questions for parents with gutsy young kids.

[showpony]

Ok long story short new ponio arriving. My lo is 6 and has been riding for 2.5 yrs . She is super gutsy, can jump. 2ft course ( she would jump bigger but bold me has put a limit on height for the moment) she has a good position, nice hands and isn't busy in the saddle. Falling off doesn't bother her and for a 6 yr old she is very focused.

She has been asking if she can do the likes of xc and hunter trials when pony has settled and they are both used to each other. She has also asked if when I'm taking my youngster out to jumping shows can she compete aswell.

Finding it hard to eh " not wrap her up in cotton wool" ADVICE PLEASE lol.
Is she too young for the likes of xc etc.

 

[Tuffles 23]

Hi sounds like my daughter she is now a member of our local pony club where she can go to small xc rallies and be supervised by very good instructors and without me having a heart attack

 

[jaquelin]

Agree Pony Club super way for her to get started. Sounds like a very promising young rider with great prospects.

 

[wildwest]

i think to young im afraid :[ she could get into a difficult situation xc
or maybe im wrong but i wouldnt allow my daughters, but youre her mum !!
brave little girl though :}

 

[lme]

Pony clubs often run hunter trials & one day events with 'mini' classes round tiny XCs that can be done with / without a leader & (at least where we live) there are unaff SJ classes at local shows starting at 40cm that always have lots of really little children in them (on & off the leadrein). My girls vary in their gutsiness but all have been out jumping from when they were tiny, going off lead rein as soon as they had enough control to steer and slow down our somewhat enthusiastic pony.

 

[Littlelegs]

Don't see why not, mines done mini stuff from being little, & does unaffiliated sj on mine & hers, mini hunter trials etc. And last summer at 7 decided to forgo fr classes to do wh on my 14.2. Mine thinks she's invincible, so whilst I let her do stuff, as her mum I only draw the line if its beyond her ability from a safety aspect. Eg she wants to take my friends 16.2 tb hunting so she can jump big stuff, despite the fact she isn't ready to be popping 5' hedges on a nutter.

 

[Nicnac]

Course she can!

There are lots of mini mini hunter trials and sj at Pony Club and other places. Although if she's already jumping 2ft courses she would probably look down her nose.

My daughter is now 23 and still as gutsy as she was at 7 despite spending more time in A&E than at school at the time due to her lovely first pony called Bobby Barsteward

Seriously, I found Pony Club gave her some limits as they are very good at introducing a lot of H&S.

2030 Olympics?

 

[showpony]

Yay nice to see there are other mums with young riders aswell. Pony club may be the way to go. If I stuck her back on the lead rein I'd be disowned lol. . Thanks for replys now if only I could bottle her confidence and sell it, I'd be a millionaire. I'd a nasty xc accident many moons ago which is why I'm quite hesitant. but I don't want my worries to set her back .

 

[showpony]

Nicnac you never know! Lol she rides in her lessons with teenage kid who want the jumps put down where as she wants them put up! She wants to be a " professional " show jumper ......

 

[Lolo]

We were a bit mad as kids because my mum was so unhorsey (my family were entirely unhorsey!). So my little sister was merrily sent out as a 6/7yo on her own on her 11.2hh pony round XC courses... She fell off a lot, but was ridiculously gutsy. The lack of knowledge meant Al just went with whatever was about and so was sent off on crazy ponies round 75cm ODES aged 8, simply because that's what was there...

 

[MrSpam]

Would definitely advise PC. We have a very active mini group in ours.

I took my daughter hunting on the lead rein at 6 and she hunted off lead rein by 9. I wouldn't have described her as particularly brave though, but she was on a very trustworthy pony.

There are lots of mini shows around and a local PC does a great mini ODE where plenty of under eights go off lead rein.

If the pony is safe and she is keen I would let her compete.

 

[Spring Feather]

I used to take my youngest one from around 6 years old onwards to some mini hunter trials. I was lucky to live in an area where there were many 'pick-a-fence' courses so I used to rent the courses regularly so we could both go round together, her jumping the little jumps on her pony and I did the big jumps on my horse. It was a lot of fun just her and I. I think there is a fine line between allowing their space to develop and keeping them safe in as less of a restrictive way as possible. Your little one sounds terrific! I'd go with it and encourage her within the limits you set.

 

[showpony]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I think I need to loosen up and just encourage mini me. I've just got word ponio has arrived at yard and came out of horse box as calm as anything. Long trip for the little chap,

 

[Bayneddie]

OMG I think you lot are proper scarily gutsy horsey people. My daughter is seven and a half, has been riding since 4 and tomorrow moves up into the the 'full-on' jumping lesson at her RS and I'm bricking it! She's not that gutsy either, think she also has my desire to be a dressage diva.....

 

[Littlelegs]

Have a look at little local shows too, lots have a novice working hunter pony with small rustic fences, & there's one at a rs not far from me that does lr & fr whp round a tiny xc course. Keep an eye out for any little family run shows/comps as well as pc ran ones.

 

[showpony]

Only prob is mini me laughs at anything under a metrer. lol

 

[showpony]

Bayneddie, how I wish she was into dressage lol. According to mini me dressage is " boring" lol.

