Are you an adult pony rider who cops flack?

I havent ever had any particularly nasty comments to my face, but i do feel like people look down on me (not just literally lol) for having a pony when im 25. :rolleyes: Ive only recently felt happy about the size issue though, and ive had some very kind words from people on here about my girl which has helped greatly! Im hoping to take her out to some small comps this year and im sure i will feel pretty self concious when im surrounded by adults on 'proper' horses but you know what- i dont care! Weve just started to get a bond together and i intend to make the most of her for many many years and hopefully have some success too :D
Also it gives me a a bit of a smug feeling when other people have ridden her and theyre a bit shocked when they say "shes not easy to ride!!" and "shes great fun" etc PONIES ALL THE WAY :D:D
 
I will soon be joining the ranks of the adult pony riders! :) will be backing my 3yr old gypsy cob in the summer, he's currently just touching 14.1. I'm 5ft7 and 9 1/2 stone.

Can't wait! I'm mostly looking forward to being able to get on from the ground :) imagine being able to hop off to do a gate while hacking and just being able to hop back on again! Bliss!
 
Im going to add to this, i feel like ranting :p
I find that the comments that ive had the most, dont refer to the adult/pony thing. Heres and example of a common thing i experience:
Me: Im hoping to get Monroe a nice new saddle this year
Pony Hater: Why?? Shes a pony
or
Me: Monroe wasnt working in an outline very consistantly today
Pony Hater: Why bother asking her, shes a pony, theyre supposed to go round with theyre heads in the air.
etc etc etc, like for some reason because shes 8 inches smaller than other peoples horses she doesnt deserve nice smart tack or theres no point putting any time and effort in to her :rolleyes:;)
Rant over haha :D
 
i have never had a mean comment to my face (5ft5, 13.3 pony), but i do feel a bit self concious taking him out, but he loves it, is the right size for me as an MGA pony and any dodgy looks we get are soon stopped when the rosettes come out! that said i did ask permission to jump him at pony club, just in case anything was said (and in doing so got one of the best compliments ive ever had about my riding and him!)
 
im also a mga rider and i have had my 12'1 pony since i was 10 im now 26 and would never dream of parting with him.....

He is known as the kiddie killer. i do get funny looks when out hacking but his oftern going side wards and leaping about and he shows people why his not a childs pony!!!

What he lacks in size he makes up for with attitude (he does suffer with shortman syndrome)

he is the sort of pony that is up for anything....

What i find funny is that all the giant horses at my yard love him! and he oftern baby sits them out on hacks!
 
Sometimes - particularly as I used to have a 16.3 warmblood and then downsized to a 14.2. Couldn't give a toss though and they are soon simpering when they would like someone to open a gate when we are out hacking:D.

My pony can turn a hoof to anything, gets herself out of trouble if I mess up approaching an obstacle, doesn't eat a bag of feed a week and can turn on a sixpence:cool:

On the downside, she is far to smart ever to be left in the company of a child and doesn't seem to have an "off button" - but then that could be arab X welsh whizzy mix!!
 
My boy is 13.3 and for me I find him just the right size! :)

I usually get flack of non horsey people who think they are for kids and they tell me to buy a proper grown up horse! *sigh*

Horsey people always say how cute my boy is even at comps he always gets fussed lots for being cute! :p
 
You might 'look' silly on a pony but you can get on it from the ground, tack and rug up without giving yourself a hernia, small tack etc costs less, pony costs less to buy, less to feed, less to insure, isn't as stupid as a horse and less likely to have veterinary problems. Now who's the silly one?
 
I was a bit worried about this when I moved from a little private showing yard to my current yard, which is a big livery yard with lots of people doing dressage and hunting. But no one has ever said anything - the only comments are that he's cute (which he is!! :D) and surprise when I say he's 13.2hh as he's such a chunk people seem to think he's bigger. I get more flack for putting him in a polka dot rug than for how short he is!
 
