Pony Club, name change?

M

Mooseontheloose

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 January 2015
Messages
387
Location
UK
Visit site
I saw a well written letter in H and H from a young lad who says he gets laughed at when he mentions 'The Pony Club', and is advocating a name change.
Many of us have been asking for this for a long time. It's no wonder some of the older members feel a bit embarrassed about admitting to being a member - it does sound a little like something from the fifties.
Anyone else think it's time this was seriously considered?
 
An interesting point. Well worth consideration . I suppose that as I have grown up with the name ,it doesnt make me cringe . But I do remember as a kid ,not mentioning it to non horsey friends. The only trouble is ,will thjey come up with something worse !
 
Judging from their last attempt at 're-branding' anything's possible!
I loved being in the PC but as an adult did sometimes keep quiet about what I did in my spare time.
As the lad said in his letter, you have brownies and guides, and cubs and scouts, there's a sensible progression as you get older. PC is fine until you're a beer drinking, car driving rugby playing adult!
 
Haven't read the letter but I think it's a valid point, have heard horsey boys being teased about whether they are/were a member of the Pony Club. (Think there are also some girls who would equally embarrassed to admit membership too) I think both the name and the image conjure up some embarrassing associations some very fair and some very unfair.
 
Mike007 said:
An interesting point. Well worth consideration . I suppose that as I have grown up with the name ,it doesnt make me cringe . But I do remember as a kid ,not mentioning it to non horsey friends.
Click to expand...

Same here, although the usual response I used to get from non-horsey people at school was that I must be a snob. So I dont think its just thought of as childish but also posh. Im not sure what else you could call it though? We already have Riding Clubs...
 
My kids say everyone at school laughs at anyone in the Pony Club, they are glad they are not members anymore! The name sounds babyish according to them.
 
100% agree, I get teased all the time because I'm pretty involved in pony club and it makes it sound like a much younger organisation than it is. Additionally on things like my personal statement I feel it would have looked better saying something like "I volunteer regularly at my local youth equestrian association" rather than "pony club", maybe it's just me but feel less silly saying the first one!
 
In my previous job the term "Pony Club" was used as an insult, as in some riders were "Pony Club" meaning faffing around with ponies, primpng and preening, jumping and circling in a sand pit rather than being out doing a job (Police Horses).

Before anyone jumps down my throat, I think the Pony Club does good training, and quite like circles and jumps myself! It was more about the name being easily associated with a "My Little Pony" feel rather than a serious equestrian training group. I can quite see how the name may be great for a younger rider, but not as appropriate for a teen.

I like the above suggestion for the Youth Equestrian Association, or YEA. It sounds more professional, and sporting as in sporting excellence, than Pony Club.

Maybe like, cubs and scouts, there could be two related sections? They could still come under the same overall organisation, even share training sessions, but the younger group would be one name, the older the other. Maybe change over at age 10? That would co-inside with Primary school to High School, so the kids would belong to a different group before being mocked at school, and before social media takes hold.
 
The thing is people who are going to take the mick will do, regardless of what it's called. Take the suggestion of 'Young Riders' I can think of 101 ways to make that sound like something it really isn't!

I think the mick taking is more about what is is rather than what it is called.

FWIW I would have loved to have had the pee taken from me for being in the pony club when I was a kid, sadly I never had my own pony (and PC centres were not yet set up) so I have no sympathy for any of you or your kids ;p
 
I think one of the problems is that PC membership is declining among older members who go off to the disciplines and do their 'Young Rider' or Under 18 classes and somehow the name Pony Club can be off putting nowadays.
I'm all for the PC, want people to stay in it, because it's one of the only organisations whose stated aim is education and welfare - so those who stay in it can carry on learning about horsecare up to a high level, rather than just the competitive side. It also gives them a chance to fast track to their BHS exams, and to get into a spirit of volunteering, helping younger members etc.
Benz, no one is asking for sympathy, and I would hope that PC members appreciate how lucky they are to be doing it at all, I certainly did. I didn't own a pony when I was younger either, but luckily got the chance to go to a very kind branch where I was helped along the way.
 
Never mind the name - what did they do to the branding?! But actually the usual abbreviation of PCUK (aside from looking slightly like a fashion brand) is probably modern enough and distant enough. The thing is kids (and indeed some adults) will take any excuse to make fum of something. No matter what it is called.

But echo OP - the letter was good. Very mature for a 14yr old. He should be proud. I was (ahem) older before I got my first letter to H&H printed!
 
Yes, the re-branding was a shot in the foot - and other places as well. What a waste of money, well discussed on this board.
Many very good coaches start as older PC members who go on to get their qualifications or accreditations. I worry that if they don't stay on until their teens they'll be lost and the horse world seriously needs good instructors and coaches with more than the basic grounding in common sense.
 
On a slightly different angle, my daughter once told someone she belonged to Pony Club only to be told as she had a horse she shouldn't be in Pony Club - just saying........
When she eventually left at the age of 23 she was riding a 17h DWB - not exactly a pony..........
 
I'm in my second year of pony club, and I absolutely adore it. I'm one of the oldest riders in the club, and tbh before I joined I did think the whole thing seemed a bit babyish -something for 5 year olds, especially because of the name. I never say I'm in Pony Club, to anyone, not even closest friends. But then again, even when people ask me what hobbies I do I say "showjumping", like with horses, because even the term "horse riding" seems to conjure up negative images of some sort of friendless, obsessed horse freak for unhorsey people. It's like a boy can talk about football 24/7 and he's just passionate, but when you try and talk about anything remotely to do with horses, no matter what competitive level you ride at, you'll get ridiculed!
 
You can talk to us, we quite understand! When people ask me what I do I mumble something about working with horses and you can see them immediately sniffing to smell the manure! Even when I'm really scrubbed up. It's not somehow considered a grown up job even though I've done it for a living for forty years!
 
I totally agree on a name change, may be we should try it for the 16 plus age group?
My son never told any of his friends when he did PC camp or any PC competitions.
So many teenagers leave to do BE and Riding Club or stop completely as doing "pony club"
sounds like something that only 8 year old girls do.
Having a new name within the "Pony Club" for the older children may be an option.
VW cars owns Bentley, Porsche, Bugatti and Skoda so brands under one owner is normal.
Would a new name for the 16+ group be an easier option rather than a total name change?
Young Equine Society or Y.E.S
Youth Equine Society
Sport Equestrian UK
Youth Equine Association as another member suggested on this forum.
Even the PC logo is not what a 16 year old wants to have on a sweatshirt can't we make it more sporty?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top