A violent thunderstorm roared through Lexington, Va., during the U.S. Pony Clubs Championships East at the Virginia Horse Center, July 23-26. Nearby lightning strikes and high winds that reduced several region’s tents to piles of metal rubble couldn’t keep Pony Clubbers away from their horses, however.

Many dedicated preliminary eventing competitors braved falling branches on the winding country roads on Saturday night on the trek back to the horse park to hand walk their hardworking mounts.

The organization’s leaders are planning for the future but not forgetting the past.

For an organization steeped in 55 years of tradition, it can be difficult to loosen the grasp on the past, but members and leaders of the U.S. Pony Clubs continue to demonstrate that they are willing to make room for innovation, while maintaining the group’s core belief system. Exemplifying that mindset were the yellow “Why Change?” stickers sported by attendees of the USPC’s Annual Meeting, held Jan. 21-25 in Greenville, S.C., and organized by the Carolina Region.

The organization has a renewed focus on the basics.

The past few years have brought many innovative changes to what some might consider a very traditional organization, the U.S. Pony Club.

The upper-level rating system has been revamped and now includes the option for members to rate in show jumping- and dressage-focused tracks. The age limit for membership has been increased to 25 from 21.

Kelly Bowman and Kristi Edwards have rather dissimilar riding backgrounds, but both girls, recent graduates from the junior ranks, applied the same principles they gained in other disciplines to help them succeed in the pony jumper ring.