We played Christmas Music, Red Light Green Green but I’d love more ideas for my little kids tomorrow!
We used to stick candy canes (or other non-seasonal things, depending on the time of year) on the top of the standards in the flag holes or just resting on top and the kids had to grab them either from the halt, walk, trot, or canter depending on the level of kid (and height of pony and standards!).
Simon Says is an easy one the kids used to like. (Simon Says drop your stirrups, Simon Says touch your pony’s ears with one hand, Simon Says touch your pony’s tail with one hand, Simon says walk, Simon says touch your nose, etc).
Egg and spoon, although that might be too messy. Maybe there is a non-egg alternative? Chocolate eggs? Cheap Christmas ornament in the spoon?
“Ride a buck” with slips of paper works well.
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Musical Poles for group lessons- depending on how invested you are in setting up the ring, and how adept your kids are at stopping on command, either set up squares of poles to use or just throw some rails on the ground. Either they need to stop inside the squares, or they need to stop over top of a pole.
At pony camp we used to play the pick up/put down an object game too, but we called it “arena jousting” because no one was going to let us take broom handles and actually joust at ring targets 
so we may as well bomb around picking up tennis balls off of barrels, etc.
Back in the day, I used to teach lessons and would play “Decorate the Christmas Tree” or “Pin the nose on the reindeer”. I would put a poster on the arena wall and give the kids a small red ball or red circle with tape on the back and they would have to stick on the nose at a brisk walk or slow trot.
“Decorate the Christmas tree” I used as a relay and had a basket of ornaments with sticky stuff on the back, first time to empty the basket and get all the ornaments on their Christmas tree poster would win. I used to set the rules where the higher level kids had to canter and add a cross rail or something different. The younger kids had to trot or we did a walk only for the beginners. One year I used a small charlie brown tree and plastic ornaments with hooks… it was fun for the older kids, but hard for the littles.
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Have some items on top of a barrel (beanbags or something would work well) and they have to grab one, ride down, put it in a stocking. First one (or team working as a relay) to get them all in the stocking wins.
Have a bag (Santa’s sack) full of random barn items (bits, grooming tools, small pieces of tack/equipment). Name one of the items. They ride down to the sack at the other end of the ring, dismount, have to find the item and either remount and ride back or lead their horse back to the finish line. Depending on their level you can add things for them to do on the way down (weave through poles, go over small jumps, etc). You can also make this easier or harder with the items - for the small kids maybe there’s just one bit in there and you tell them to find the bit. For the older kids put several kinds in there and ask them to find the waterford snaffle or the pelham etc.
