Barive ponies - Pony Club tack and turnout

OldNag

OldNag

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Advice please from PC mums who have natives. Daughter is on PC team this year and I have been told tack and turnout is rigorous. Pony's mane is far too long for regular plaiting and there is no way it is going to be pulled!

I always just leave it as is fir shows but worry this could lose the team points. Is a lattice or running plait acceptable in PC eyes?
I can plait her tail no problem. TIA
 
Ask the co-ordinator: I assume you can't have a plaited tail and a free mane.
There is also a running plait [spanish plait], which starts at the poll and runs very high [almost along the top of the top of the mane], right down to withers, this is then run as one last plait which can be turned up and sewn in. Try it at home as if the mane is very strong it may need to be sewn in all along from poll to withers. There are a few adaptations:
https://uk.search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=C211GB805D20150116&p=spanish+running+plait+horse
 
Native ponies do not have to be plaited for PC tack & Turnout at area (or national for that matter) level - but you do need to be sure that you have a fully native passport and have it available to show the steward as you go into the T&T check area. As you can probably imagine the "its a native..." excuse can be over used! Personally I would prefer to see a well presented unplaited native than one with a running or Spanish plait as I feel that is a bit of a fudge. But I can also understand why DCs might ask parents to try it. The problem is that T&T is so objective and there aren't any hard and fast rules about it - especially now as the PC is trying to relax its provisions to allow for normal competition wear / tack which might not have been acceptable in previous years. The best thing is really to ask your DC or team manager what they want you to do (as in not plait or running plait anyway...) and then do it. They may know the people tack checking and know what their personal preferences are. But either way the responsibility for the decision is then theirs and not yours!
 
I have a new forest with a natural mane. Our PC prefers him plaited so he has a running plait . It never stays in long , we did a couple of times used to use long plaits which were then tucked into the under side of the next but one plait so it was loops all the way down. It is very time consuming but did get us extra marks at T and T !!
 
Even native ponies should be plaited for PC/RC. A running plait will be acceptable, someone in my RC has a Spanish horse and either does a running plait or just normal long plaits (not rolled).
 
muckypony said:
Even native ponies should be plaited for PC/RC. A running plait will be acceptable, someone in my RC has a Spanish horse and either does a running plait or just normal long plaits (not rolled).
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Where do you get that from? No one has said anything to me at RC areas before, the only place natives are mentioned in the rule book are for the teams of 4 and 6 dressage where it specifically says they're exempt from plaiting rules? It's incorrect to plait and have feathers, and as I show mine they're not going!
 
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Our NF has a humungously thick and long mane, and our PC DC insists on plaiting for C test+ holders, as well as for tack and turnout when competing in teams (Our branch teams are regularly placed in Tack & Turnout). You can't really have a pony with tennis ball size plaits, and an oversized gollfball forelock looks odd so we always do a running plait, and periodically thin the forelock a little. My tip (as he won't keep it in overnight) is to use a damp sponge and a plaiting comb, and divide up into a zillion bunches the night before and then it's just one long plaiting job in the morning, we keep the plaiting band round the individual bunches, but slide it down each bunch so it's hidden inside the running plait, otherwise it falls out long before the T&TO scores are done. Also a liberal spray of hairspray helps stick down the 'escaping mohican'. After being scored my daughter slips the bottom of the running plait because our pony feels restricted when plaited and is always fighting against it, so by the end of the first round/15 minutes riding it's invariably fallen out into bunches but he did look smart to start and we got the points!
 
Like Rara007 - there is actually nothing in the PC rules requiring plaiting or otherwise. Practice may vary from area to area but we've competed and volunteered for PC for over 8 years including at national level and have never had an issue with natives not being plaited. Although I do accept that if a DC sent a native in plaited I would have just assumed it wasn't a pure native!
 
rara007 said:
Where do you get that from? No one has said anything to me at RC areas before, the only place natives are mentioned in the rule book are for the teams of 4 and 6 dressage where it specifically says they're exempt from plaiting rules? It's incorrect to plait and have feathers, and as I show mine they're not going!
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Well perhaps its just my RC then, but I am yet to see something out at RC Quals/Champs that is left completely unplaited. Last weekend was our dressage qualifiers and there was a beautiful traditional with a running plait. I always plait mine and hes a Welsh D, our team reps always ask for us to be plaited on 'special occasions' so I think it would be rude to ignore.
 
