The Old Dominion Pony of the Americas Club has been in existence since 1983. It offers ten POAC-sanctioned shows each year—four weekends of two shows each and two additional days of showing at the Northeast Gobbler shows at Thanksgiving. The focus of the club is helping children and ponies grow and learn together. Children can begin riding as soon as their parents are willing to let them sit on a pony’s back and can enter leadline equitation, costume, and game classes at shows. Once they want to ride without a leader, they can enter 8-and-under classes. Other age divisions are 9-12, 13-18, and 19 and over.
We love POAs and children, but we welcome other breeds at many of our shows and adults at all of them! This year, our May, June, and September shows all are open to non-POAs. We've got something for everyone: halter, showmanship, western pleasure, english on the flat and over fences, timed events, trail, driving, equitation, reining, and more! To help you understand our showbills, junior classes are for ponies/horses that are five years old or younger; senior classes are for ponies/horses age six or over. JPFC classes are for POAs that are 4 or younger. JPFC hunter under saddle, western pleasure, trail, and reining are offered. Trail, leadline horsemanship, games, and bareback equitation may be ridden English or western. For halter and showmanship classes, POAs must be shown western to get national points. We also offer beginner classes for beginner riders OR beginner ponies and horses.
The POA motto states, "Try hard, win humbly, lose gracefully..." This, perhaps more than anything else, sets POA exhibitors apart from others in the world of horse show competition. Boys and girls cheer for each other and support each other even when they are competing against each other. Our own local club motto is “Every child is a winner!” Our families want to see our children do their best, learn, grow, become more confident, help other kids in the club, respect others, and have fun with ponies. We often combine show weekends with pool parties, barbecues, birthday celebrations, or trips to a local ice cream shop. The exhibitors see their POA friends in Virginia and beyond as extended family.
2015 ODPOAC Officers
Please contact any of the following people with questions about ODPOAC or the breed:
President: Kris Jarvis (540) 672-5408 kris.jarvis@comcast.net
Vice President: Karen Ampeh (703) 501-5779
kaolowin@gmail.com
Secretary: Carolyn Kroehler (540) 951-8815 ckroehler@hotmail.com
Co-Secretary: Casey Knott (540) 558-8570 knott13@sbc.edu
Treasurer: Ronnie Hanger (540) 886-5143 ronniehanger12@NTELOS.NET
2015 ODPOAC Board of Directors
Kay Schwink
Karen Ampeh
Casey Knott
Carrie Kroehler
Kris Jarvis
Ronnie Hanger
Kim Dofflemyer
Maya Roberts
2015 ODPOAC Inspectors
Kay Schwink
Ronnie Hanger
