Tetrathlon as a Pony Club competition originated in England and was introduced to the USPC in 1972 when Lt. Col. Patrick Langford, then Chairman of the British Pony Club, was a guest at the USPC’s Annual Meeting in New York.  A number of District Commissioners and Regional Supervisors in attendance felt the idea had merit.  As a result Tetrathlon programs, originally viewed as added incentive for boys to join Pony Club, began to appear across the country.

The first USPC Tetrathlon Championship was held in 1974 at the Modern Pentathlon Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.  From 1975 through the early 80s, Tetrathlon competitions were held at the Kent School in Connecticut.  As the numbers increased and girls’ teams were added, the rally was moved around the country, often in conjunction with USPC National Championships.

One of the special highlights of the Tetrathlon program is an international exchange and competition involving teams from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and the United States.  This series began when a team of USPC senior boys was invited to compete in England in the late 70s.  Competition for girls was added when USPC and The Canadian Pony Club hosted the exchange in 1980.

USPC Tetrathlon provides a challenging competition requiring sound, practical horsemanship and general athletic ability.  It encourages Pony Club members to broaden their interest in riding, condition their own bodies, and become multi-sport athletes.
 

Additional Information ...

Tetrathlon is a sport requiring skill and physical endurance.  It includes four events: riding a mount over a course of obstacles, shooting an air pistol, running cross country and swimming.  It derives from the Modern Pentathlon originated by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the Modern Olympic games, during the first decade of the 20th century.  In designing the Modern Pentathlon, de Coubertin incorporated the traditions of the classical Greek Pentathlon, one of the oldest sporting events of the Greek Olympics dating back to 708 BC, and modernized the events... hence the name.  The five events de Coubertin selected for the Modern Pentathlon were those he considered to be most representative of the skills necessary for a military courier of Napoleonic France to carry out his duties: riding a strange mount, fencing with epee, pistol shooting, swimming, and cross-country running.

The rules for the Tetrathlon which follow are based on the rules used by the Union International de Pentathlon Modern for all Modern Pentathlon competitions, with the exception of the fencing event, which, because of its complexity, is excluded from the Tetrathlon. Ref. http://www.pentathlon.org

The United States Pony Club Tetrathlon consists of the following elements:

• Riding: Shall be a Show Jumping competition.

• Running: Shall be a cross-country run of predetermined length with points awarded depending on the time for completion.

• Shooting: Shall be a slow fire for Novices and Juniors and a timed fire for Seniors using any 4.5mm (0.177) caliber compressed air or CO2 pistols fired at a standing target from a distance of 10 meters.

• Swimming: Shall be a swim of predetermined length with points awarded depending on the time for completion.