Adults riding ponies

The Fuzzy Furry said:
Its perfectly fair: the main showing bodies stipulate in open classes that they (and all small breeds) have a small rider of any age.
Small children already have lead rein, 1st ridden and junior ridden classes on pure breds :)

OP, as said by several on here, you will be fine :)
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I know what the rules state. :-)

I am just saying, I don't get why any adult would want to compete against little children on shetlands in all honesty. Just my opinion.

At large shows, fair enough, it's mostly about promoting the breed and studs etc, but at lower levels, I don't see the joy in whooping a three year old's ass when you are an adult...
 
4'10'' and 7 stone. Ride a 12.3 pony that's just too much for kids. He has a new lease of life with me, even though I originally struggled with him. I love ponies and I'm too small for horses, so send the naughty ponies my way!
 
Moomin1 said:
Oh I wouldn't feel sorry for them at all - that's how they learn lol! My old pony ran rings around me for a good three years or so when I first had him but it certainly taught me to handle him eventually without the help of an adult getting on! I think half the problem now is that people don't want their kids to 'learn' as such - they just want them to have it all ready made and win the pretty ribbons.
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That's a very good point! I think most of us have all had a naughty pony that taught us to ride better or in my case learn to stick to the saddle like glue!
 
As long as your good weight wise I don't see an issue.

I'm 5'5 and had a 14.1 mare, I looked fine on her. It's personal preference too, although I looked okay on ponies I was always more comfortable on horses and some folk are opposite.
 
Kylara said:
The M&M classes have a good variety of kids and adults in. The 11.2s that I school are only 6/7 and only one is safe enough to be a children's pony, and isn't educated enough off lead yet to be a first pony (but will once it has finished its education!) The one I ride the most hates children and dumps them very quickly on the floor - nothing malicious, just a dropped should and head drop - effective on 6 year olds, not so effective on me! She will be a fantastic dressage pony if the way she is going now is any hint and will definitely be a second or third childs pony, but seems to prefer adults. I can get her going beautifully very quickly and she has gorgeous paces (not tried ridden canter yet though! She is much more nervy ridden than she is generally) so will end up doing well shown either by kids or adults - but she will need a competent child.

I see lots of fab kids ponies around, and lots that could do with a good rider on them to give them a bit of schooling, but as was mentioned by someone earlier, there often aren't many adults small enough or willing to get on a small naughty pony! :)
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Another very good point about a lot of good ponies being around, it would be nice to see more adults riding them :)
 
Quite honestly if the rider is not too big or too heavy, who cares if its a pony or not. We have about 3 adults on our yard, plus myself who ride 14.2s and under. We all look fine, our horses carry us fine and we are all happy. I am 5 foot 6 and weigh about 11.5 stones (from nearly 14.5 stones), ride a 14.2 cob, who is MW with a lot of girth on him and quite honestly I look quite short to be honest as my legs are well up his belly, and I ride fairly long and have reasonably long legs for my height.

I personally prefer a smaller horse myself and when the times comes for mine to retire in a couple or years or so, will be buying nothing over 15 hh.
 
TheoryX1 said:
Quite honestly if the rider is not too big or too heavy, who cares if its a pony or not. We have about 3 adults on our yard, plus myself who ride 14.2s and under. We all look fine, our horses carry us fine and we are all happy. I am 5 foot 6 and weigh about 11.5 stones (from nearly 14.5 stones), ride a 14.2 cob, who is MW with a lot of girth on him and quite honestly I look quite short to be honest as my legs are well up his belly, and I ride fairly long and have reasonably long legs for my height.

I personally prefer a smaller horse myself and when the times comes for mine to retire in a couple or years or so, will be buying nothing over 15 hh.
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I think that's exactly the crux of the matter - if the rider is not too big or heavy. There's no problem so far as I can see with someone small and lightweight enough to ride a pony at all. Each to their own.
 
It was really funny when I took the child hating 11.2 out for a road hack a few times to get some miles on the clock - I went out with a lovely lady on a HW cob and we went as a pair with her closest to the cars and me with a horse in training tabard on, if I looked sideways all I could see her lower leg and foot - we got some strange looks!

