Tetrathlon
Pony Club Tetrathlon provides Members with a challenging competition requiring sound practical horsemanship and general athletic ability.
Tetrathlon is a challenging four phase competition requiring practical horsemanship and general athletic ability involving running, riding, swimming and shooting.
Tetrathlon
Tetrathlon is a challenging four phase competition requiring practical horsemanship and general athletic ability involving running, riding, swimming and shooting.
Members compete in teams of four and also as individuals. Boys and girls compete separately. There are no mixed teams as in Minimus.
In the Cross Country (XC) phase there are optional fences available at many of the fences as an alternative to the main obstacle that may be a bit more difficult for a member starting out or their pony. Option fences are an easier fence to jump, and only incur minimum point reductions that can easily be made up in the Running, Swimming or Shooting Phase(Tetrathlon Only).
The shooting phase will be performed using Pistols only.
IPC Tetrathlon Tack Sheets - IPC Tetrathlon tack sheets - Click here
IPC Upcoming Events - IPC Tetrathlon Upcoming Events - Click here
IPC Tetrathlon Rule Book - IPC Tetrathlon Rule Book- Click here
Have Questions about Tetrathlon ?
Find answers to commonly asked questions here
1. Age Limits and Composition of Teams
(a) For National Championships (Boys & Girls) Senior
Teams shall consist of 3 or 4 members only one of whom may be over 21
years but under 23 years on 1st January of the current year. The
bottom age limit in the Senior Championships is 14 years but DC’s must
be particularly careful before nominating members who have not yet attained
their 15th birthday on the 1st January, as all participants will run, swim and
ride the time /distance and course appropriate to the Seniors.
All competitors in the Senior and Junior Championships must have passed
C Test and must have attended 3 training sessions since the 1st of June of
the previous year. The District Commissioner has discretion in the case of
those who are working.
(b) For Junior Championships (Boys and Girls)
Teams shall consist of 3 or 4, all of whom shall be Juniors and who must have
passed their C Test. A Junior is a member who has not yet attained his or
her 15th birthday on 1st January. It is recommended that the bottom age
limit in the Junior Championships is 12 years.
It is normally held in August each year.
It is held in a different venue each year. The details of the current year's venues are published on the IPC website tetrathlon page.
Runners go off at one minute intervals over a carefully measured course and each competitor’s time is measured. For information on organising the running phase, please see the notes for organisers in the Tetrathlon Rule Book
The riding phase usually takes place over fixed cross country fences however Arena jumping can be used as a substitute. Where possible Tetrathlon Courses always include a gate to open and close mounted, and a slip rail at which the competitor dismounts, takes down the rail, leads his pony or horse through, replaces the rail and remounts. Since Tetrathlon courses should test the ability of the rider rather than that of the mount, it would be a pity to leave these two obstacles out. Perhaps you can use the gate into the field for the former. A small gate mounted on a post with a second post to latch it on to is always a useful item for a Branch to possess. A slip rail is not difficult to construct, requiring only two poles and two posts and a little simple carpentry.
Competitors will score points according to how far they have swum in a certain time Competitors should swim in heats, the number in each heat depending on the width of the pool. For more infomation on scoring and equipment please see the current Tetrathlon Rule Book
Boys and girls in the Minimus triathlon run 1,000 metres. The course usually takes takes advantage of the natural country, with some ups and downs, but not steep hills. Competitors run in numerical order and are dispatched at 1 minute intervals and timed from the the moment they leave the start until they cross the finishing line. The faster you run the 1,000 metres, the more points you get. For instance if you run the distance in 4 minutes, you get 1,000 points (this would be a very fast run). If you time is 5 minutes, you would get 640 points. If you time is 7 minutes, you would get 211 points. (The organisers have a special chart to know how many points are given for each time run).
This phase uses any make of single shot .177 air pistol and Pony Club Targets.
Please chech out the IPC Tetrathlon Rule book for a list of heights and types of XC obstacles on a Tetrathlon Course.
The current Tetrathlon Rule Book should be read and has lots more information.
See also the Current Country Tack Sheet and IPC Tetrathlon Rule Book
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