About Prince Philip Games

Prince Philip Games (PPG) are a team competition played by Pony Club around the world. The original Prince Philip Cup was donated to the British Pony Club by His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinborough. Canada has its own Prince Philip Cup, so named by permission of His Highness, and donated by the late J.R. Crang. It is awarded annually to the best team in Canada.

PPG is played by teams of five riders and five ponies (no horses need apply), only four of whom participate in each game. This gives ponies, and riders, a chance to catch their breaths every now and then, by sitting out one race.

Riders must be under the age of 15 as of January 1st in each year to be eligible to play in either C, B or A division. There is no firm National requirements as to pony club testing levels, but it is advisable for riders to have at least a D or D1 level. Some regions require players to have achieved a minimum standing before competing.

Teams which qualify at the Regional level in the A or Master division, may compete for the Eastern or Western Canadian Championships. The top two teams from the East compete against the top two teams from the West for the National Championship.

The Master Games Division is for riders between the ages of 15 and 21 years of age who have attained at least the D level. Masters may ride ponies or horses up to a maximum of 15.2HH. In 1995, the first National Masters Championship was hosted by the Alberta Region as an invitational event and in 1996, British Columbia Lower Mainland Region hosted an invitational Championship. The Masters Division was officially recognized by the Canadian Pony Club in late 1996.

All of the games are variations on the relay race. Many require the riders and ponies to run a slalom course in and out around a series of upright poles from one end of the playing field to the other, where they hand-off a prop to the next rider on the team. Some races require riders to vault off of and onto their ponies. Others require riders to drop objects, such as socks and vegetables intros buckets (and hope they don’t bounce out again!). Riders develop remarkable skills in the areas of timing, sense of space, speed and direction, co-ordination, agility and horsemanship. They also laugh a good deal; the only way to deal with mistakes when everyone makes some!

(From the CPC Website)