Pony Club- Is It Worth It?

Eventer96

Eventer96

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Just wanted to know what the benifits are and is it worth joining. I am 13 years old and have already been a member, I had my D+ certificate at the age of 6. I then quit down to lack of instructors ect ect. I am now 7 years later re-joing, I will be taking my 17.0hh eventer along. I was just wondering will I look like a ploker taking him or not? What could I gain from the pony club? And is there anything that has changed massivly from 7 years ago haha
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It depends on your branch I think. The rallies in our branch aren't particularly exciting as they cater for a wide range of needs, but they do lots of practices for the individual disciplines such as eventing, showjumping and dressage, and these are very good indeed with some excellent instructors and very reasonable prices as well.
 
I suppose it depends on what yours offers and what you want todo.

VEry impressd that a 13yr old is riding a 17hh horse, well done
 
Yes times a million! My sister is taking her 16.3hh ex-racer along next year, and always has an amazing time. She does the teams and most comps have a huge range of heights (oe there's 2 seperate events for seniors and juniors so the older ones start at 3' and the littlies start at 1'). The rallies are free mostly and you get fab instruction at places where you can't usually go. I loved my time in the PC (quit as my horse was a loon and I didn't do rallies on him, and I was 17 so getting on a bit) and A loves her time there.
 
Presumably you could take one of your other horses along if the big one was proving a handful for you?
 
I'm a PC instructor and I have kids from 5yrs to 17yrs on 10hh to 17.1hh so I think you will be fine - it should be inclusive for everyone - ours certainly is, classes are arranged in age and ability and it works well for us
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i dont think you would look silly!!
i think some people maybe like me... rather jealous that you are on a 17h eventer when i am 16 and still on a 13.3hh little ****!!!
he looks LOVELY btw
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I've had some of my best experiences through Pony Club!

Oh the days of jumping bareback, taking saddles off whilst cantering.... all fun and games
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Just makesure you pick the right branch.
 
I am the same age as you, with the same size horse. And i can honestly say i still enjoy it, and most people are now on bigger horses, so if anything i feel more at home then if i had a little pony, but honestly nobody really minds
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Would say a resounding yes. Don't know your branch (I was a West Country girl) but some of the best times of my life were through PC. Most people I know who ride as adults, especially those who compete, say they wouldn't have got where they are without it. It's not just for serious competitors though - it really is for everyone. Give it a go - you don't have to stay!
 
Agree with the others - YES!
However, just a word of warning - the last time you went, you were 6! So of course, what you remember it little kids on fluffy ponies, gymkhana games, and poles on the ground.
However, not surprisingly, that wasn't what the older ones were doing then, and it ain't what they're doing now - I'm not familiar with your branch, but in ours, there are plenty of 13 year olds on horses, and a good few 14+ on extremely good horses.
So I think you might slightly want to adjust your expectations -no, you won't look out of place, but you also won't get a round of applause or cause everyone to hold their breath, just because you're on a big horse! There will be plenty for you to do, but don't expect to be headline news!
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Wish I could have joined - I would have just scraped in with my age when I first got my horse, but no transport so I couldnt!
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It really does depend on your branch.
At ours the instructors are not amazing, I will be doing RC over the winter. I will still join PC for dressage and eventing training but I don't think the all day rallies are really worth it - on XC you jump one, wait for everyone else, jump another etc but that's just my branch. I'm sure different branches do different things.
 
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[/ QUOTE ] Agree with the others - YES!
However, just a word of warning - the last time you went, you were 6! So of course, what you remember it little kids on fluffy ponies, gymkhana games, and poles on the ground.
However, not surprisingly, that wasn't what the older ones were doing then, and it ain't what they're doing now - I'm not familiar with your branch, but in ours, there are plenty of 13 year olds on horses, and a good few 14+ on extremely good horses.
So I think you might slightly want to adjust your expectations -no, you won't look out of place, but you also won't get a round of applause or cause everyone to hold their breath, just because you're on a big horse! There will be plenty for you to do, but don't expect to be headline news!

Thank you for your advice, I really wasn't looking for a round of a applause just wanted to know that its not as I remember. I know that most 13+ teenagers are on totally different level to my riding. Sorry if it came across that I was thinking the pony club wasn't good enough for me. I am really excited about going back to the poony club as I will be able to interact with more horsey folk then I do at the moment
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As others have said, it depends on the branch and what you want to gain from it. I had the opposite problem to you at your age, in that I was the only one left on a 13hh pony while everyone else had moved onto horses. My pony was every PC instructors worst nightmare (nutty, didn't do dressage and jumped bigger than most of the horses) and for that reason I didn't find rallies that useful. A few of the instructors were very good and just let us get on with it, but others used to spend an entire lesson trying to get the pony to a) go in an outline and b)jump slower, neither of which were ever going to happen, instead of focusing on my riding. My PC was also quite clique, and I found that I would get passed over for SJ teams in favor of children who's parents were very much the 'in-crowd'.

There are a lot of pro's though. PC camp in summer is fantastic - I went 3 times and loved it, more for the social side and the spending a week away from home with your horse! If you have good instructors it is also a really good way to learn. I would join and see how you go. And don't worry about how your ridng compares to others - one of the good things about pony club is that there are so many different levels of rider, and there will always be other people in the same boat as you!
 
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[/ QUOTE ] Agree with the others - YES!
However, just a word of warning - the last time you went, you were 6! So of course, what you remember it little kids on fluffy ponies, gymkhana games, and poles on the ground.
However, not surprisingly, that wasn't what the older ones were doing then, and it ain't what they're doing now - I'm not familiar with your branch, but in ours, there are plenty of 13 year olds on horses, and a good few 14+ on extremely good horses.
So I think you might slightly want to adjust your expectations -no, you won't look out of place, but you also won't get a round of applause or cause everyone to hold their breath, just because you're on a big horse! There will be plenty for you to do, but don't expect to be headline news!

Thank you for your advice, I really wasn't looking for a round of a applause just wanted to know that its not as I remember. I know that most 13+ teenagers are on totally different level to my riding. Sorry if it came across that I was thinking the pony club wasn't good enough for me. I am really excited about going back to the poony club as I will be able to interact with more horsey folk then I do at the moment
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I really wasn't being mean
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- I have a daughter your age who came out school to be homeschooled and has just gone back in, at approximately the same ages - i.e 6/13 - and for years she said 'but everyone at school was so BABYish' and we're saying 'yes, that's because they were BABIES! They're not NOW!' - it can be hard to move time on in your mind when you're not there.

Then we bumped into an old school friend last year, and she went 'Oh my goodness, you have grown so much, I was kindof expecting you to be younger than me!' which made us all laugh!

I know you weren't really expecting applause, sorry if the humour didn't come off - it just helps to remember sometimes that while you're moving on, so is everyone else!

You'll have a great time, and while there'll be plenty on horses, I doubt there'll be an awful lot actually bigger than yours!
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Ok, sorry I didn't quite get the joke
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just hope im not out of my depth now haha
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I have done intro and pre-noivce on him, now I am worried we wont be good enough
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