Central Ontario Prince Philip Games Season Gets Underway

The Central Ontario Region of Pony Club held its first Prince Philip Games meet of the season on Sunday, May 24, at Royal Lane Farm between Manilla and Lindsay, just north of Highway 7. Highlight results are shown below (complete order of finish in the internet version).

In the A division, a mixed Uxbridge-Scugog/Simcoe team placed first, followed by Rising Star.

A combined Maple/Victoria team Rising Star took first in the B division, with a mixed Temiskaming/Northwoods team second after winning a tie-beaker and Durham third.

Temiskaming took the honours in the C division, with a mixed Maple/Victoria team second and a mixed Uxbridge-Scugog/Simcoe team in third place.

In the Masters Games, for players 15 and older, Uxbridge-Scugog claimed first place, with a mixed Toronto & North York/Northwoods/Uxbridge-Scugog team in second spot and Durham third.

The Prince Philip Cup Games are a team competition played by Pony Clubs around the world. Many of the Games require the riders and ponies to run a slalom course around a series of poles from one end of the playing field to the other, where they hand-off something to the next rider on their team. In some races, riders have to vault off of and onto their ponies.

The next meet in the regular season will be June 14, with the Region¬al Finals on July 5. Points accumulate over the three meets, and competition at all levels is very close. The Regional A level winners go on to play for the Eastern Canadian Championship against teams from the Western Ontario and Saint Lawrence-Ottawa Valley Regions. The two top Eastern Canadian A level teams then play against Western Canada representatives for the national championship, to be held near Vancouver. There is also a national Masters championship, to be hosted by Central Ontario this year. Both events are in August.

For details please call Bob Inglis, Central Ontario Regional Communica¬tions Chair, at 416-493-1223 (office) or 416-491-4230 (home) or via e-mail at bobinglis@technalysis.on.ca. For general background on the Canadian Pony Club and its activities (including Prince Philip Games), or on Central Ontario Region and its Branches, or for this or previous press releases, check out the Canadian Pony Club website at www.CanadianPonyClub.org and follow the appropriate links.