The four-phase competition comprises shooting, swimming, running and horse riding. It is considered a modern recruiting ground of the Olympic sport of Modern Pentathlon. The Pony Club is an international voluntary youth organisation for those interested in ponies and riding, which has been credited as the starting point for a majority of equestrian team members and medal winners.
The upcoming event was organised by Heather and Jonny Williams, key figures of the Pony Club Tetrathlon in Northern Ireland, both with equestrian backgrounds, and parents to tetrathlon athletes, Sophia and Patrick. Running between August 2-4 it will see athletes from the UK, Ireland, the USA, Australia and New Zealand all competing at Castle Irvine (also known as Necarne Castle). “We’ve been doing a lot more training and building up — we’ve actually become a force to be reckoned with in our little Northern Ireland province against the Irish and English in Pony Club Tetrathlon,” says Heather, head of the Northern Ireland Tetrathlon Committee, on preparation for next month’s competition.
“We were really honoured that the UK asked us to host this international and also the senior regional, which does happen every year in the UK, and has been in Northern Ireland once before in Necarne, but that was a good 10-15 years ago. We’ve never been asked to host the International before. “Some of the Pony Club UK Committee had been in place when the Regionals had last been hosted in Necarne aroun.