Nostalgia - Riding in 1960s

[Spot_the_Risk]

I learnt in the 70's at various riding schools. Crossways at Yelverton on Dartmoor was the closest one to us, I was desperate to ride, but so scared too, I used to be physically sick with nerves! My favourite thing to do was half an hour in the sand school, we would do exercises like scissors, round the world etc, did my first ever jump in that school and fell off too - good job the lesson had also included falling off practice, anyone else remember that!? Then we used to have a half an hour hack afterwards. I had the black cap with fixed peak, and later also had the add on strapping with chin cup.

Also had some wonderful holidays in Cornwall at Bush Farm in the 80's - loads of girls sharing one big room, screaming, yelling, up late, huge breakfasts, riding all day with ice cream cartons filled with sandwiches tied to the saddles. We used to ride for hours, then stick the ponies in a random field, lunch, and go home a different route, loads of galloping and jumping, used to ride to the beach with our cossies on, and swim the ponies, definitely the happiest days of my childhood for sure.

Don't ride my horse bareback as he is so wide you have to hang your legs over his shoulders, but I did do scissors after a ride a couple of weeks ago - both ways too, and easily, I impressed myself! And I still yell and holler when galloping, too much fun not to!

 

[ChinaTree]

Who says it was all in the 60's!!! I learnt to ride in the 90's with my Granny chucking me up on her hunter when I was just 18 months old. OK, so maybe I didn't do the riding school part, but I had all old equipment (a few bits left over from when my dad learnt to ride), my wax jacket and cream jodpurs always went amazingly with my bright yellow wellies.
I started bareback on my Granny's hunter, and occasionally borrowed a pony from a local girl. I got my own pony when I was ready to do more than was fair for the ageing hunter. It was always ride and lead, and my Granny taught me to catch loose horses whilst out hacking, and head them off away from roads. As soon as I was off the lead rein I started hacking out with the girl we had borrowed the pony from. (She had been taught by my Granny in the same way!) We used to go and ride through mock-up trenches, found some steps and logs, and would trot, get down, hop and get back up (kinda vaulting).
My two most valued treasures are my Granny's hunting crop, given to me when she had to stop riding (I've never used it, it's sat there waiting for the chance) and her old hunting boots, which I worked to earn. Despite the fact they're a bit of a sqeeze they are kept well pollished, and are ready to go.
I also grew up with the same books that have been mentioned, but I must add one. Surely someone has read Silver Snaffles by Primrose Cumming? I also have a copy of the 8th and 9th edition of the manual of horsemanship!

 

[sheeniebee]

I learned to ride in late sixties aged 4 on a devil possessed roan belonging to the farmers daughter. He would reluctantly trot round the field but happy in the knowledge that he could gallop, bucking back to the gate any time soon!! If he could possibly take the route along the barbed wire fence, all the better! Lessons were at the local pony club 'rally' where snobbery was just flourishing. Many a headscarved instructor shouting, 'legs, legs legs gill'. Our forray into private lessons found us sore and blistered after being lunged on a fat pony with no stirrups or reins, arms crossed behind our backs going over cavalettis!! Arent they banned now too. I know i wanted Mr James Munro banned - how i ached. Mind you two ex racing tbs later, I have to say i have yet to be scared about riding !!

I agree poor 'newbies' have missed out on a lot of fun. I have friends who learned to ride in riding schools as adults and i have to say, love them though i do - they are a bunch of chickens....'hacking out alone....oh no!! Galloping - i dont think so, thats a bit dangerous...!

Follyfoot farm was the best too wasnt it...!

 

[caramac]

Follychoppins - did you get my personal message I sent you? I learnt to ride at Worlebury too and am desperate to know if you knew any of the ponies I used to ride.

Sherry was scary and I learnt to ride on a little exmoor called Prince with her leading me. We used to canter right from day one and I can remember her yelling at me to hang onto the neck strap and not the reins so I wouldn't pull on his mouth. I rode there for about a year and then started going to Uphill Riding School which was closer to where I lived, plus lessons were cheaper. Worlebury used to charge £1.75 an hour and Uphill was only £1 an hour so I could have 2 lessons a week. All lessons were hacking and in winter we used to ride on the beach. It was fab. I also used to help take the ponies back to their fields at the end of the day which used to involve riding bareback and leading two. The furthest field away was a good 45 minutes hack and involved having to cross the main road leading out of Weston. Probably wouldn't be allowed nowadays. I just wish I had the confidence and devil may care attitude I had back then!

 

[Borderreiver]

Lot's of very familiar things on this thread. It was 1966 when I started riding. I think it was easier then because the roads belonged to everyone, not just cars, so you could ride out for hours as it was possible to get from one place to another.
Riding lessons cost 10 shillings and were very basic but we did have fun.

