Mad about mounted games

Mounted games are a series of relay races for a pony and rider, often with obstacles for the rider to tackle. Anyone can have a go and you’ll learn lots of new skills, improve your balance and boost your confidence!

Have a go at mounted games

You can try these games at home, so get some friends together and give them a go!

Bending races

What you’ll need 

• five poles or cones
•  a baton

How to do it

1. Place five poles upright, 7-9 metres apart.
2. The first rider, holding a baton, weaves between the poles, before turning around the last pole and weaving back.
3. They pass the baton to the second rider, who does the same. 
4. This is repeated until the fourth rider crosses the line, finishing the race! 

Top tip If you don’t have any poles, jumping blocks make a good substitute. For a baton why not use a wooden spoon?

Sock race

What you’ll need 

• a bucket
• five balled up (clean!) socks, or bean bags

How to do it

1. Place the bucket in the middle of the area you’re riding in and place the socks in a pile opposite the bucket at the far end of the area.
2. Start holding a sock, then ride up to the bucket and drop the sock in as you go past. If it misses the bucket or bounces out, dismount, place the sock in the bucket and then mount again. 
3. Ride up to the sock pile, dismount, pick up a sock, remount and ride back to the next rider, passing them the sock. 
4. The second and third rider repeats this.
5. The fourth rider also repeats, then finishes the race by picking up the last sock and putting it in the bucket on the way back.

Top tip You can make it more difficult by using tennis balls, but be careful they don’t bounce out of the bucket!

Ball and racket race

What you’ll need 

• a tennis ball
• a tennis racket 
• bending poles or jump blocks

How to do it

1. Set the four poles 7-9 metres apart.
2. Riders one and three wait at the start and two and four wait at the far end of the poles.
3. The first rider holds the racket by its handle and balances the ball in the centre of the racket.
4. Weave through the poles balancing the ball. If the ball falls you must dismount and retrieve it, remount and then continue from the place you dropped the ball. 
5. When rider one reaches the end of the poles, they pass the ball and racket to rider two.
6. The second rider repeats this, then hands over to the third rider, and the fourth rider finishes the race.

Top tip It’s really fun to practise riding around balancing the ball and racket. Try it in walk, trot and canter!