I've got a 16.2 and 14.2 ex racers and I much prefer jumping on the pony! All my horsey neighbours are jealous that I can still get away with riding him. If anyone did give me flack, I'd challenge them if light enough to not have a massive grin on their face after riding him, he's such fun
 
I have a 16.3 and my friend has a 14.2 - most of the time I am jealous TBH. Her pony can do everything my horse can and it looks less complicated and way more fun, plus her livery is way cheaper. If anyone gives her flak she just laughs and I can understand why!
 
I was told to leave a show jumping clinic by the trainer and buy a 16hh then come back to jump - I am 23, 4ft11 and have a 14.1hh new forest pony. He is a fine size for me as im short! I find ponies more fun anyway. But do get few comments about my age and his height. Personally i don't care he my little gem :-)
My mum always says the best things can in small packages!!!
Does annoy me how things are determined and riders age and horses height :-(

This is a pic of me jumping my boy...

picture.php
 
If anyone thinks I can't handle a horse cos I ride a pony, I offer a swap. Get their horse going well and they fail to get mine to canter! Job done!
 
My boy is 16hh but i wish i could have a 14hh pony, so much fun i just feel too big on anything under 15.2hh i dont feel i have enough horse/pony underneath me even though they carry me fine i just dont feel comfortable

I have a friend who has a 13.1hh Iclandic pony and she gets loads of flack from people about riding him she is about 5'6" and size 14 carries her fine though and she doesnt feel comfortable on bigger horses.

Its personal preference, people who constantly go on about rider age and height of the horse they are "supposed" to have get on my nerves. Why cant everyone just enjoy what they have instead of having to bitch about everyone else!!
 
Flame_ said:
:eek: I hope they gave you your money back.

Your pony looks cracking. :)
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Ahh thanks... he is a good boy.

I refused to leave and said that i had payed and was there to jump, so jump i would!! She didn't look too impressed!! haha! He was such a dude and jumped everything clear, even when she put them up and changed everything to long horse stride - as a dig at me. But was great as he just got a clean extra stride
:-) i did write and complain afterwards!
 
I used to get flack for riding a shetland pony. It mostly came from the kids along the road that rode the riding schools dartmoor ponies at shows. They deemed me a lesser rider for riding him and they were all oh so smart on their 12hh dartys because they were bigger. What I laughed at was that they would still give me flack as I was standing there with the red rosettes and they held up the lower end of the class more often than not in showing. So just to annoy them I went and got myself a bigger and better dartmoor than theres :D A full up 12.2hh brick outhouse of a pony who was a cracker and a half! That soon shut them up :P

At the time I was also riding my 13.2hh Fell pony in the ring and work riding racehorses which just made their comments all the funnier!

To be fair I still do get a bit of flack for riding the shetlands but until someone who is actually capable of riding them to my standards comes along then they are stuck with me :D
 
I am 5ft 2 and mine is 14.1, but he is deep in the girth, carries my leg fine, why get something bigger? The only thing that annoys me is the age restrictions on showing, just because its a pony does not mean to say that it can only be ridden by a child or teenager, there is no restriction on riding horses/hunters but if a animal is under 153cm there is quite often an age restriction. The saying riders correct age for the animal they ride, is there a list somewhere that states the age you have to be to ride a certain height of animal, which does not take into account confirmation of the animal, breed, riders height and weight, madness!!
 
vanessa roberts said:
I am 5ft 2 and mine is 14.1, but he is deep in the girth, carries my leg fine, why get something bigger? The only thing that annoys me is the age restrictions on showing, just because its a pony does not mean to say that it can only be ridden by a child or teenager, there is no restriction on riding horses/hunters but if a animal is under 153cm there is quite often an age restriction. The saying riders correct age for the animal they ride, is there a list somewhere that states the age you have to be to ride a certain height of animal, which does not take into account confirmation of the animal, breed, riders height and weight, madness!!
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Ah but the thing with Show Ponies and Show Hunter Ponies is that they were originally designed to be childrens ponies and thus have age limits on them in the show ring. As the child got older the size of the pony went up a hand. Once they reached a certain age they were expected to go onto horses which could have been anything from a 15hh Hack to an 18hh Heavyweight Hunter. Part Bred Arab classes have no age restrictions. Horses have a minimum age of 15 or 16 for the rider. Natives have no age restriction except for stallions whereby you have to be at least 12yo to ride a small breed and 14 to ride a large breed. Apart from that you could put your 80yo granny on a shetland and be fine and dandy.
 
