Member Spotlight: Leah Beach

This Pony Club Member Spotlight, brought to you by Kentucky Performance Products, features Leah Beach, an all-around rider from Five Valleys Pony Club in the Big Sky Region.

Age: 43

Center/Region: Five Valleys Pony Club/Big Sky Region

Years in Pony Club: 8

Current certification (and/or certification currently working on): C-2 Horse Management, C-2 Hunter Seat Equitation, D-3 Eventing

What disciplines and/or activities are you involved in?
Dressage, Show Jumping, Horse Management, Hunter Seat Equitation, Western, and Quiz

Tell us about your current mount(s) and what you do with them:
Out in Montana, shows are few and far between, so we do a little of everything with our horses. I have two KWPN horses (Kenzie and Lach) that I bred and started myself. I mainly do Hunter/Jumpers with them, as well as playing around in the Dressage ring. I also adopted and started a Mustang pony gelding that I jump as well, but I am hoping to do more Dressage and Working Equitation with him. I love taking my horses to lots of different clinics and learning from lots of different trainers. I’ve been to liberty clinics, cow working clinics, Eventing clinics, as well as many others. I think exposing my horses to lots of different things keeps life interesting for all of us!

Tell us about your goals (with Pony Club, with riding, and in life):
I want my relationship with my horses to be the best it can be. I am always trying to learn to communicate with them better, to make them more confident, and myself more proficient. I try hard to carry this over to all other parts of my life as well. As a teacher and District Commissioner (DC), I want our riders to be confident and open to learning and trying new things. I want them to be prepared for whatever life—a floating plastic bag or a scary mud puddle—may bring them.

What is your favorite thing about Pony Club?
Personally, I love that Pony Club encourages the continuation of knowledge, no matter the age or experience of anyone. I love the confidence it brings, the exposure to aspects of horse ownership and riding that many would not get otherwise. I love that parents learn alongside their kids, and that it is a journey shared, not taken alone.

What is one thing you would tell new members about joining Pony Club?
I would say that though you may be nervous about joining and not knowing things the other members do, to jump right in! Don’t be embarrassed about learning. Be excited to grow! Pony Club is a place to have fun, and all the other members are just as excited to have you as a new horse-loving friend!

What is your favorite way to prepare for a Horse Management (HM) certification?
I’m an old school student. I take the tests, worksheets, and flash cards and make my own. Then I have my younger members quiz me! I also encourage all my members to learn more than the minimum. If you are required to know two things, learn four! That way, at Quiz or a certification, if someone takes your answer, you have another one ready to go!

If you could try out any other discipline or activity, what would it be and why?
I would love to try Vaulting. I always thought trick riders looked really cool and were really brave. I think one day I just want to be brave enough to stand on my horse’s back!

Describe your favorite Pony Club memory:
There are so many wonderful memories, but one that still touches my heart was move-in day of camp. We had driven four hours to get to Helena, Mont., and I was taking my C-1 certification the next day before camp started. Just as I was zipping up my boot to take my big gelding for a walk around the property, the leather and zipper separated! The other moms there quickly comforted me and told me to throw on my western boots and go for a ride to relax and get my head in the right space. Then another Pony Club member and DC took a suturing kit (she’s a doctor) and “sutured” my boot back together. The next day, my certification went even better than I hoped!

How did you get started with horses? Are you a member of any other equine organizations? 
I started taking lessons very young. In fourth grade, I joined 4-H in Chester County, Pa. I also started working at a lesson farm in exchange for using a lesson pony as my 4-H horse. In high school, I went to work as a groom at Hilltop Farm in Maryland. I joined the college riding team at Colorado State University (CSU) to keep riding my freshman year, and then finally got my first horse in college from dear friends. I started riding on the Colorado circuit with a wonderful trainer, whom I stayed with until she retired. Then we moved to Montana, where I quickly made new horse friends and found myself in Pony Club with my kids!

Have you done any specific special activities in Pony Club, such as international exchanges, recognition programs, virtual competitions, etc.)? Tell us more.
In 2025, I did the USPC Member Achievement program (and placed third in my age division). It was my first year as DC of our club, and I found it amazing how much I am actually able to achieve for myself, as well as how many things our club actually does in a year!

What makes you #PonyClubProud?
I am proud that Pony Club is really unique in that it can be a family sport. This is a journey I get to take with my children. It’s a journey for us, not just for me. It is so much fun to go to horse shows with them, watch them experience new things, and see them grow and learn year by year. It’s also wonderful to have them see me mess up or fail and keep trying, to have bad moments and hard days, to learn to encourage and comfort each other, as well as cheer each other on.

Thank you to our latest USPC Member Spotlight, Leah Beach. Want to be featured in a future Member Spotlight? Fill out the form here.

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