A mixed team of Uxbridge-Scugog and Durham Pony Club members won the National Masters Games Championships at a meet held Sunday, September 11 at Durward Farm north of Port Perry. The team was made up of four members of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club - Mike Durward (Playing Coach), Jesse Durward, Lorraine Smith and Rebecca Simmons - and Katie Murray of the Durham Pony Club. Allison Pascoe was the Assistant Coach. This team represented the Central Canada Zone and the Central Ontario Region, and finished with 79 points.
Second place went to a team from the Alberta North Region, representing the Prairie Zone, including Morwenna Goodliffe, Stephanie Grundke, Emily Heffring and Angela Pettitt, coached by Jane Goodliffe. Members of this team were drawn from a variety of Alberta North Branches, and called themselves the "Mohicans." The "Mohicans" finished strongly to end with 74 points.
Third place also went to a mixed team, this one from the BC Lower Mainland Region in the Pacific Zone. The members were Tyler Davies, Meg Foster, Kim Roman, Justin Thompson and Natalie Wood, coached by Erin Borrow. This team earned 69 points.
The national championship comprised five sets of races, each on a different string of ponies. At this level, all teams ride borrowed ponies, since transporting ponies across the country is impractical. Mounts are normally supplied by the host Region, but if a team from the host Region represents its Zone, its members are not allowed to ride their own ponies in competition, as this would give them an unfair advantage over the others. The teams switched mounts after every three games for the first three sets, then after four more games between the fourth and fifth sets. The championship included 17 games in total, and an 18th game was needed to break a tie for fourth place when two teams both finished with 55 points. This was won by "The Island Girls", a Pacific Zone team from the BC Islands Region, with fifth place going to the Uxbridge-Scugog "Charlie's Angels" team. The members of "The Island Girls" were Amy Borley, Katelyn Enns, Jane Smith and Dana Tennant, with Sean Cruikshanks of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club acting as fifth rider. They were coached by Sharon Enns. The members of "Charlie's Angels" were Allison Birdsall, Mori Cruikshanks, Samantha MacDonald, Laura Parliament and Darlene Smith, coached by Debbie Davies.
The Games are a team competition played by Pony Clubs around the world, played by teams of five riders and five ponies, four of which participate in each game. All are variations on the relay race, and all are great fun for players and spectators alike. Many of the Games require the riders and ponies to run a slalom course around a series of poles from one end of the playing field to the other, where they hand-off something to the next rider on their team. In many races, riders have to vault off of and onto their ponies.
The Masters level is for players between 15 and 21 years old.
The show organizers have asked us to note that, without the generous sponsorship and support of the Canadian Pony Club, the Central Ontario Region, Belmar Veterinary Clinic in Sunderland, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 353, this great national meet could not have been accomplished.
Here are set-by-set results.
Set 1
| Bending | Housewife's Scurry | Ball & Bucket | Cumulative | |
| The Island Girls - Place | 3 | 5 | 3 | |
Points |
4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Mohicans - Place | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
Points |
5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| BCLM Mixed - Place | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
Points |
3 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Uxbridge-Scugog/Durham - Place | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
Points |
6 | 5 | 6 | 17 |
| Charlie's Angels - Place | 5 | 3 | 5 | |
Points |
2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
Set 2
| Bottle Race | Pony Club | 3 Mug | Cumulative (2 Sets) | |
| The Island Girls - Place | 4 | 3 | 4 | |
Points |
3 | 4 | 3 | 20 |
| Mohicans - Place | E | 4 | 2 | |
Points |
1 | 3 | 5 | 23 |
| BCLM Mixed - Place | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
Points |
5 | 5 | 2 | 23 |
| Uxbridge-Scugog/Durham - Place | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Points |
6 | 6 | 6 | 35 |
| Charlie's Angels - Place | 3 | E | 3 | |
Points |
4 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
Set 3
| Tack Shop | Spillers | Fishing | Cumulative (3 Sets) | |
| The Island Girls - Place | 5 | E | 2 | |
Points |
2 | 1 | 5 | 28 |
| Mohicans - Place | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
Points |
3 | 4 | 6 | 36 |
| BCLM Mixed - Place | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
Points |
6 | 5 | 2 | 36 |
| Uxbridge-Scugog/Durham - Place | 2 | 1 | 4 | |
Points |
5 | 6 | 3 | 49 |
| Charlie's Angels - Place | 3 | 4 | 3 | |
Points |
4 | 3 | 4 | 28 |
Set 4
| Stepping Stones | Litter | Canadian | Hi-Lo | Cumulative (4 Sets) | |
| The Island Girls - Place | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Points |
3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 46 |
| Mohicans - Place | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
Points |
4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 54 |
| BCLM Mixed - Place | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | |
Points |
5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 53 |
| Uxbridge-Scugog/Durham - Place | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | |
Points |
6 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 64 |
| Charlie's Angels - Place | E | 5 | 4 | 2 | |
Points |
1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 39 |
Set 5
| Ball & Cone | Wizard's Castle | Sword | 5 Flag | Cumulative (Final) | Place | |
| The Island Girls - Place | E | 5 | 2 | E | ||
Points |
1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 4* |
| Mohicans - Place | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
Points |
4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 74 | 2 |
| BCLM Mixed - Place | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | ||
Points |
5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 69 | 3 |
| Uxbridge-Scugog/Durham - Place | E | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
Points |
1 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 79 | 1 |
| Charlie's Angels - Place | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | ||
Points |
6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 55 | 5 |
* Won tie-breaker (2 Flag)
For more details e-mail Bob Inglis, Central Ontario Regional Communications Chair, or call him at 416-493-1223 (office) or 416-491-4230 (home).