Dates and Locations Announced for 2021 USHJA Pony Championships

Lexington, Ky.—March 29, 2021—The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association is pleased to announce the dates and locations for 2021 championships exclusively for ponies.

This year's USHJA Pony Hunter Derby Championships will again be offered on both coasts. The West Coast iteration will be June 23-27 during the Blenheim June Classic III at Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano, California. The East Coast Championship will be held during Equifest I at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois, on July 28- August 1.

The USHJA Pony Hunter Derby offers Juniors the opportunity to compete ponies in a series modeled after the International and National Hunter Derby programs. The Championships feature two rounds: a Classic Hunter style course and a Handy Hunter course. Ponies qualify by placing first through twelfth overall in at least one USHJA Pony Hunter Derby class during the Championships' respective qualifying period—July 12, 2020 - April 24, 2021 for West Coast and May 30, 2020- May 29, 2021 for East Coast. To learn more about the USHJA Pony Hunter Derby program, visit ushja.org/ponyhunterderby.

The Kym K. Smith/USHJA Young Hunter Pony Championships will return to the Virginia Young Horse Festival at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia, on August 29, alongside the Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF/USHJA Hunter Breeding Championships, presented by Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Oare – East Coast.

The Championships offer a variety of sections for ponies aged 7 and under with fence heights from 2’-2’6” made up of one model, one under saddle class and two over fences classes. A division for ponies 5-years-old and under not competing over fences will also be offered and will include an under saddle class, an under saddle class to be made up of 30% conformation, and a model. New in 2021, an Adults on Ponies class open to Professional or Amateur riders has been added. Find more information about the USHJA Young Hunter Pony Championships at ushja.org/YHPC.

Free educational horsemanship clinics at the 2021 USEF Pony Finals, presented by Honor Hill Farms, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, will once again be offered. The expanded menu of virtual and in-person clinics will be announced at a later date.

Though not exclusively for ponies, those under 14.2 can also participate in the new USHJA Hunter Team Challenge, a unique team experience for riders competing in the 2’-2’6” Children’s Pony Hunters, 2’6” Low Child/Adult Hunters and 3’ Children’s/Adult Amateur Hunter divisions.

Photo: Jump Media