 

[frozzy]

Mistarrannah
I remember Silver Snaffles so well, and have just purchased it from Amazon for my granddaughter for £10.99 in paperback!!!
I was a 1959 rider (when I started age 5), kitted out by Jacatex too. First hat was stuffed with newspaper as it was a little on the big side!!! The only bit used at our R/S was a snaffle,nothing ever got laminitis and the vet was a very infrequent visitor!!

 

[MurphysMinder]

I started learning to ride in the late 50s , by the time I was 5 I had fallen off when cantering round the field in a group and the pony behind trod on me and broke my collar bone. Strangely my parents didn't think to sue! This was at Gates Riding school in Rostherne, Cheshire, I don't suppose anyone remembers them. They had 2 little black ponies called N***er and S**bo .
I shudder now when I think of some of the things my friends and I did, all before we reached our teens, we used to go out for the day with our ponies, play red indians by galloping in headcollars, bareback and without hats, and of course think nothing of a 2 hour hack to a show, spend all day there and hack home again. Or if the show was a really long distance, we used to cram about 10 ponies in the back of a transporters cattle wagon, all us kids sat up in the luton and away we went.

 

[Dirtymare]

Ooo, how this thread takes me back.
I started riding in the late sixties at my local riding establishment and being petrified of the owner - one Captain Long who used to play polo for the Army in his younger days, and tried to teach us kids the finer points!!
I can remember being petrified of all the instructors I had, but never the ponies I rode.
I can also remember doing round the world and scissors, and bending down and touching your toes at various paces. Also, the good Captain had us leaning right back on the ponies back. This was also at various paces. The most terrifying being at canter!!
I'm not sure about the music though, but the TV programmes were fab.

 

[Merrymoles]

This is making me so nostalgic!
I remember having to take the saddle off at canter but not the yellow cotton gloves - sure I had some of those too! We had to keep leaves under our knees for the whole ride and I remember being taken on a lead rein on a small pony by someone on a large hunter - the pony had to trot for the whole two hours which sorted out my rising trot. I also remember coming across a fallen tree across the bridlepath which the adults jumped but which the kids went under on their ponies which makes me wonder just how high it was.
I was told off the first time I fell off (stop crying, it was your own fault) and remember being sick with nerves because I was frightened of the instructor, not the ponies.
Probably my fondest memory is galloping flat out (we did a lot of that) across a frosty field with the RS owner singing "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool" at the top of her voice. I also remember her taking us out after school and she was riding her old pony bareback wearing red high heels.

 

[Beachcomber]

This is just the sort of thing I love to read. Riding the "old school" way! I learned to ride in the 1960's at Worlebury Riding School with Sherry and Shelagh Tonkin. We learned on the leading rein hacking - walking trotting and cantering from day one, riding on the road and in the woods in all weathers. Scaredy cats and fair weather riders being swiftly sifted out! It made a man of you, no messing whether you were 6 or 16. Later I was lucky enough to be invited to become a "staff" member. This meant I was in the privileged position of teaching hundreds of youngsters to ride. I used to take the "half hour" with little tots in riding hats with elastic (love it!) on shetlands. I was on foot, they swiftly learned rising trot with the assistance of a hand on the back of the trousers. On the hour my trusty steed had a learner either one or both sides, the six of us working together in a purposeful manner with I can honestly say very few fallers. Going in the school ( a muddy circle in the field) was considered boring - 35 years on I feel the same about that, we all wanted to ride out and be as good as Sherry who with a withering glance or comment could bring down even the most arrogant stuck up riders to a level of modesty! Heehee We wore hacking jackets, shirts and ties. No sniff of goretex or fleece. When I reached 40 I went back to riding having had the childbirth break and shortly found myself in the position of being in the company of a nappy chestnut mare who I ended up buying and working with, all my knowledge being put to the test in real life, not in some dull arena. My OH will tell you I have a sharp mind and a critical eye when it comes to poor riding, the times I have said we would never have been allowed to do that, or what is the point of 20 hours being walked up and down the road on a leading rein with someone who is interested in chatting to their friend and not instructing - Eddie Izzard says the horses are child wearing - I could not agree more! ( I should add I am a teacher now too). I would not have wanted to learn any other way. It was tough, it was right! Bareback jumping, round the world at a walk, vaulting, scissors ( showing my age now) we were confident and had bums like glue! Then there was carrying haybales to the fields across the horses withers bareback to the field in just a headcollar - most of us could manage 2! Oh dear I will have to stop. This is making me feel very old and wistful. I will just say though lucky old us learning to ride before the HSE took the fun out of it all and having a manege and performing multiple changes became the order of the day. What is the point having a horse if you can't actually go anywhere on it? Now I will stop before I get banned

Lucky us! ?