NYB: Expanding Your Pin Collection

By Rachel Rozenboom

Looking to find ways to expand your pony club pin collection and show your pride for this organization? National Youth Board members Brooke Decant, and Rachel Rozenboom have worked together this month to help culminate a helpful list of ways you can grow your United States Pony Club pin collection and demonstrate your love for this wonderful organization.

1. Scramble Teams! We all love being on a rally team with our friends, but this tip not only helps you find different pins, but also helps expand the bounds of your friendships within USPC. Scramble teams can easily be done both at a regional level and at championships. With that comes the opportunity to collect a regional pin from clubs and regions that are different than yours. These teams can create friendships that only rallies can forge together. Teammates for a few days, but friends for life. And you might get a cool new pin to add to your collection! It’s a win-win situation all around! Make sure to pack extra pins in your kits to have enough to share with everyone on your team. You wouldn’t want to run out!
2. Become a member of the NYC. This tip comes with a little extra work – but the benefits far outweigh any costs. As a member of the National Youth Congress, you gain insights and access into what make the United States Pony Club go around. The National Youth Congress is a great steppingstone to the National Youth Board and a phenomenal way to make your voice heard throughout the organization. Both the Congress and the Board give up and coming pony club members a way to collaborate and make the United States Pony Club a force to be reckoned with through the planning and implementation of new ideas. Again, the National Youth Congress is a fantastic way to develop relationships that truly last a lifetime within the organization. Odds are your fellow congress members won’t hail from the same region as you and may be carrying an extra pin or two around. Don’t show up to the annual convention empty handed and be sure your fellow members are prepared to trade regional pins as well. 
3. Compete in different disciplines at champs. Who doesn’t love champs?! Although we all love our individual sports, cross training and competing in different disciplines can lead to a host of new pins for you. For eventers, competing in Dressage and Show Jumping may not be too far of a stretch. Don’t have a horse? Compete in quiz! You won’t regret all the knowledge you gained from studying for quiz at champs. Not only that, but championships now offer western disciplines for our fellow western enthusiasts. USPC Championships offers over seven disciplines for fellow members to compete in, each with a unique pin to receive. Stretch your horizons and compete outside of your comfort zones! Not only will you gain a new pin, but you may also find yourself falling in love with an entirely different discipline you never thought you would enjoy!
4. Volunteer! Yvette Seger, a National Youth Board liaison, and active member of the Board of Governors has accrued a staggering number of pins over her time in the United States Pony Club. Her recommendation? Volunteer – especially at champs. This year, Championships was help in Lexington, KY at the Kentucky Horse Park. That being said, members from New Jersey all the way to Hawaii were represented at the park, all with their own unique regional pins. Volunteering at this large event not only helps give back to the organization, but it also brings you into contact with a staggering number of different regions all at the same place and time. Use this opportunity to help give back to the sport, but also to trade and share pin stories along the way. We promise, you won’t be disappointed. 
5. Go International. Did you know that Pony Club offers members a chance to compete and travel internationally? The United States Pony Club has offered International Exchanges in several disciplines such as Foxhunting, Mounted Games, Tetrathlon, Quiz, and Inter-Pacific.  In these exchanges, members from different regions of the country come together and compete as a Scramble team against different countries. International events are a great way to gain lifetime experiences with fellow pony club members and travel the globe. International Pony Clubs also have unique pins as well and may be down to trade a few during your down time at the competitions. Make sure that you meet all the qualifying criteria before you apply and be sure to pack a number of extra pins so that you will be ready to trade when the time comes.

There are several ways for Pony Club members to start expanding on their pin collections. We on the National Youth Board would love to see your pride in Pony Club through continuing to share your pictures and posts of yourself wearing your pony club pin both in pony club events and outside of pony club as well. Feel free to send us any additional tips and tricks you have learned to help grow your pin collection and show us pin collections! We #pinpromise you won’t be disappointed! 

The National Youth Board (NYB) serves as a liaison between Pony Club’s youth members and the Board of Governors by communicating the needs, ideas, and concerns of USPC youth. NYB members also work with the national office on projects related to marketing, leadership development, and service for the benefit of the organization and all Pony Club members. Delegates of the NYB are between 18 – 23 years of age, highly motivated and dedicated, and have strong leadership and communication skills. To learn more, log in and visit the National Youth Board page.

https://www.ponyclub.org/Members/Leadership/NatYouthBoard/