The Games

Mounted Games is a series of games played of horseback. The number of games in a competition can vary from anything from 10 in a session to 20. Scoring is carried out by line stewards who watch for white hat bands signalling the final rider. When it comes to this point, the line steward must watch out to see who comes first, second, third and so on. Normally there is at least 2 line stewards as some games can be very quick and hard to judge. Different points are awarded for each place and after each game has been played the points are added up to see who has won the competition. If there is a tie at the end, a tiebreaker race is played between the teams on tied points and the results from this determine their results over all.

Each game tends to last anything from 2-5 minutes, depending on the game. This can vary however as if a mistake is made it is mandatory to fix it before carrying on, for example if you drop a piece of equipment you must pick it up before moving on.There are eliminations too if you obstruct other teams or break the start line. The line judges are in charge of this also.

There is a huge selection of games played across the world by all ages. Based on difficulty level, certain games are only played by certain age groups, or at a lower level may have just  been simplified.

There are two main organisations in Ireland that participate in the sport, however neither play the exact some games.
MGA, which is for all ages play about 30 games between team games, pair games and individual games.
The Irish Pony Club which is for players under 16 years of age on teams of five and pairs, play roughly 20 games for seniors (13-16 years).

However many of the games that both organisations play are very similar, with just a different name. For example, association race and pyramid are very similar.

Each game requires a different skill, whether it be to vault, jump off the pony, pick up something, turn fast, run with your pony, or place something on top of something else. Many games when played with teams, require passing of a baton or another piece of games equipment such as a mug or bottle. Different riders can find different games difficult as each person can have their own preferences. Some ponies also will challenge the rider or might spook from a piece of equipment if in doubt, so the difficulty level can be increased by the pony's temperament.

credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mkGyuXL5js



The following are a list of games played by the MGA

Agility Aces          Association race      Bang a Balloon
Bank Race             Bottle Shuttle           Carton race
Flag Fliers                 Four flag             Founder's race
HiLo                         Hug a Mug              Hula Hoop
Jousting                   Litter Lifters            Mug Shuffle
Pony Express           Pony pairs           Ride and Lead
Sock &Bucket       Speed weavers       Sword lancers
Ball and Cone        Moat and Cast          Three Mug
3 pot flag race     Tool box scramble        Triple flag
Two flag                   Victoria cross        Windsor castle


Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mounted_games

The Irish Pony Club play a separate set of games. The games list for the IPC at senior level is as follows:

BENDING                    PYRAMID                   BOTTLE        
5 MUG                          FISHING                 PONY CLUB   
POSTMAN          STEPPING STONES          CARTON
ROPE                    QUOTES & CONE             3 MUG
TACK SHOP                 5 FLAG                  3 LEG SACK
TYRE                           BALLOON            SOCK & BUCKET
BIG SACK        TIE BREAKER: 2 FLAG                      


source: http://www.irishponyclub.ie/files/Mounted-Games-to-be-played-in-2014.pdf