Childhood Ponies!

I only admitted to my mother what I used to get up to, the other day! Which included riding in pairs, each holding the reins of the other pony (not a success I might add - don't try this at home!). There were many many other slightly dangerous activities which I wouldn't dream of doing now I am old and cautious!
 
Whew! Some castle Tia. What fun you must have had.

We had a castle too, except it was a Stoneage Camp called Blackbury Castle and I think we wore the walls down galloping up and down them!
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Well, we were 'playing' with my friend's pony when we were very little... I'd climbed up onto his bum, and was sitting on his bottom facing backwards, and he was just grazing, until my friend grabbed hold of his bridle, yelled 'YEEEEHAH!' and started him into a trot! I managed to hang on halfway around the field, but then he threw in three little bucks, stopped suddenly, and stuck his head back in the grass. Needless to say, we were both on the floor in hysterics! I pity the poor pony though, the things he put up with!
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I still ride our pony bareback! I never had my own pony until now, so I didn't get to do all the vaulting and things (Riding school health and saftey regs put an end to it
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), and just had to borrow other people's ponios... When I'm older though, I want to get my kids a fizzy little PC pony... A palomino welsh A... I always wanted one when I was small!
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Blame Deadpan I think
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Actually, I didn't realise that I'd been here for quite so long
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but it was fun reading back through it all.
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I got Chex when I was 12, and did a lot of stupid/unsafe things. Maybe thats why he's falling apart on me now, 9 years later
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Oh lordy! When I was about 10 or 12 I used to hack about 6 miles at the weekend in the summer up busy main roads to get to some open fields that bordered the river Thames (yes we were in London area then). Once I reached the water's edge I would whip my saddle and bridle off, strip down to my undies (
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) and get on bareback with just a headcollar and I would take my pony out swimming in the Thames. Then I would tether him to a tree in the field and sunbathe to dry off whilst watching the boats go by, it was bliss.

On weekends when I was competing I would hack (ride and leading at least one if not 2 ponies) miles and miles up main roads and over a foot bridge over the M3 (the one by the Jobs dairy if anyone knows of it) (VERY scary!) to get to shows. We didn't have transport in those days and I would tether my other ponies to a tree/fence/bin or whatever was available whilst I was in the ring on one and then swap saddles quickly to take the next one in.

Nowadays I won't even tie my horses up to my trailer when I am there, let alone leave them hitched to a 'twig' whilst I'm riding across the showground!
 
Yep ! I used to go out hacking in Rotherfield woods and all around for hours on end. We often didn't bother with the paths into the woods either....any large bank or drop off the road would do as an entry point. Paddling in the streams and rivers and jumping anything that came to hand. Used to be allowed to help taking the rides out from the riding school too....I was about 10 or 11 at the time....can you imagine the hoo-ha if that were to happen today ! Also used to hack hours to a show or PC rally and back before we got a trailer.

I also remember pny club camps at the hop farm in paddock wood....long before it was developed into the family park that it is today. There were no luxuries...just camp beds in the dusty, dirty oasts. It was a real shame when they moved the camps to the 'luxury' of the Ardingly showground
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I used to "ride" my pony in the field, no headcollar or anything - I'd just jump on and kick and we'd go galloping round. When she'd had enough she would just neatly buck me off in a corner and trot away. I didn't even wear a hat most of the time.
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We had no school or anything, just a field so I only ever went hacking. half the time I had no saddle and my pony was strong . I can remember trotting through flood water hanging grimly onto the mane thinking NOT coming off in that to myself! I also remember trying to get my horse to swim through deep flood water.

I also used to assume that if there were no crops and no livestock, fields automatically became "bridleways" and I would jump ditches and gates to get into them and gallop. Funnily enough the farmers never seemed to mind - how times have changed...
 
God that brings back memories, used to do all the riding bareback in headcollars, swimming with ponies etc when I was about 10. Used to hack 8 miles to a show, and as you say go in every possible class then hack home, poor little pony. But didn't seem to do him any harm. Often think of those days now when I am hacking daughters horse out in my flourescents, waving down idiot drivers. I wouldn't let her hack out on her own until she was 14, and she always had to take her phone. We used to crawl underneath the ponies too, and often ride double on one pony, and that was on the roads!
I definitely think we had more fun than children do nowadays, but that is just a sad sign of the times.
 
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