Is this the norm?

[archoak]

Never ventured in here before but wanted to ask a question. On a pony club childrens meet is jumping out of a field (over a post and rail fence about 2 feet wide, pc novice height) with no gaps either side and landing straight onto the road, the norm?

 

[Maesfen]

I bet a pound to a penny there was also a gate onto the road and they had the option whether to go over or not. They should also have had lots of 'nannies' to mop up and hold the timid ones hands so that they would still have got the enjoyment of the day but have been shown how to cross the country even if they didn't want to jump.
Whereabouts was this, it would give us a clue to normal behaviour (which it probably would have been for our country and PC!)

 

[Starbucks]

I don't see why not... I doubt there that everyone was forced to do it??

 

[archoak]

I was going to reply with what happened re the above but have just found out the hunt master has been reported to the Hunt Chairman and moderator so probably not best to make any further comment.

 

[Starbucks]

WTF??

For gods sake hunting is hunting and if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen!

I hate what hunting has become, it's all crap meets to cater for kids and numpty's. not on IMO.

BTW, I hunted when I was 8 on an 11.2 20 something yr old pony and managed with normal hunting, I didn't just go on PC/childrens meets. I either kept up or found a way round, although that wasn't very often, certainly not for a "2 foot wide PC novice"size fence onto a road.

Why are people so pathetic??

 

[Maisy]

WTF??

For gods sake hunting is hunting and if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen!

I hate what hunting has become, it's all crap meets to cater for kids and numpty's. not on IMO.

BTW, I hunted when I was 8 on an 11.2 20 something yr old pony and managed with normal hunting, I didn't just go on PC/childrens meets. I either kept up or found a way round, although that wasn't very often, certainly not for a "2 foot wide PC novice"size fence onto a road.

Why are people so pathetic??

I'm not really sure that reply is in the spirit of things is it??

OP...I wouldnt know if it is normal or not, as I have never been. I would think the best thing would be to speak to a 'regular' and find out. If it is, perhaps you could try going oout with a different hunt?

 

[archoak]

Why are people so pathetic??

A pony rotated over the fence and the child landed on her face in the road, is that pathetic enough for you?

 

[archoak]

OP...I wouldnt know if it is normal or not, as I have never been. I would think the best thing would be to speak to a 'regular' and find out. If it is, perhaps you could try going oout with a different hunt?

I wasn't hunting, just heard what had happened.

 

[alleycat]

Adults, including OAPs, make their own choices; a child, encouraged by a "responsible" adult to do something truly stupid is rather a different matter.

 

[Starbucks]

I'm sorry about that and I hope the child is ok but i must admit I agree with SL.

 

[combat_claire]

I'd just like to point out that this week is halfterm for most kids and as a result most hunts are holding PONY CLUB meets - these are marked clearly on the card as such, usually have a later time and it is understood that adults - be they on foot or on horseback are there to help the newbies and the youngsters have a good day and understand what is happening. They are the future of hunting after all. If they have a crap day, their pony is injured or they are, or they are totally overfaced then the chances are they won't come back ever again. Worse still they will probably tell their mates to avoid it as well. What an own goal for hunting...

Here we take the Pony Club out during two of the school holidays - the first is a Fen meet which introduces them to autumn hunting on a farm that is criss crossed with farm tracks - which is interesting, but also safe and with no jumping. The second is during the Christmas holidays and offers some jumping, but always a route round. I think they get the chance to assessed for their Hunting badge as well.

Some kids hunt every week and such meets are a bonus, some are away at school and a child friendly meet is the perfect way to celebrate being home and some have had no exposure to hunting and want to give it a bash. We should be encouraging this.

I don't hunt mounted, part of me thinks you are all crackers, but I am all in favour of introducing new people to the activity, be it newcomers and or Pony Club meets

Some hunting people should maybe read back over their posts in preview and think about whether what they have written makes them seem like someone welcoming that a newbie would be pleased to approach or like an arrogant tosser that would put someone off dipping their toe into the water of hunting.

 

[combat_claire]

Oh and I hope that poor kid and their pony weren't badly injured :-(

 

[archoak]

I can only tell you that she was cleaned up and remounted very quickly and wasn't from our pony club so we just hope so.

 

[combat_claire]

Glad to hear she was okay to carry on, hope it won't have put her off.

 

[Kenzo]

Hunting is not for the faint hearted, there is alot of danger and indeed sometimes this is what give people a rush and why some people enjoy it, at the same time you have to be responsible for the amount of danger, speed and what you choose to jump, at the end of the day the hunt has a job to do, nothing gets in the way. We are luckly enought to join them but we have to know what is expected, take the rough with the smooth and look after ourselves.

The hunt is not there to babysit people, but there are plenty of members that do go out of there way to help, encourage and make it safe for people and their children and indeed I think this should be encourged, negatives attidudes towards newcomers ...wont get us anywhere fast thats for sure.

Things change, sometimes for the better,sometimes for the worse.

 

[Stanny]

You were obviuosly not at the meet. I was hunting that day and at the meet everyone was informed that if they wished to jump to follow the field master and if not to follow another named person. No one was forced to jump anything and there were plenty of ways round all jumps.

The child who fell off remounted and continued and was one of the last to go home having had a brilliant day!!

 

[archoak]

No as I pointed out in original post I wasn't at the meet, just cleaned up the mess at that jump. You need to read the post properly and then you will understand why it was wrong to jump that jump. The particular child went home with her Grandmother about 10 minutes later because she started screaming when they started to canter (this information was given to me by a hunt regular).