 

[zoelouisem]

Here's my daughter put jumping when she was 6. She's 8 now and is scary to watch what she's doing!!!
As others have said the local pc shows will have good classes for a small person and I also found classes like horse and hound good for her if you haven't a dog there's always somebody willing to take there's round.

 

[pedilia]

My daughter is 6 and was very gutsy, if she fell off she would just get back on. She's done SJ, hunter trials a mini ODE, showing and does PC.
I have encouraged her but not let her ride above her limit, she also has a super safe pony.
However, she was thrown off a friends 28 year old 'schoolmaster' he took off bucking, she came off and was trampled. She has become very nervous since then, its heart breaking to watch her in tears over trotting off the LR.
She is getting her mojo back, after a break and taking things slowly at a speed she feels happy with.

 

[pedilia]

Wow zoelouisem, awesome little rider and pony!

 

[zoelouisem]

Thanks pedilla. He was an awesome pony I credit all my daughters riding to him he gave her so much confidence and was the safest pony ever, I think that first pony is so important. She moved up from him last summer onto a bigger more forward pony but both draught and I owe a lot to him!!

 

[showpony]

Wow lovely pony and your daughter looks fab on him.

 

[mirage]

Lovely pony and rider there!

My two are quite brave,I didn't realise how much until I mentioned to a few people that the eldest went hunting for the first time at the age of 8,with a babysitter [no lead rein] and stayed out all of a 2 horse day.I had no idea that the day she went out on was renowned as the hardest day in a very hard riding hunt's country.

My 7 year old has been thrown,bucked off,bolted with on various naughty ponies and still hasn't lost her nerve.She is currently riding a green 6 year old and has taken him on a mock hunt and to PC,both for the first time.Both girls did minimus jumping,WH,X country ect and did a bit of everything at camp.Definitely recommend Pony Club.

 

[showpony]

Mirage your girls sound great

 

[billylula]

My 6 year old is also very gutsy and is now jumping 2 foot on her ancient 11.2. PC is brilliant as they learn so much and can socialise with others. Regular lessons also help, she has one a fortnight for an hour on her own pony. Mind you she's the youngest of 3 pony mad daughters so she's also learnt by osmosis!

 

[mirage]

Thank you showpony. I can take no credit as I'm not very horsey at all,last rode regularly over 30 years ago now.They have a lesson a week,go to PC, and the rest of the time we hack or mess about on the farm,jumping sheep troughs and logs.I wish I knew what I was doing,it is a real advantage to have horsey parents.

 

[allyj]

Blimey... I think I need to up my game! I'm nearly 21 and seem to have a breakdown at any fence over the height of 3ft!!!

 

[Amy567]

I'm not a parent, but from my own experiences. I got my first pony aged 6 having never had a lesson before, but a small walk and trot on my sister pony that was kept at a RS. By 7 I went hunting off of the lead rein, I was competing at 2ft3, only because pony didn't like jumping and that was as high as I could get her over, she was only 11.3hh. I went to PC rallys and at my PC (Burghley) they had a very small XC that all the minis went round.

At 9 I got what was supposed to be my first competition pony, 12.3hh Welsh B x Arab who bucked for fun, I went up to 2ft6 and a few 2ft9 (unpredictable pony that would gallop at everything and stop one minute, jump the next) turned into a brilliant PPC pony (Louis if anyone knows him).

At 11 I really did get my first competition pony who took me to BS discovery height competing and bigger at home and we did everything, little XC machine!

For me, it's not about age, it's about ability. If she and pony can do it, why not let her? For example, someone that starts riding at 6 wont have the same ability as someone that started riding at 4 and already knows how to jump etc

Good luck

 

[Nosey]

Pedilla I'm sure that's the right approach..no pressure & time will heal but I agree its so sad to see a little one have a nasty incident like yours did. My now 4yo old is as bold as brass but a couple of falls took the edge off her somewhat but she's back on track now. Older dtr had a couple of v nasty purlers but time & right pony have been good healers.

 

[lucindakay]

childs point of view:
i have been riding from the age of 2 and at about 6 i got bored of showing and i wanted to start jumping, and pony club was the answer, i did lots of lead rein classes and though i was confident at the time i wanted to do it myself but looking back it was best being on the lead rein, and when i started xco my mum rode her horse and i followed around and we did lots of pairs classes ect, and it was amazing i built lots of confidence that way and my pony also became perfect as she started to take care of me as she learnt her job(she was a bogof pony so we broke her in ect), and in time i slowly started doing stuff by myself, and through this my mum was able to monitor my riding and she was able to make the decision when i was ready to go alone and in a year i was hunting alone and jumping alone, and touch wood i haven't had any serious accidents, but as my instructor use to say the more you fall the more you become a rider(i never understood this as a child as i thought if you stayed on you were better but i realised the more you test your self the more you learn). Though i must add my mum could never watch me ride but probably because i was nuts as a child and still am to this day!
though you are her mother if she says shes ready then i guess she is but there are risks with every aspect of riding be it walking to the menage to hunting.
good luck with the new pony i am oh so jealous that i'm not riding ponies anymore