NEWBURGH – Penobscot Pony Club on the Miles Road in Newburgh invites budding equestrians, their parents and horse lovers of all ages to an open house 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, June 19. Visitors will learn about the work of the U.S. Pony Club and the Penobscot Pony Club. A feature of the open house will be a sale of outgrown riding clothing and used tack and horse supplies. Complimentary drinks and snacks will be served.

Guests may watch a mounted pony club lesson and participate in the unmounted information section of a lesson. For insurance reasons, nonmembers may not ride, but many horses will be on hand to view and pet.

Pony club does not refer to the size of the steed. Horses and ponies of all sizes and varieties are welcome. It is not absolutely necessary for a child to own a horse to participate, but the child must have access to a horse and a way to transport it to the facility in Newburgh.

U.S. Pony Club is part of an international organization dedicated to teaching children to care responsibly for their horses and to ride safely and capably. Children also learn teamwork and sportsmanship in friendly team competitions in many disciplines of riding, including jumping, dressage and games. Because team members may not be assisted by adults in Pony Club competitions, they learn independence and responsibility. They also meet children with similar interests from throughout the state and the country.

Parental involvement is the mainstay of all areas of the club and volunteers with or without children are welcome, whether they are horse knowledgeable or admirers. Penobscot Pony Club, with its 35 members, is one of more than 600 clubs across the country and is one of the oldest Pony Clubs in the United States.

Penobscot Pony Club provides weekly summer mounted meetings for children and young adults ages 6 to 21. Lesson groups consist of two to six riders of similar ability and are taught by qualified professionals. During the school year, frequent unmounted educational meetings and fun activities are scheduled for weekends. The club also sponsors two weekend camps for adult riders of all abilities, and two longer camps in summer for children, both members and nonmembers.

Penobscot Pony Club recently extended best wishes to senior club member Maria Openshaw, who graduated from John Bapst Memorial High School this spring. A National Honor Society member and a National Merit Scholar, Openshaw will attend Bowdoin College where she plans to major in studio art or psychology. She has been a Pony Club member since 1997.