Antietam was officially accepted as a member club of the United States Pony
Club, Inc. in 1993. Antietam is part of the Maryland Region, and draws it's
membership from Washington County, MD, although we have members from Frederick
County, Md, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The Maryland Region offers competitions in all of the
sports sanctioned by USPC. Antietam currently participates in all sports. Our geographically neighboring clubs, Shenandoah Valley and Frederick,
are in the Capital Region, which is why Antietam does not compete against them
at regional rallys.
Antietam was founded by Johnetta Valentine, who saw a
need for a horse related instructional program that stressed safety and horse
management when she moved to this area. Johnetta is a graduate HA of the Seneca
Valley Pony Club. Our membership ranges in age from 6 to 22.
We have sent members to National competition in games, polocrosse and eventing. Trophies our club has won have included the Frances Pitts Memorial Novice Games Trophy, D Dressage Trophy (shared with St. Margarets), the James Ligon Senior Games Trophy (shared with Marlborough), the Dr. Robert Crosby Perpetual Sportsmanship Trophy (Jr. Games)(shared with Glen Hollow), and the MD Region Polocrosse Challenge Perpetual Trophy for the top MD Team (2000 and 2001), the Millenium Trophy for Top Intermediate Pony Polocrosse Team (2001) and the We 3 Polocrosse Trophy for Top Intermediate Horse Polocrosse Team (2001).
In April 2004, our Junior Games Team won the Prince Philip Cup, a prestigious competition to determine the best junior team in the country. Also in July 2004, our Junior Games team (some new members) won the National Junior Games Championship. In the fall of 2004, one of our members was chosen for the USPC International Mounted Games Team, competing against 16 other candiates for one of five spots.
In April 2005 our Junior Games Team again competed for the Prince Philip Cup, coming in second. Also in April 2005, our International Games Team member traveled to Australia, where her team finished second to the Australian team.
Our Senior Games Team, Road Trip, won the MD Region Rally and the James Ligon Senior Games Trophy in June 2005. This team attended the President's Cup competition in fall 2005, coming in second by a nose. In the Fall of 2005, one our members was chosen as first alternate to the 2006 International Games Team which will travel to England in 2006.