International Exchanges and Special Opportunities for Pony Club Members

By Liz Moyer, USPC Fundraising & Marketing Coordinator

Being a member of the United States Pony Clubs (USPC or Pony Club) comes with many benefits and opportunities. When you join USPC, you’re not just joining a local club or riding center in your region. You become part of a much larger national and international community of Pony Clubs that all work together through the Pony Club International Alliance (PCIA). The PCIA includes Pony Club organizations in seven countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Hong Kong China.

“PCIA works to make sure our standards are equal to each country with special attention paid to horse care. This board also works together to organize exchanges both in person and virtually,” explained Sue Smith, USPC Special Opportunities Committee Chair and PCIA Liaison.

International exchanges have been a part of USPC history as far back as the 1960s. One of the earliest exchanges was the Inter-Pacific Exchange, a cultural exchange where teams from Pony Club organizations that line the Pacific Ocean—the United States, Canada, Hong Kong China, and Australia, and New Zealand—compete for the prestigious Nations Cup, which USPC most recently won in 2023.

To this day, the Inter-Pacific Exchange is still going strong, and additional exchanges have been established with other countries in the Pony Club International Alliance, including:

• International Mounted Games Exchange with Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and Australia
• International Tetrathlon Exchange with Great Britain, Ireland, the United States, and Australia
• International Foxhunting Exchange with Great Britain, Ireland, and the United States
• International Quiz Exchange with Canada, the United States, Australia, and Great Britain
• New virtual opportunities for international exchanges in Quiz, Dressage, and Show Jumping

Around the World with Pony Club

“The value of the exchange programs goes way beyond the trip and the competition,” observed Smith, noting that team members make lifelong friendships that span decades and have included return visits to their hosting countries. “While all teams representing USPC strive to display their good sportsmanship and skill, they are first and foremost ambassadors representing USPC and their country. It is a cultural experience, as well as educational and competitive.”

Nicole Ligon Wimer is currently a USPC National Examiner and a member of Pickering Hunt Pony Club in the Eastern Pennsylvania Region with her A in Eventing. She was involved with two Pony Club international exchanges, first as a competitor on the 2015 Inter-Pacific Exchange team, which traveled to Canada, and then as a coach for the U.S. team in the 2019 Inter-Pacific Exchange held in Hong Kong.

She recalled what an incredible time she had in Canada. “I was struck mostly by the closeness I developed with my teammates, the resilience and maturity we learned together while choosing horses for our competition, and the ‘small world’ sensation we had by making such close friends from such far-flung places,” shared Wimer. “I loved my experience, and it gave me a great sense of accomplishment, confidence, independence, and community within the world, thanks to Pony Club.”

Wimer was also very excited to travel to Hong Kong. “I had never been to Asia before and was so excited to learn a totally new culture,” she said. “We had an amazing time, and I had an incredible team to work with.”

While the USPC team won a decisive victory in the Nations Cup that year, Wimer said the part that gives her goosebumps to remember is at the end of the competition, when she was asked if one of the USPC riders could school a feisty horse that had bolted and been a bit naughty during the competition. “It was a huge testament to the USPC program that in a foreign country they requested one of our riders to pre-school a horse due to his maturity and skill set,” she recalled.

Not only does USPC field teams for international exchanges, but it also provides special opportunities for members in various disciplines. In Show Jumping, USPC fields a team or individuals for the USEF Pony Jumper Championships, held at the USEF Pony Finals every summer. In Mounted Games, USPC members have competed in the President’s Cup Invitational and the Prince Philip Cup Invitational. These experiences also promote a similar sense of teamwork, sportsmanship, Pony Club pride, and will provide memories and life lessons that last a lifetime.

Support for International Exchanges and Special Opportunities

It takes extensive planning and fundraising to make international exchanges and special Pony Club opportunities happen. For this reason, the International Exchange and Special Opportunities Fund was created.

Each international exchange is hosted on a rotational basis among the participating countries and can last 10 to 14 days. On average, hosting an exchange can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $60,000, depending on the discipline and required travel. The hosting country is responsible for all expenses including local travel, lodging, food, horse rental (if applicable), sightseeing, special activities, and any unexpected expenses that may arise.

The International Exchange and Special Opportunities Fund supports USPC hosting these regularly scheduled exchanges. In addition, it also provides funds for team uniforms when USPC teams travel abroad and uniforms for the special opportunities teams.

USPC team members fundraise for a portion of each exchange, but USPC is responsible for providing an exceptional experience for guests from other countries when hosting. The International Exchange and Special Opportunities Fund will allow USPC to continue participating in the international exchange program with Pony Clubs from around the world, giving members a cultural experience with a competitive edge.

The annual fundraising goal for the International Exchange and Special Opportunities Fund is a minimum of $25,000.

“It takes a large budget to finance hosting anywhere from four to six countries per exchange,” said Smith. “By providing continual funding, we can provide an exchange to not only these PCIA countries, but to USPC teams, by reducing the individual costs of hosting.”

Smith said that ongoing donor support helps the Special Opportunities and International Exchange Fund reach its goal each year, which then means that USPC can continue making the international exchanges and special opportunities happen for members.

Through her experiences with exchanges, Smith has seen the benefits to Pony Club members firsthand. “Please consider giving back if you have been on an exchange or believe in and understand their value to USPC and its membership,” she said.

There are two ways to donate to support these programs on the online donation site:

• To donate to the International Exchange and Special Opportunity Fund, click on the “Donate Now” button on the homepage; or
• To donate to a SPECIFIC team participating in an International Exchange or Special Opportunity, go the site and scroll down to “Support a Fundraiser” and search for a team or you view all teams from there; or you can go directly to the All Teams page and click on the team’s name that you wish to donate to and then use the Donate button on that team’s page.

USPC is thankful to all donors who help make the international exchanges and special opportunities happen for members. Every donation helps.