all the way into your hand.

•     When giving a handoff, hold the equipment upright, and in front of you. Hold the equipment as still as possible, and focus on putting it directly into that person's hand.

•     Keep your mind open to suggestions and tips from your team, as well as other teams.

•     Do not blame the pony or your teammates for mistakes.

•     When you interact with the other teams, you can meet some amazing people!

•     HAVE FUN, THAT'S WHAT GAMES IS ALL ABOUT!

TEAMS

Learning to work on a team is one of the most important skills in games. It is horrible to feel that you have let the team down, so never criticize or yell at your teammates. If you make a mistake, think "Why did this happen?" and then move on to the next race. Don't dwell on your or anyone else's mistakes. If you have a problem with someone on your team, talk to the coach about it, and let them deal with it, instead of confronting the person yourself. Practice in your team as much as possible, and remember that getting along with your team is the most important thing, not winning.

I really hope this hand out helps you. Have fun, and I hope to see all of you at PPG this year!