Page 52 - The Hunt - Spring 2024

Pony Racing continued from page 14
aged 9-17. It was a galloping success. Within a decade, 185 of the jockeys certified by the British Horseracing Authority listed that they’d started their careers in pony racing.
In America, trainer Regina Welsh took the reins of U.S. Pony Racing in 2013
as founder and director. Her goal was to expand the base of steeplechase racing by
making the sport more accessible to young people whose families don’t own horses or large expanses of land.
Each year at Winterthur’s Point-to- Point, Lezlie Hiner brings a group of fledgling pony riders from Work to Ride, an inner-city Philadelphia polo group that has garnered national attention by fostering discipline and achievement in
disadvantaged young people through equine sports. “Winterthur, Willowdale and Radnor Hunt are extremely welcoming. They’re very important venues for us,” Hiner says. “Pony races help the kids get comfortable with going fast, which helps when they’re playing polo.”
Work to Ride jockeys have been participating in pony continued on page 18
16 STEEPLECHASE LOOKBOOK 2024 | todaymediainc.com