Designed for riding instructors, camp directors and staff, professors, teachers, homeschool parents, and other educators, the USPC Professional Membership provides educators with access to ready-to-teach instructional materials focused on horses and their care. It allows educators to develop and enhance equestrian education for all ages and levels of riders across a variety of disciplines while providing an emphasis on safety and fun.

For nearly 70 years, USPC has been teaching riding and horse care. During recent years, USPC has expanded to offer more access to the Pony Club curriculum than ever before. One of our most exciting opportunities is the annual Professional Membership option, which offers a standardized curriculum that has been proven over time to develop safe and effective riders. And with the Pony Club educational program, these riders also develop additional traits, such as responsibility, teamwork, respect for the horse and self, sportsmanship, leadership, and stewardship—all traits that educators hope to impart on to their students.

A USPC Professional Membership includes the following benefits:

• Organized lesson plans for both mounted and unmounted lessons - View a Sample Lesson Plan
• Access to Pony Club IQ articles relevant to lesson plans
• An online profile, and
• Pony Club E-News (biweekly), with information about additional opportunities for riders to continue their equine educations

Professional Members may purchase additional educational packages through the USPC Achievement Badge Program. These comprehensive materials help you teach basic horse care and/or riding skills to students. The USPC Achievement Badge Program was designed to give instructors a tool to teach basic knowledge of horse care or riding with pre-made lessons, presented in a simple, easy-to-use format. These programs allow students to express their knowledge in a practical manner, allowing them to gain a sense of achievement upon completion, with the lessons being presented as a succession of skills.

These packages include:

• Achievement Badge guides and student workbooks
• Introductory-level certification materials, and
• Complementary e-memberships for your students.

While use of the Badge Program does not require additional materials, each lesson contains a reference to the page(s) of The United States Pony Clubs Manual of Horsemanship: D Level (second edition) where discussion on particular goals can be found. Even our most robust curriculum package costs less than $25 per person. Instructors may also choose to purchase the badges and present them to students as a reward during the year-end awards ceremonies, on the final day of camp, of at the end of a lesson series.

Currently, the Badge Program contains lessons for the following skills:

The USPC Standards of Proficiency offer a progression of skills from beginning rider to advanced horse person. Certifications are earned at each level by successfully completing the associated skills. The D-1 certification is the starting point of continued learning for both mounted and unmounted skills and is the foundation for the USPC certification system.

With the purchase of an educational package that includes D-1 certification, Professional Members receive online access to USPC’s Standards of Proficiency for the D level, along with the D-1 checklist and test sheet. The checklist is a valuable tool that helps evaluate a student’s readiness to complete the D-1 certification, while the D-1 test sheet is for use by the instructor to ensure each required skill has been successfully demonstrated.

Horse Management skills for the D-1 cover 12 topics basic to understanding and caring for a horse or pony. Riding skills for the D-1 include mounting and dismounting; riding in an enclosed area without a lead line; demonstrating a basic, balanced position at the halt and walk, and control of the mount at the walk and trot. The ability to canter is not required at the D-1 level.

Upon a student’s successful completion of the D-1 certification, Professional Members who have purchased an educational package with D-1 certification materials will be able to customize and print a certificate for their student(s).