Mounted games

Mounted games is a branch of equestrian sport in which very fast games are played by people of all ages on ponies up to a height of 15 hands.

They require a high degree of athletic ability, good riding skills, hand-to-eye coordination, determination, perseverance, and a competitive spirit, which nevertheless requires an ability to work together with other riders and a willingness to help one another.

Mounted Games were the inspiration of H.R.H. Prince Philip. When Col. Sir Mike Ansell was Director of the Horse of the Year Show, Prince Philip asked if he could devise a competition for children who could not afford an expensive, well-bred pony, and in 1957 the Horse of the Year Show, then at Harringay Arena in North London, England, staged the first Mounted Games Championship for the Prince Philip Cup — it was an immediate box office success.^[1]

The sport of mounted games as it exists today was founded by Norman Patrick. His aim was to extend the sport, previously age-restricted by Pony Club, for wider participation, and for this reason, in 1984, he established the Mounted Games Association of Great Britain. In the years which followed his continued support and patronage ensured that the sport spread across Great Britain and beyond.

At the time of his death in 2001, the sport which he had established was being enjoyed by many riders across the world, and the International Mounted Games Association, which was formed in 2003, now has members in twenty countries on four continents:

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• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Denmark
• England
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• New Zealand
• Northern Ireland
• Norway
• Scotland
• South Africa
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United States of America
• Wales

Arena

Games

There are many different games played in mounted games. These are split into team, pairs and individual games.

Team games:	Pairs games:	Individual games:
Agility Aces	Agility Aces
Association Race	Association Race	Association Race
Bang-a-Balloon
	Ball and Cone
Bank Race		Bank Race
Bottle Shuttle	Bottle Shuttle	Bottle Shuttle
Carton Race	Carton Race	Carton Race
Flag Fliers	Flag Fliers	Flag Fliers
Four Flag
Founder's Race
HiLo	HiLo	HiLo
Hug-a-Mug	Hug-a-Mug
Hula Hoop	Hula Hoop	Hula Hoop
Jousting
Litter Lifters	Litter Lifters	Litter Lifters
		Moat and Castle
Mug Shuffle	Mug Shuffle	Mug Shuffle
Pony Express
Pony Pairs	Pony Pairs
Ride and Lead	Run and Ride	Run and Ride
Socks and Buckets	Socks and Buckets	Socks and Buckets
Speed Weavers	Speed Weavers	Speed Weavers
Sword Lancers	Sword Lancers	Sword Lancers
Three Legged Sack	Three Legged Sack
	Three Mug	Three Mug
		Three Pot Flag Race
Tool Box Scramble	Tool Box Scramble	Tool Box Scramble
		Triple Flag
Two Flag	Two Flag	Two Flag
		Victoria Cross
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World Team Championships

The IMGA World Team Championships are held each year in a different member country. At the first World Championships in 1985 only four teams participated, by 2007 this had grown to 18 and is expected to continue rising over the coming years.

Originally Great Britain participated as one team however from 2000 onwards this was split into England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland have always participated as a separate team.

Year:	Host:	Winners:
1986	England	Great Britain
1987	Canada	Great Britain
1988	USA	Great Britain
1989	Northern Ireland	Great Britain
1990	Wales	Great Britain
1991	USA	Great Britain
1992	England	Great Britain
1993	Wales	Great Britain
1994	England	Great Britain
1995	Germany	Great Britain
1996	Sweden	Great Britain
1997	France	Great Britain
1998	Ireland	Great Britain
1999	Belgium	Great Britain
2000	Germany	England
2001	Canada	Canada
2002	England	Wales
2003	USA	Wales
2004	France	England
2005	Wales	England
2006	Sweden	England
2007	Belgium	England
2008	Australia	New Zealand
2009	England	England
2010	Switzerland	Ireland
2011	Denmark	England
2012	Wales
2013	New Zealand

European Team Championships

The European Team Championships had already existed in an unofficially format for a number of years before being officially recognised as an IMGA event in 2006. Since then the organisation of the championships has fallen into the same model as the World championships with a different member country hosting the event each year.

Year:	Host:	Winners:
2006	Switzerland	England
2007	England	England
2008	Germany	England
2009	France	France
2010	Wales	France
2011	Northern Ireland	England
2012	Italy

References and notes

1. ^ Mounted Games Association Website