The 11.2s are also driven singly, as a pair, and now as a tandem as well - they will happily pull a four wheeler with the whip, adult passenger, and me as backstep/groom; or they will carry the whip, her husband, and two kids. So small ponies are pretty good with weight ;) There is a lovely lady who we see out at driving shows who has a pair of scurry shetlands (not full size ones either) who are fab - she is on the large size but they have no problem pulling her and her groom on the exercise vehicle. Shetlands are weight carrying beasties and I would love to see more out and about ridden by adults rather than sitting in fields as companions because they can't be ridden by children :)
 
A Mountain and Moorland showing class is judged on the pony rather than the rider so I don't think it's unfair at all. Obviously an adult may have the advantage of getting a better tune out of the pony but not necessarily. A child may also give an overall better picture than an adult.
I don't think any adult is going to whop a 3 year old's ass as there aren't any shows that allow adults in the lead rein class.
As far as the original question goes ponies are great. We have horses and ponies and the best mount we have is my eldest daughter's outgrown 13.2 NF. He can jump 1.10 tracks, hunts like a demon and is the most fun pony to ride that ever was. He's safe but not boring, lives on fresh air and has never needed the Vet in the 9 years we have had him (touching wood as I type that one hahah). The last 'proper' riding horse I owned just for myself was a 17.1 ex racehorse whom I loved to bits but he was no way near as much as fun as the NF, had no sense of self preservation and needed the vet more often than I had hot dinners!! Give me a good pony any day!!
 
TheoryX1 said:
Quite honestly if the rider is not too big or too heavy, who cares if its a pony or not. We have about 3 adults on our yard, plus myself who ride 14.2s and under. We all look fine, our horses carry us fine and we are all happy. I am 5 foot 6 and weigh about 11.5 stones (from nearly 14.5 stones), ride a 14.2 cob, who is MW with a lot of girth on him and quite honestly I look quite short to be honest as my legs are well up his belly, and I ride fairly long and have reasonably long legs for my height.

I personally prefer a smaller horse myself and when the times comes for mine to retire in a couple or years or so, will be buying nothing over 15 hh.
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That's exactly the point, if your not too heavy and are comfortable with riding them, then who cares. I have quiet long legs but I'm sure my cobby will take up my leg as he is looking quiet wide already and he is only two! So lots of filling out to do. My old horse was a 15.0hh TB and she was fine and we never had any comments about me being too big. As long as horse and rider are happy then that's all that matters.
 
minesadouble said:
A Mountain and Moorland showing class is judged on the pony rather than the rider so I don't think it's unfair at all. Obviously an adult may have the advantage of getting a better tune out of the pony but not necessarily. A child may also give an overall better picture than an adult.
I don't think any adult is going to whop a 3 year old's ass as there aren't any shows that allow adults in the lead rein class.
As far as the original question goes ponies are great. We have horses and ponies and the best mount we have is my eldest daughter's outgrown 13.2 NF. He can jump 1.10 tracks, hunts like a demon and is the most fun pony to ride that ever was. He's safe but not boring, lives on fresh air and has never needed the Vet in the 9 years we have had him (touching wood as I type that one hahah). The last 'proper' riding horse I owned just for myself was a 17.1 ex racehorse whom I loved to bits but he was no way near as much as fun as the NF, had no sense of self preservation and needed the vet more often than I had hot dinners!! Give me a good pony any day!!
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That's great to hear that your doing so much with your pony! They have great potential. I brought my cobby after years of ownership of TBs lots of huge feed bills and vet bills later I'd had enough. I loved my TB to bits so she was very high maintenance. My cob so far has had the vet to have his 'operation' and that's it! He's been great to work with on the ground so I'm looking forwards to backing him next year!
 
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I haven't ridden a horse for decades. I'm 5'6 and have a collection of various heights/ages of NF's, some of which I ride, others I don't. As long as you are comfortable and not comprising the health of the pony get on I say!
 
JFTD said:
It's disgusting. Nobody should ever do it...
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No, I quite agree:D



I see absolutely nothing wrong with adults riding ponies, and these days have preference for something less than the 17hh+ i use to ride. I plan on starting to ride a 12hh soon when she comes home. She is young fit and healthy and perfectly capable of carrying my 7 1/2 stone 5'1" frame.
 
I truly don't know why a pleasure rider rides anything bigger than 14.2 everybody should ride ponies they are tougher stronger and much more fun and can do and perform equally well for the average local comp rider. Small people on huge horses look daft and it is a well known fact that the majority of horses in need of rehab are large horses with tiny riders so that tells you something. As long as the pony is strong enough and has good conformation they are well able to carry a fair weight in fact a chunky short cannon, flat boned pony can probably carry half as much again as a 16hh tb and are easier to keep.
Why on earth pony club have 13 year old kids on massive warmbloods I cannot comprehend it is after all PONY club
 
windand rain said:
I truly don't know why a pleasure rider rides anything bigger than 14.2 everybody should ride ponies they are tougher stronger and much more fun and can do and perform equally well for the average local comp rider. Small people on huge horses look daft and it is a well known fact that the majority of horses in need of rehab are large horses with tiny riders so that tells you something. As long as the pony is strong enough and has good conformation they are well able to carry a fair weight in fact a chunky short cannon, flat boned pony can probably carry half as much again as a 16hh tb and are easier to keep.
Why on earth pony club have 13 year old kids on massive warmbloods I cannot comprehend it is after all PONY club
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Maybe some people don't want to ride ponies? What's wrong with that? I personally hate riding them - they are short, choppy and I personally don't find them any more fun than my horse. I also feel far too big height wise (and weight wise I suppose on the smaller ones). I had my time on ponies as a kid, now I enjoy bigger horses. :-)
 
Moomin1 said:
Maybe some people don't want to ride ponies? What's wrong with that? I personally hate riding them - they are short, choppy and I personally don't find them any more fun than my horse. I also feel far too big height wise (and weight wise I suppose on the smaller ones). I had my time on ponies as a kid, now I enjoy bigger horses. :-)
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I agree. I have a pony, I also have horses. I prefer my horses.

