Member Spotlight: Genevieve Crouch

Age: 18

Club/Region: River Valley Pony Club, Carolina Region

Years in Pony Club: 12

Current certification (and/or certification currently working on): C-1, working on C-2

What disciplines and/or activities are you involved in? Eventing, Dressage, Show Jumping, Foxhunting, Horse Management, Quiz

Tell us about your current mount(s) and what you do with them: I have a chestnut Appendix Quarter Horse named Cooper. I event him at Training level, and I ride at First Level in Dressage on him.

Tell us about your goals (with Pony Club, with riding, life): With Pony Club, I want to teach more Horse Management to younger Pony Club members and prep them for certifications. With riding, I plan on joining the University of Alabama eventing team and continue my progress with my awesome horse. I want to become a sports medicine doctor and keep my horses in my backyard. Hopefully, I’ll get to share my horse with my kids.

What is your favorite thing about Pony Club? My favorite thing about Pony Club is being on scramble teams during Championships. I’ve been on a Festival team for Show Jumping and a Championships team for Dressage, and none of our girls were from the same region, but we were all friends and worked together as a team by the end. Another one of my favorite things about Pony Club is region camp. I’ve been to California Region Camp at Eventful Acres, where we would ride lessons until the hot afternoon and then swim in the lake nearby and eat ice cream. Carolina Region Camp is hosted at Windridge Farms. The best part of my summer every year was swimming with my horse and learning Horse Management in the mornings. One memory that will stick with me was jumping a 3’6 grid with an Olympic trainer, Daniela Moguel.

What is one thing you would tell younger members who are first joining Pony Club? Take advantage of every Horse Management clinic, they help you improve your knowledge for your mount and can save you from getting points off in rallies.

What is your favorite way to prep for a Horse Management (HM) certification? Flashcards and going through the manuals! Looking up certification questions and hands-on experiences like stable bandaging are always a plus.

If you could try out any other discipline or activity, what would it be and why? I would try rodeo; it looks like it has the fun and adrenaline, like Eventing does. I also think that Mounted Games look really fun!

Favorite Pony Club memory: Moving from Middle California Region to Carolina Region; everyone was so welcoming and sweet. Also, when I won my division in a Show Jumping rally.

What makes you #PonyClubProud? Pony Club is a great educational system that goes far beyond just riding horses. Pony Club teaches horsemanship and sportsmanship as well as riding any discipline. It offers a lot of opportunities for young horse enthusiasts.

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