Don't know what to do in terms of my riding atm

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lilyoftheincas

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I've been riding at my Pony Club centre for six years now, and have been taught by some wonderful ponies and instructors over the years. However, I would love, and feel ready to, go on and ride more 'able' horses and perhaps compete them. The problem with this though, is that I'm not in a position to share, loan or own at the minute. What should I do? I feel that the only way of carrying on riding is to keep attending my Pony Club rallies each week, however I feel so limited by these :(
 
Why are you not able to share? Is it a question of age/transport/location/finances? There are often ways around those...
 
Look up Northwood Riding Club - not sure where they are based now but they used to have weekly lessons and monthly competitions on riding school horses and ponies.
 
Hmm if you're in London then it may be a bit trickier but not impossible. Keep searching online, in local tack shops etc. you may find a share/part loan that would allow you to ride a couple of times a week and maybe compete now and then.
I was going to suggest contacting local racing yards as they are always keen for extra riders and you wouldn't necessarily need previous experience with racehorses - great fun and guarenteed to improve your riding/balance etc. but not sure whether there would be any close enough to you or not...
Hope you find something :)
 
Princess Jess said:
Hmm if you're in London then it may be a bit trickier but not impossible. Keep searching online, in local tack shops etc. you may find a share/part loan that would allow you to ride a couple of times a week and maybe compete now and then.
I was going to suggest contacting local racing yards as they are always keen for extra riders and you wouldn't necessarily need previous experience with racehorses - great fun and guarenteed to improve your riding/balance etc. but not sure whether there would be any close enough to you or not...
Hope you find something :)
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There aren't any racing yards near to me, thanks for your suggestion though! I think I'll just have to stick to Pony Club...
 
What are you looking for really?

I found my share on equineadverts and there were a few horses on there that were localish to me (us if I remember correctly?) in Kent and were just looking for people to school them on which is how I got my share although he's based in Surrey so is 90 mins away but that suits at the moment as I only work p/time.


I also used to browse adverts at Frogpool!
 
Karran said:
What are you looking for really?
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A horse that I can ride on the weekends and compete a bit, I am in the middle of my GCSEs so wouldn't be able to ride in the week. Basically I would love to just do what I wanted to with horses rather than being told what to do (and what not to do!) every single time I ride.

Its pretty unrealistic really :(

OR find a riding club such as Northwood (but more local to me) that targets non owners but still has more able horses than the average riding school and takes them out to lots of shows etc.
 
Not really unrealistic. I'd start asking around. If you could get something now during the holidays, they might be more accommadating for you to drop down to just weekend riding once you go back to school. :)
I had a quick look on equine adverts and saw one for a 15.3 tb based in chelmsford/kent.
You'd probably know the yards around bexley a little more than me, might be something there or in mottingham or downe.
Get out there and start answering adverts (be prepared for rejection) and keep your fingers crossed. :)
 
Also. I travel 90 mins one way to get to idiotpony but it still works out cheaper to visit him twice a week than to have a once weekly lesson. So don't rule out distance too muchs
 
If I recall correctly, you're near me. Have you tried looking on the Tackroom Frolics forum?
There might be someone on there who can help, or atleast give you some ideas locally.
 
There are a lot of possibilities on that website- and don't forget that you'll be old enough to learn to drive soon so that could open up loads of options. A lot of the shares are 20-30mins drive from my location in SE London so maybe similar for you?

I don't know where you ride but my riding school enters a lot of competitions with the more able riding school horses and people who work/are training at the yard.
 
merlin84 said:
There are a lot of possibilities on that website- and don't forget that you'll be old enough to learn to drive soon so that could open up loads of options. A lot of the shares are 20-30mins drive from my location in SE London so maybe similar for you?

I don't know where you ride but my riding school enters a lot of competitions with the more able riding school horses and people who work/are training at the yard.
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Yep, there have been quite a few that I've been interested in, loads more than on various fb sites! Where do you ride? I'm in south east too :)
 
Am I right in believing you're at mascals? I may have got that wrong but think it was you. If so it is a livery yard (so private horses which may be available for part loan) as well as a RS. My friend's horse is stabled there and she has a part loaner. There are loads of shares/part loans available in the Bexley area so it should be easy to find something.
 
Dulwich Riding School. I'm kind of the opposite to you- I have the car and finances for a share/loan but time is a bit of an issue and more importantly my riding isn't good enough yet for someone to entrust me with their horse as have recently come back to riding after a v long break.

Desperately working on it though as getting a loan is my long term aim...:o
 
What about Chessington Equestrian? I'm pretty sure they do PC and take people out to comps on school horses/ponies. I rode a couple horses there last year and both were really nice to sit on.
 
biccie1 said:
Am I right in believing you're at mascals? I may have got that wrong but think it was you. If so it is a livery yard (so private horses which may be available for part loan) as well as a RS. My friend's horse is stabled there and she has a part loaner. There are loads of shares/part loans available in the Bexley area so it should be easy to find something.
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Its more that I can't really find anyone that would just do a weekend/one day loan.
 
Mascals always had some more complicated horses available for those wanting to further their riding, and they can be borrowed for inhouse competitions so don't get bogged down in the PC ponies etc.

You may struggle to find a loan if you just want to do one weekend day, especially if you want to compete. Just think, if you are only riding one day, and that day you are competing, who is getting/keeping the horse fit for you for you to compete it.

That's not to say loans like this are not available but they will be harder to find. A friend has a loaner that just does Saturday's so they are available but it's a hacker rather than a competitive horse.

Good luck and don't discount RS horses as they are not all the PC ponies you've been riding.
 
biccie1 said:
Mascals always had some more complicated horses available for those wanting to further their riding, and they can be borrowed for inhouse competitions so don't get bogged down in the PC ponies etc.

You may struggle to find a loan if you just want to do one weekend day, especially if you want to compete. Just think, if you are only riding one day, and that day you are competing, who is getting/keeping the horse fit for you for you to compete it.

That's not to say loans like this are not available but they will be harder to find. A friend has a loaner that just does Saturday's so they are available but it's a hacker rather than a competitive horse.

Good luck and don't discount RS horses as they are not all the PC ponies you've been riding.
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Very true :) Quite a lot of wanting a loan/share is because of the fustration of not being able to do what I want when I ride, sounds 'spoilt bratty' but I only get to ride for one hour a week and I just want to get the best out of my ride and enjoy it as much as I can. Hope you understand where I'm coming from :)
ETA: I did say, in my first post, that I wasn't able to loan or share, and I was more looking for an alternative to that than looking for loaning suggestions. :)
 
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Just had a thought - old Bexley is advertising horses to "rent" (their word, not mine) on short or long term basis. Might be worth checking out whether they have something suitable.

Otherwise a wanted advert on TRF and preloved may be your best bet.

Not spoilt brattish
 
* posted too soon!

Not spoilt brattish at all. I bought my own because I didn't want people dictating what I did in my riding time.

Good luck!
 
biccie1 said:
Just had a thought - old Bexley is advertising horses to "rent" (their word, not mine) on short or long term basis. Might be worth checking out whether they have something suitable.

Otherwise a wanted advert on TRF and preloved may be your best bet.

Not spoilt brattish
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Yep, sent them an email a couple of hours ago :) Thank you!
 
Little update thing: I've found out that I can't do the one that I was hoping for, and have put up an ad on Tack Room Frolics advertising a weekend loan. Do you think this is completely unrealistic and a waste of time or there could be someone out there wanting one?
 
Not a waste of time at all, you don't get if you don't ask!!
I saw your ad on TRF, I will keep my ears open for you locally too.
 
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