The Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club "Cowboys" won the Central Canada Zone Pony Club Masters Games Championship, at a meet played near Port Perry, Ontario yesterday, defeating teams from the Western Ontario and Saint Lawrence-Ottawa Valley Regions, plus a second team from Central Ontario which included yet another Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club member. The members of the "Cowboys," who are the defending Canadian Masters Champions, are Brent Couch, Mike Durward, Allison Pascoe, Lisa Pascoe, and Lorraine Smith. Central Ontario also took second spot, with a mixed Temiskaming/Durham/Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Clubs team comprising Eliza Gravel and Candace McMahon from Temiskaming, Katie Murray from Durham, and Alison Birdsall from Uxbridge-Scugog. Third place went to Ashton First Field of the Saint Lawrence-Ottawa Valley Region. The first and second place teams are now eligible to play for the National Masters Championship, which will be hosted by the Alberta North Zone August 23-24 (availability of all team members to be confirmed).

At the A level, for younger competitors, the Uxbridge-Scugog team finished second to a team from the Temiskaming Pony Club, the defending Zone Champions. The Uxbridge-Scugog A team comprised Sean Cruikshanks, Mori Cruikshanks, Laura Parliament, Ashley Postill and Darlene Smith. Third place went to a mixed Grand River/Caledon Pony Club team from the Western Ontario Region. Temiskaming and Uxbridge-Scugog now advance to the National Championships, to be played at the Ontario's Pony Club Tournament of Champions August 15, where they will compete against the Pacific and Prairie Zone Champions for the Canadian Prince Philip Games crown.

At the National Championship level, all teams ride borrowed ponies, since transporting ponies across the country is impractical. Mounts are normally contributed by the host Region - Central Ontario for the A's and Alberta North for the Masters this year - but if a team from the host Region represents its Zone, its members would not be allowed to ride their own ponies in competition as this would give them an unfair advantage over the other teams. In fact, all teams generally switch ponies after a certain number of games, often several times.

For more details, call Liz or Bob Inglis, Central Ontario Region of Pony Club Communications Co-Chairpersons at 416-493-1223 (office) or 416-491-4230 (home) or via E-mail at bobinglis@technalysis.on.ca or lizinglis@technalysis.on.ca.