Central Ontario Regional Tetrathlon Results

Here are the overall highlight results of the 2005 Central Ontario Region of Pony Club regional tetrathlon, held June 25-26 in the Aurora and Oro Medonte areas.

Among the Senior A Men, first place went to James McCue of the Victoria Pony Club, with all other competitors in this Division eliminated at the riding stage. Kourtney Matysek of the Victoria Pony Club finished first among the Senior A Women, with Kathryn Robertson of the Uxbridge-Scugog Pony Club second and Karen Foell of the Toronto & North York Pony Club third.

At the Junior A level Luke Durward of Uxbridge-Scugog was the only finisher among the men. Samantha Galway of the Maple Pony Club finished first among the Junior A women (defending the title she won last year), with another Maple competitor, Amber Wavryk, second and Alexandra Kelly of the Victoria Pony Club in third place.

Among the Novice Men there was again only one competitor to escape elimination. He was James Simmons of the Durham Pony Club. Hannah Galway of the Maple Pony Club was the winner among the Novice Women. Another Maple competitor, Kristina Wavryk, finished second, with Kylie Figueira of the Victoria Pony Club third.

Tetrathlon is a demanding four-part competition: swimming, shooting (with air pistols), running and riding. In swimming, points are given for the time taken to complete a fixed distance (50-200m, depending on level). In shooting, the points are given for the number of shots in the target and their position in the target, like darts. Running is scored by time taken to complete a cross-country course (one kilometre for Novices, two for Juniors and Seniors). Riding is scored like the cross-country phase of eventing, with penalty points for refusals, falls and taking more – or less – than the optimum time to complete the course. Tetrathlon feeds into Modern Pentathlon, an Olympic sport which adds fencing to the mix.

Because of the running and swimming components, boys and girls compete in separate divisions in Tetrathlon. There are five levels for each: Junior A, Junior B, Senior A, Senior B and Novice. The “A” and “B” splits are determined by the competitors’ levels of riding skills as measured by the Canadian Pony Club testing system. None of the B entries was able to complete all phases of the competition this year.

The Regional winners at the Senior and Junior levels have a chance to represent the region at national and international competitions. This year’s National Tetrathlon will be hosted by the Alberta South Region in the Cochrane area, from August 7th to 12th.

For more details e-mail Bob Inglis, Central Ontario Regional Communications Chair, or call him at 416-493-1223 (office) or 416-491-4230 (home).