Friday 29th of March 2024
Pony Club

Pony Club art competition opens

Entries for the 2017 John King Young Artist Award, run by The Pony Club in collaboration with the Society of Equestrian Artists (SEA), are open.

2016 John King Young Artist Award winner Sorrel Penman with Pony Club competition organiser Marty Bibby.

Now in its fifth year, the competition is open to all UK Pony Club Members in three age categories; 11 and under, 12 to 16, and 17 and over. The winner will have their work displayed at the SEA’s ‘Horse in Art’ exhibition, where they will be presented with a beautiful bronze statue created by former SEA Chairwoman, Debbie Burt.

Entrants simply need to draw or paint a picture based on their favourite Pony Club memory, take a photo of it and upload it to http://memories.pcuk.org no later than 17 July 2017. Full competition rules can also be found on this website.

One of the leading sporting artists of the post-war era, John King had close ties with both The Pony Club and the SEA and it is hoped that this competition will inspire the next generation of equestrian artistic talent.

Last year’s competition attracted over 50 entries from Members who used paint, pencil and ink to produce breathtaking artwork to the theme of ‘the seasons’.

Judges Mary Tuckett and equestrian artist Jennifer Bell found it hard to choose their winner, but eventually they decided that South Devon Hunt (Moorland) Branch’s Sorrel Penman’s beautiful painting of a horse and rider cantering through bluebells should take the top spot.

Pony Club Chairman, Mary Tuckett, said:

“The John King Young Artist Award is a great opportunity for our Members to capture some of their most precious Pony Club memories. Judging is always extremely difficult as the standard of work produced is very high. Our Members put in a huge amount of time and effort to create their entries in a bid to win the wonderful trophy and have the honour of seeing their artwork displayed alongside pieces by well-known artists in the SEA exhibition.”

SEA member and John King Young Artist Award judge Jennifer Bell is looking forward to seeing this year’s entries. She said:

“The Pony Club’s competition is a fantastic way for young artists to show what they can do. Most of us in the SEA started out in the same way; passionate about drawing ponies. Several of us are now professional artists and value all the sketching and painting we did when young– because that’s how you get to be good at it!”

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