Thank you all. I will go with a running plait for safety. I will use your tip Dubsie, thank you.

I will report back.

I did look at PC tack and turnout rules that I could find but couldn't find anything definitive about plaiting. I did see a mention that ponies should be "properly shod". Oops that's our barefooter out then ;)

PS just noticed the typo in the thread title. Apologies, I am rubbish at typing on a phone ...
 
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And now I know why I dont bother with PC . neither of my kids went and neither do my gandkids. what a load of fuss over nothing. ponies are to be enjoyed and have fun with not about whether the bridles clean or the horse is plated fgs.
 
Many moons ago when I was in PC, I was told I had to plait my Sec D for my PC tests. His mane was so thick I would split it down the middle so there was half each side of his neck and then French plait it so the plait would run along his crest. Not particularly conventional, but it looked pretty neat and with plenty of hairspray would stay put most of the day - longer than a running plait anyway. I was complimented by examiners for an innovative way of presenting him tidily, especially when it got to the end of the day and they saw him with the plait taken out. To be fair the plait did make it a bit afro-like when it came out so it did look a bit wilder than usual!
 
FairyLights said:
And now I know why I dont bother with PC . neither of my kids went and neither do my gandkids. what a load of fuss over nothing. ponies are to be enjoyed and have fun with not about whether the bridles clean or the horse is plated fgs.
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And that's very sad for your kids, and grand kids, they won't get to experience how much fun pc is!!

Tack and turnout is only for one day, and is part of the fun of pony club. It's not a huge deal!!
 
The DC of our branch refused to allow our Welsh D to be in any teams because he had a full mane and tail and feathers.
I'm afraid I'm petty enough to feel extremely chuffed that he went on to become quite famous and have his photo in H and H jumping with flying mane and beating a Whittaker.
He competes at a high level in affiliated dressage, including at the regionals, and has never been plaited.
There are more important things to think about and a native with exploding plaits just looks sad.
Unfortunately there are some people who think their way is the only way..... in the same way that a coloured numnah might not appeal to some but I've yet to see it make a difference in the way a horse goes.
 
I think there's neat-and-tidiness and pedantic rules, I cannot see why hogged should loose marks on T&TO. But there is a very good reason for looking smart for PC - the more you practise the quicker you get and the quicker you get the easier it is. My daughter started in PC at 10, and she has always done pretty much the whole 'getting ready' thing herself, now she's 16 she is quick and efficient and over the years we've picked up some helpful tips to improve speed/appearance. I'm quite sure if we hadn't done the PC thing it'd take forever/we'd forget things every time we went to a show. Nowadays heading off to a show/travelling to any activity is not stressful at all, with a little prep beforehand we can grab the horse from the field/stable, be groomed, travel boots/bandaged up and be on our way in under half an hour. (Suits current horse who can get worked up if she sees the trailer/travel boots)
 
FairyLights said:
And now I know why I dont bother with PC . neither of my kids went and neither do my gandkids. what a load of fuss over nothing. ponies are to be enjoyed and have fun with not about whether the bridles clean or the horse is plated fgs.
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You don't have to do the T&T. I loved PC and my kids had loads of fun, I rarely plaited and we never won but we didn't mind.
 
I can report back that a)I need to practise running plaits and b) I don't need to as my 10 year old daughter is better at it than me!

T&TO looked to be a high standard at the event we went to. I saw a few running plaits and one poor person had managed somehow to do regular plaits on a loooong mane. (later in the day they had unwound the plaits and you could see how long they were).
I don't think I saw anyone just au naturel.

I need to practise for next time. But the lovely thing was that when the Judge asked DD if she had plaited herself she could say yes. Because I bet that none of the others had!
 
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