Club Highlight: Rolling Rock Hunt Pony Club

With questions answered by Laurie Havrisko, Joint District Commissioner (JtDC) of Rolling Rock Hunt Pony Club.

Region of Rolling Rock Hunt Pony Club: Tri-State Region

When was your club formed?
Our club was founded in 1954; we are one of the 13 original Pony Clubs in the U.S. and are also celebrating 70 years!

How many members are currently in your club?
For the 2024 season, we have 30 youth members, 15 adult members, and many adult volunteers who love to come and help however they are needed.

Does your club host any events throughout the year?
Yes! We host three winter clinics at a local (indoor, heated) barn, a hunter/jumper show, a mini trial, a Tetrathlon and Dressage events, and an annual summer camp for our members. We also have five to six open cross-country schooling days throughout the season. We are fortunate to have a gorgeous cross-country course on our property, which is leased from Rolling Rock Farms. We have also partnered with our local hunt (Rolling Rock Hunt) to host a fall festival and junior meet.

What disciplines do your members participate in?
We primarily focus on Hunter Seat Equitation, Show Jumping, and Eventing, although we are encouraging our members to branch out into Dressage, Foxhunting, and Polo. We are fortunate to be located adjacent to the Rolling Rock Hunt and the Ligonier Polo Association, which have created exciting new opportunities for our members. We try to create activities and opportunities for advancement based on our members’ interests.

Do you have any favorite club traditions?
Camp! Nearly all of the members of Rolling Rock Hunt Pony Club participate in our week-long summer camp at our grounds in the Laurel Highlands. Camp highlights include twice-daily lessons, Horse Management activities, unmounted activities, conservation opportunities, and crafts.

What are some fun activities your club likes to do?
Trail rides, Halloween costume contests, mini competitions during camp (cleanest tack, stall, etc), quizzing each other on horsey trivia, and generally enjoying being around the horses. There are no bad days at Pony Club!

Do you have a story about your club you’d like to share?
We have a few horses/ponies who have been around for years and are passed down to new riders in the club. One favorite pony, a 13.3-hand black Morgan named Darth Vader has been a member of Rolling Rock Hunt Pony Club for more than 20 years! He’s so well known that last summer when one of our local vets was demonstrating basic vet care during an unmounted session and we brought Vader over to her, she looked at him and exclaimed, “Is that Darth Vader!? He was here when I was in Pony Club!”

Vader is known for patiently walking around with our youngest riders, but being bold and trustworthy enough to help teach riders how to canter, jump, face a cross-country obstacle, or spend a day out in the hunt field with the hounds.

Don’t let Vader’s charm fool you though! He is the sneakiest pony in the world and wins the prize at camp every year for being the first to escape from his stall or the one with the most escapes by the end of the week. He is very loved and truly an important part RRHPC.

What achievements from your club would you like to highlight?
We are very proud to be one of the 13 original U.S. Pony Clubs. Our connection to the Rolling Rock Hunt, who recently celebrated their centennial, also helps us to stand out as a club steeped in history and tradition. One of our goals is to celebrate the rich history of horsemanship in Ligonier and ensure that our members appreciate the countryside that the Laurel Highlands has to offer. Our Pony Club grounds sprawl over more than 100 acres, including our cross-country course and wooded trail.

Do you have any advice for other clubs?
Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and try new things to increase membership. We’ve hosted a spring tea for the past few seasons, which is open to new members and those who are just curious about what Pony Club has to offer. Adding an engaging and educational guest speaker to the event has been a draw to people who are new to the horse world. Plus, we sneak in a few hours of “spring set up” that morning for our current members so that our grounds are ready for the season ahead.

We’ve also worked with local horse owners to find horses to lease for the season so that new members without horses can still participate. Supporting our new riders and riders without horses has helped to support membership growth and skill development. Without the partnership from local horse owners, these opportunities would not be possible for many youth riders.

Encouraging our adult riders to join has been another benefit. It’s great for the youth riders to see that this sport can provide lifelong enjoyment.

Adding these new opportunities has helped to double our membership in just a few years.

What is your club’s website?
Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/RRHPC/

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