What gets my goat is people who weigh in being judgemental about what other people ride, from EITHER side of the 'argument'. What you like is what you like, Windand rain, and that's fine, you shouldn't be slated for that. Do others the same courtesy.
 
I find my ponies have bigger strides and are much more open in the shoulder than the average horse we ride alongside so I personally don't like the choppy stride of a horse but each to their own the annoying bit is that adults discount ponies for fear of being too big then overhorse themselves and either give up or lose confidence. I am not saying all horses are bad or all ponies are great but on average the average rider doesn't need a bigger than 14.2 pony.
I may well be biased though as everyone including the over 21s in our immediate vicinity rides under 14.2s compete to a meter and more jumping, x country and do dressage so I guess it is again horses for courses all these lovely ponies win at showing with adult riders and hack for miles We have no ridden horses in our locality at all two retired tbs but none of the ridden animals are over 14.2
 
windand rain said:
I find my ponies have bigger strides and are much more open in the shoulder than the average horse we ride alongside so I personally don't like the choppy stride of a horse but each to their own the annoying bit is that adults discount ponies for fear of being too big then overhorse themselves and either give up or lose confidence. I am not saying all horses are bad or all ponies are great but on average the average rider doesn't need a bigger than 14.2 pony.
I may well be biased though as everyone including the over 21s in our immediate vicinity rides under 14.2s compete to a meter and more jumping, x country and do dressage so I guess it is again horses for courses all these lovely ponies win at showing with adult riders and hack for miles We have no ridden horses in our locality at all two retired tbs but none of the ridden animals are over 14.2
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Why does it matter? The only important issue is whether someone's size and weight poses a welfare issue to the horse or pony. I couldn't care less if someone chooses to ride a pony, IF they are light enough and small enough to do so (majority on this thread certainly seem to be), however I have a big issue with people who are clearly massive on ponies weight wise.
 
Moomin1 said:
I know what the rules state. :-)

I am just saying, I don't get why any adult would want to compete against little children on shetlands in all honesty. Just my opinion.

At large shows, fair enough, it's mostly about promoting the breed and studs etc, but at lower levels, I don't see the joy in whooping a three year old's ass when you are an adult...
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I never said I did it at local level or that the kids complained ;) It's the parents that are a problem! Plus they are open ridden classes and my mare most certainly isn't a childs ride so does that mean that she shouldn't be shown and have a performance record behind her before she is bred from? Should I just leave her in the field because some people don't agree with adults competing against kids? Is it just shetlands that you don't agree with or is it the same for adults on dartmoors, exmoors, and welsh who would be in the same class? If so then I am screwed then for taking my darty out in open ridden showing classes against kids. And no, he's not really a kids pony either!

This is said Shetland mare. And she was beaten by a lead rein pony for the overall ridden championship so I don't always beat the kids!

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And this is my 12.2hh brick outhouse darty at the end of a very long day and he was quite tired by this point so I didn't ask him to show properly.

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EKW said:
I never said I did it at local level or that the kids complained ;) It's the parents that are a problem! Plus they are open ridden classes and my mare most certainly isn't a childs ride so does that mean that she shouldn't be shown and have a performance record behind her before she is bred from? Should I just leave her in the field because some people don't agree with adults competing against kids? Is it just shetlands that you don't agree with or is it the same for adults on dartmoors, exmoors, and welsh who would be in the same class? If so then I am screwed then for taking my darty out in open ridden showing classes against kids. And no, he's not really a kids pony either!
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I wasn't aiming my comments at you particularly as I don't know what level you show at. As I say, higher levels are more about the breeding standard and stud promotion than actual fun being had. I do feel at low levels adults shouldn't be competing against three year olds in the best thelwell class or such like though lol! ;-)
 