vanessa roberts said:
I am 5ft 2 and mine is 14.1, but he is deep in the girth, carries my leg fine, why get something bigger? The only thing that annoys me is the age restrictions on showing, just because its a pony does not mean to say that it can only be ridden by a child or teenager, there is no restriction on riding horses/hunters but if a animal is under 153cm there is quite often an age restriction. The saying riders correct age for the animal they ride, is there a list somewhere that states the age you have to be to ride a certain height of animal, which does not take into account confirmation of the animal, breed, riders height and weight, madness!!
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I agree, espacially as kids are growing so quickly these days. Most are bigger than me by the time they're 13 and when you consider that they're supposed to be on 12.2s until they're 12!! My husband's god daughter has just turned 14 and has very nearly outgrown her 14.2! I'm hoping I'll get the ride next and unless I get fat I'll never outgrow him!
 
Omg! Katiey I can't believe someone said to you! What a cow.

Good on you for sticking it out and proving them wrong, good on the pone too :D

Plus you'd beat them lanky horses in a jump off anyday.
 
I know i was a bit shocked when she said it! She was asking us all to tell her a little bit about us and our horses and when got to me i started and she said "before you go any further, you need to leave and buy a 16hh then come back and jump. Ponies are for children". Proper pissed me off. I rode for my life that day!!! He did me proud like always. Needless to say never did a clinic with her again!!!!!
Exactly nippy little ponies are the way forward :-)
 
I ride a big warmblood myself- i would never laugh at anyone who rides a pony. How childish and pathetic, actually i would not concern myself with anyone who would act like this. As long as the horse is carrying the riders weight comfortably i could not give a toss!! some people need to get a grip......
 
vanessa roberts said:
The only thing that annoys me is the age restrictions on showing, just because its a pony does not mean to say that it can only be ridden by a child or teenager, there is no restriction on riding horses/hunters but if a animal is under 153cm there is quite often an age restriction. The saying riders correct age for the animal they ride, is there a list somewhere that states the age you have to be to ride a certain height of animal, which does not take into account confirmation of the animal, breed, riders height and weight, madness!!
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^ This

I want to do some WH classes with the Exmoor this summer but can't do the WHP (he's 13.2) as I am too old :mad: So will have to do WH and have his little pony legs up against horses.

Should prove interesting :rolleyes:
 
The age restrictions aren't just in showing as I think it is trailblazers that have them with show-jumping. I contacted them to ask if that meant I was unable to compete in their jumping series and they said yes I couldn't compete but I would be able to do their dressage - well dressage is oh so similar to show jumping isn't it so I suppose I shouldn't feel too left out? !!!!

I know so many 12 year olds much taller and heavier than I am!

age/height restrictions REALLY annoy me especially at local level.
 
Yes, meee! I have always ridden ponies. I have ridden a lot of horses but I've just always been 'the one' to ride the littlens lol. I did a degree at Writtle and nobody else would ride the ponies. To be fair, I am only 5ft 3 and very little legs, but still.

Now I have a Fell pony who is just about 13.1hh, on a tall day :p and am planning on buying a traditional coloured baby to make about the same height. I got on my friends maxi cob the other day and they all said I looked like a pea on a mountain lol!

I think in the showing world it's much less frowned upon/laughed at, as many adults show even the smallest of ponies, whereas in other disciplines it's very much the case that adults ride horses and children ride ponies.
 
Well after a being thrown from a 12hh-er I'm sticking to my 14.2 for now :p :D much safer ;).

Joking aside I love seeing peoples reaction when me and the pony go jumping now :D. We managed to impress some people the other day by just casually jumping bigger than those on their proper showjumpers :D, I love him and he got lots of lovely comments that day.
A sneaky photo of the pony pinging
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Not complaining though I get to ride all the naughty little ponies as I'm a shortie, great fun and great for my riding, I will develop a superglue seat!
 
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