Mounted games, commonly known as pony games or gymkhana, is a fast-paced skill and relay sport on ponies. Teams compete against each other in a series of timed games, where speed and dexterity count just as much as riding skill. Especially among children and youth, it's a popular way to gain competition experience without the emphasis being on correct or elegant riding.
What Mounted Games Actually Involves
In mounted games, a team — often five riders — rides a series of games back to back, all at canter and against the clock. Each game is a small task: picking up an object and placing it somewhere, weaving between poles, passing a relay baton to the next rider, or swapping cups between two stands. The result depends on how fast and how precisely a team completes the tasks — a missed cup or a knocked-over pole costs time or points.
The difference from most other equestrian sports is the emphasis on speed and teamwork rather than style. Judging isn't based on position or aids, but on results: who finishes fastest, without mistakes.
How a Competition Works
A competition day usually consists of several rounds in which teams ride the same games one after another, or in which two teams ride against each other simultaneously on parallel tracks. Common elements include:
- Relays: the pony canters a fixed distance, the rider dismounts or passes a baton, and the next team member sets off.
- Skill games: picking up objects (rings, balls, flags) and placing them in the right spot, often from a cantering pony.
- Slalom and turning work: riding between poles or cones without touching them.
- Cup games: moving cups or blocks between stands, where neatness counts as much as speed.
The exact rules, groupings, and scoring vary by organization or club. Check membership and rules with the mounted games organization in your region.
Why It's a Good Entry-Level Sport
Mounted games works well for children who can just canter independently and want something different from regular lessons. The sport builds a number of skills that come in handy in almost any other discipline:
- Balance and seat: picking things up, dismounting, or switching sides at canter teaches a rider to stay balanced without thinking about it.
- Courage and confidence: the pace and the pressure of the clock get children used to competition nerves in a safe, low-threshold form.
- Teamwork: because it's a team format, it's not just your own performance that counts but also how well you coordinate — who sets off when, who stands where.
- Fun without performance pressure on style: nobody's judging how "neatly" you ride, which lowers the threshold for beginning riders.
That makes mounted games an addition to regular lessons, not a replacement: you still learn the basic technique in riding lessons, but mounted games is where that technique gets tested in practice and under time pressure.
What You Need
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Helmet (riding hat) | Mandatory; with the pace and short distances, a fall is always possible. |
| Calm but agile pony | A pony that doesn't spook at quick movements and objects, but does respond sharply to the aids. |
| Support or transition stirrups (depending on level) | For extra stability when dismounting or picking up objects at canter. |
| Comfortable mounting and dismounting | Some games require the rider to dismount and remount during the ride. |
Build-up happens by pace: start the games at walk or trot, and only add canter once the pony and rider have calmly mastered the task. Both pony and rider need to get used to the quick changes in pace and the objects used in the game.
Getting Started: Where to Begin
Most riders are introduced to mounted games through a riding school or pony (sport) club that practices it regularly, often as part of a youth activity or clinic. Ask at your own stable or club whether mounted games activities are organized, or look up the mounted games organization in your region for clubs and entry-level competitions. For children who are just secure enough in the saddle to canter independently, this is often a natural follow-up to basic lessons.
In Short
Mounted games is a fast, team-based skill sport on ponies in which games are ridden at canter against the clock. The sport builds balance, courage, and teamwork, and is accessible for children without the focus being on correct riding. A helmet is mandatory, build-up happens by pace, and for membership and rules you look up the mounted games organization or club in your region.
See also: Vaulting: Gymnastics on Horseback · What Age to Start Riding · Level: Just Starting Out · Jargon A-Z