Pony Club Centre plus question

[EmmasMummy]

I just wondered if anyone had been in a similar situation.

We have our pony, and daughter does ride but I wouldn't feel happy with her riding him in a group lesson just yet. YO niece rides him also and she is a lot further on.

Look at the centre membership, and the new option of the Centre Plus status.

My daughter will not be riding the pony at the lessons or in fact using the pony for PC activities, the other girl will.

I was thinking that my daughter would be a normal centre membership as she would be using their ponies. The other girl for all intents and purposes is loaning the pony to use for PC activities.

I have emailed them to ask them to clarify.

 

[3bh]

I just wondered if anyone had been in a similar situation.

We have our pony, and daughter does ride but I wouldn't feel happy with her riding him in a group lesson just yet. YO niece rides him also and she is a lot further on.

Look at the centre membership, and the new option of the Centre Plus status.

My daughter will not be riding the pony at the lessons or in fact using the pony for PC activities, the other girl will.

I was thinking that my daughter would be a normal centre membership as she would be using their ponies. The other girl for all intents and purposes is loaning the pony to use for PC activities.

I have emailed them to ask them to clarify.

Hi EmmasMummy. I'm manager of a PC centre, I'm sure HQ will answer your query more correctly but I'll have a go, if I've interpreted your message correctly!

If you are looking at membership for your daughter, and she's going to be riding the centre ponies in their activities, just a normal centre membership is fine.

The other girl if she is using your pony for branch based activities will need a branch membership. If she's using your pony for centre activities and also is taking it out competeing elsewhere, will need a centre plus membership.

The Centre Plus is designed for those kids who maybe keep their ponies at linked centres, or have a share/loan scheme from the centre where they also have the facility or option of going out to branch or competing outside of the centre. Or kids who have their own pony and access to transport to events, but who have come through the centre system and maybe want to stay training in the centre also with their friends and instructor, just on their own pony not centre ones.

Centre membership is for the kids who don't have any access to their own pony, or in some cases if they do have their own pony at home or wherever but they don't have access to transport or any intention of doing branch or external activities, and to all intents and purposes - like your daughter I think if I have interpreted correctly - is just riding as a normal riding school rider on the centre ponies.

Hope that is some help - I may have misinterpreted your situation however!

 

[EmmasMummy]

3BH, thank you! The girl I had emailed is off till next week and I'm an impatient monkey. That is what I had though, but wanted to clarify. Would be at least a year before I would let her ride her own pony in a group lesson as he can be a poo bum. He is fine on his own, and she is fine on other ponies in a group lesson. We just feel that this would be a good way to get both girls stepping forward.

 

[Lizzie66]

We have quite a few siblings and even some friends share a pony in our branch PC, as well as having children of all abilities in the lessons (from children who are only 3 years old). So don't rule out your local branch PC possibly speak to the DC and see whether you can go watch a rally or two. Pony club is about children learning to ride and care for their ponies, making friends and most importantly having fun. Don't feel your daughter has to be of a certain standard before she is able to join in, the instructors will cope and your daughter will be matched to a ride suitable for her.

 

[Shay]

If the pony is kept at a PC Centre this is exactly what center plus membership is about. But if you are at a private yard then center membership is not an option.

Before center plus you could ride an RS pony at a PC Center as a Center member. But as soon as you got your own pony - or had a loan / share - you were supposed to move to the branch. But a lot of PC Centers also run loan / share schemes, have liveries and working liveries. So the forced move to branch was potentially depriving them of revenue. Plus if you have an RS pony on share at the RS you don't necessarily have the transport to reach a branch.

So Center plus was invented as a stepping stone between RS and private ownership. But it is only available to people who keep their ponies at, or share ponies from, a center.

Even if you keep your pony somewhere else not at the PC Center your daughter can still be a center member if she rides at that center. Just because you have a privately owned pony that she would not use for PC you are not compelled to join a branch.

Center / center plus members are limited in what PC Competitions they can take part in - but you are a long way from that being an issue!

 

[EmmasMummy]

If the pony is kept at a PC Centre this is exactly what center plus membership is about. But if you are at a private yard then center membership is not an option.

Before center plus you could ride an RS pony at a PC Center as a Center member. But as soon as you got your own pony - or had a loan / share - you were supposed to move to the branch. But a lot of PC Centers also run loan / share schemes, have liveries and working liveries. So the forced move to branch was potentially depriving them of revenue. Plus if you have an RS pony on share at the RS you don't necessarily have the transport to reach a branch.

So Center plus was invented as a stepping stone between RS and private ownership. But it is only available to people who keep their ponies at, or share ponies from, a center.

Even if you keep your pony somewhere else not at the PC Center your daughter can still be a center member if she rides at that center. Just because you have a privately owned pony that she would not use for PC you are not compelled to join a branch.

Center / center plus members are limited in what PC Competitions they can take part in - but you are a long way from that being an issue!

Yeah, long way off i think...we have a hand injury now so no riding thse hols to :-(. I think my 3yr old would be riding fearlessly before 7yr old is. Haha.

I hadn't seen anything re the centre plus being limited to ponies liveried at the centre. Either way I do think its a good idea. We are a long way off from having our own transport , the sharer does so they can do more things which we do not mind.

 

[Bobthecob15]

This is a very old post I know but I wondered if anyone knew what our options are re membership?

So my daughter is a centre PC member as she rides at a local school and has been doing rallies etc on their horses. However we now have our own pony. She could be a centre plus member I understand and still ride at their rallies etc but a local branch actually offers more in terms of rallies and events so I'm wondering if they might be a better bet for us (we do have transport)..However she does enjoy the rallies and limited events at the riding centre so if we switched to a branch could we still attend some of the centre rallies? Or would it be competition's only?

She's got a group of friends who ride there too but the centre basically shuts over the summer and Easter holidays (as it's based at her school) so the branch does offer more on paper....However she's not at the level of competing yet so perhaps we don't need to worry yet? The branch has offered us a taster day so we will perhaps try that out but I just wondered if anyone had been in a similar situation. Thanks