It matter not a jot, as long as the riders are not too heavy for the ponies but what does matter is that heavy people chose to ride huge light weight horses thinking that just because it is 17hh it is able to carry 16 stone a thing I see far too often. Those 16 stone riders if they must ride at all should be on smaller chunkier horses with lots eg 10 inches of good flat hard bone. In may ways the bigger the horse the less it should be asked to carry as it wont have the strength of the more compact and thicker set animals. I am not advocating 10 or more stone adults riding the stick legged riding ponies often bred now for the ring I simply don't get why people think it is ok to deride adult pony riders when to be honest they often cannot manage their horse. For those that compete seriously and need big horses to do the job they are asking then I appreciate a pony may not fit the bill but for the bulk of pleasure riders they don't need anything bigger than 14.2 the fact that they ride them is of course their choice but they don't need a big horse they just chose to own one. Just as I prefer ponies (and I used to own event horses that were huge and did the job) many people will prefer horses to ponies again it is a free world so far so each to their own but if your choice is different to many others it doesn't give you the right to be derogatory as many are
As to adults beating 5 year olds have you ever been to the 50cm showjumping classes they are an eye opener I cannot see the joy in beating 5 year olds on their ponies with your 17hh horse that can simply step over the pole the diddy one has to jump
 
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windand rain said:
It matter not a jot as long as the riders are not too heavy for the ponies but what does matter is that heavy people chose to ride huge light weight horses thinking that just because it is 17hh it is able to carry 16 stone a thing I see far too often. Those 16 stone riders if they must ride at all should be on smaller chunkier horses with lots eg 10 inches of good flat hard bone. In may ways the bigger the horse the less it should be asked to carry as it wont have the strength of the more compact and thicker set animals. I am not advocating 10 or more stone adults riding the stick legged riding ponies often bred now for the ring I simply don't get why people think it is ok to deride adult pony riders when to be honest they often cannot manage their horse. For those that compete seriously and need big horses to do the job they are asking then I appreciate a pony may not fit the bill but for the bulk of pleasure riders they don't need anything bigger than 14.2 the fact that they ride them is of course their choice but they don't need a big horse they just chose to own one. Just as I prefer ponies (and I used to own event horses that were huge and did the job) many people will prefer horses to ponies again it is a free world so far so each to their own but if your choice is different to many others it doesn't give you the right to be derogatory as many are
As to adults beating 5 year olds have you ever been to the 50cm showjumping classes they are an eye opener I cannot see the joy in beating 5 year olds on their ponies with your 17hh horse that can simply step over the pole the diddy one has to jump
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That's exactly my point - I don't see the point in adults competing against kids at lower levels. Nothing to do with size of horse.
 
I find it funny when people compare stride lengths of ponies and horses saying that ponies are short and choppy due to their little legs, horses have longer more comfortable strides et al. In reality it is purely down to peoples mentality and shoulder size. A pony with a decent shoulder will give a smother ride than a straighter shouldered pony. Same in horses. I have a 17hh TB who rides like a jackhammer and I find my darty much more comfortable to ride. My 17.2hh TB on the other hand has a lovely stride - long but not too long and is simply a joy to ride.

I reckon everyone should come for a trial day with me and ride everything from a sheltie to my big lad and everything in between (yes I have one of pretty much every size! Just no 16hh'ers!) and decide for yourself!

P.S. I also don't see the need for kids at pony club to be riding muckle big warmbloods but hey ho! That's what their parents and DC's deem that they need to get onto the teams so that is what they must have!
 
There are many factors to this ..not just weight (can't see how height even really comes into it). Fitness of the pony, amount of bone, conformation of the pony and the riders ability come before actual weight for me.
I've always ridden my daughters ponies from her 12.2 , her 13.1 and her 13.3 aswell as her TB. I have ranged from 12 to 13 stone in this time and am 5'7. I am a very well balanced, sympathetic rider and all have managed with no problems at all.
 
I think those who ride the tinies are terribly brave!! I am 5'6 and 8 and a half stone but refuse to ride anything under 13hh anymore - it's the no neck in front of me I hate!! I broke and schooled my eldest daughter's 11.2hh but my littlest girls currently have an 11 hander and a 12 hander and I cannot bring myself to repeat the experience!!
 
I am 5ft. ( weight my own business ) and have just started riding a 13.2 cob. He is so wide my legs are almost too short on him. He should make 14/14.2hh once he finishes growing. At my age I think prefect, I don't break my poor fragile ankle bones getting down. I was concerned, because I am not as slim as I used to be, so I spoke to my vet who was completely happy that he was well up to me as his rider.

I completely agree with those saying that it is unfair for adults to compete against children, it is totally unfair. I was so glad when classes at our local dressage were split to make it fairer!!!! I was so fed up having my socks whipped off by the little bu@@&rs!!! ;)
 
Well Dolly is only just 14hh, but is bum high, and a proper chunky cob lass, and I plan on hauling my 65kgs 5'7" self atop her when she has filled out a bit! :D
 
I have a new forest trotter cross who stands at 14.1 with 8 inches bone on the front and 9 on the back. Much easier to manoeuvr under branches and get on and off at hacks. I am 5.5ft and 11 and half stone, he copes fine and is also my driving pony.
 
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