riding aged 40 +

NeverEver said:
how many of you have children? I certainly don’t feel old or as if i ‘should’ be slowing down but all my friends who are it’s because they’ve had a family and priorities have changed :(
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I have no children as I chose not to have them as don't like them and like my freedom to much. I don't regret it at all, my sisters have them but I have not 1 maternal bone in my body.

I have 4 other livery owners on my yard who feel the same way so we are a child free yard :D
 
i'm approaching 45 and still ride most days and compete regularly. I'm actually one of the youngest liveries on my yard. The oldest that still rides is 86.
 
This thread started me thinking (whoa, a bit dangerous that!), and I feel fitter and healthier now than I have done at any point in my adult life...quite pleased with myself really!
 
I only started team chasing at age 35 and 5 years on can't imagine stopping for a good while yet (all being well!) Oddly I seem to have got braver as I've got older but I don't have children and maybe that does make a difference? 2 horses in full work and 2 young dogs + full time job and really think such an active lifestyle keeps me fit and well. Mind you my back and knees disagree sometimes lol!
 
If you didn't slate your friends on a public forum for not being able to ride as much as you'd like then maybe you wouldn't be finding yourself in this position!
We'd all love to be able to ride everyday but I'm afraid work, kids and lots of other commitments have to come first. The children will only be young for such a short time but the ponies will be there forever.
 
Dear me Courier, bit harsh! If you know the OP maybe talking to her would be a better option. I don't think she slated anyone, just asked a question. Did you join just to say that.......
 
Great thread! I'm 44 & have had horses since the age of 3... The current horse is an ex-racer & I ride every day. I haven't competed for aaaaaaages due to various horse-related issues, & had to sell my lorry to pay for structural repairs on the house :-(( My ambition is still to compete at Fox BS & Advanced BD, & I've been worrying that I've missed the boat...but from this thread it doesn't seem so! I am soooooo bursting to crack on...! I hope I'm still sj-ing til the day I die...in fact, the perfect way to go would be to drop dead after a double clear.

T x
 
I have a child and we ride together. I do more now than before I had her because I've got transport and spend all my money on lessons and competing.

That said I have chosen horses I deem to be safe, I have no desire to be riding the nutters I rode in my teens.
 
For me it has been children and life getting in the way of horsey time. That has gone hand in hand with a major confidence dip! But this thread warms my heart! I am 35, youngest kids start school in September and are getting more independent by the day. Horse has hung on in there with being lightly hacked/schooled and having most of the winter off due to lack of facilities. But we WILL get there!
Here's to many more years in the saddle!!
 
Courier said:
If you didn't slate your friends on a public forum for not being able to ride as much as you'd like then maybe you wouldn't be finding yourself in this position!
We'd all love to be able to ride everyday but I'm afraid work, kids and lots of other commitments have to come first. The children will only be young for such a short time but the ponies will be there forever.
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At no point did I see her slating her friends just saying she's sad not to be spending as much time with them due to life changes.

Life does change, I gave up for ten years and only got back into horses when my daughter was about 18 months and she has been keen from the get go.

I'm on my own with her and if I want to ride she has to come too which has meant she has been hacking on the lead rein with her mini Shetland from age 2.5 and riding off the lead rein from 3.5 and now nearly 7 onto a bigger saintly pony age we got 18 months ago.

Op it's all do able, probably more so when you only have one child.
 
Cowpony said:
Yes there's no doubt that you have less time when you have children. I have always worked full time so when the children were young I had less time for riding. But I didn't give up and as the kids have got older my riding time increased. They are in their late teens now, so don't want their mum around any more. Yippee! Free to ride whenever work allows!
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Agree... When daughter was little I hardly had time for anything and struggled to fit in the basic day to day stuff but now she is nearly a teenager she has lots of her own activities and that frees up lots of time for me to get out with the horse. Being a bit older is almost better in that respect!
 
Courier said:
If you didn't slate your friends on a public forum for not being able to ride as much as you'd like then maybe you wouldn't be finding yourself in this position!
We'd all love to be able to ride everyday but I'm afraid work, kids and lots of other commitments have to come first. The children will only be young for such a short time but the ponies will be there forever.
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Honestly courier, I'd re read the post and try to take any personal views you have out of it. It really isn't a post slating any of op s friends, she's just sad that things have changed and she's not,spending as much time with them. Doesn't read as critical. It's a fact that I've seen but not so much in riding, but in social life, people's priorities and interests can change. It's not bad, it's just life, I'm not slating them if I say I miss what we used to do together. I bet they'd say they miss seeing me as much since I've had horses ! Reckon the OH would anyway!
 
It's never occured to me that being over 40 has any bearing on my riding, or lack of it. I very deliberately bought Alf because I knew I wanted a horse I could pick up and put down when I wanted to, so I wouldn't feel guilty about not riding him for weeks on end.
I used to be very serious about my riding, but nowadays, I just do it for fun. Still like to do it properly - hence chosen horse being an advanced horse with all the tricks installed, but I really wouldn't be that bothered if he couldn't be ridden again - I just enjoy having him around.
I have aches and pains, but they are mostly horse-inflicted, rather than age related!
 
I'm 46, I moved back to my hometown from London in late 2007 and said to myself I wanted to learn to ride (I did a handful of lessons and hacks as a very nervous child but was horse mad, my parents weren't well off so literally it was just a handful of lessons, reading books and daydreaming). November 2007, I started learning to ride and Summer 2009 I bought my mare as my 40th pressie to myself and fulfilled a childhood dream. I'm the adult who has a pin board full of rosettes from local shows and gets excited about it lol. I've got young friends who all did it as teenagers and are now happy hackers but I just can't help it, I didn't have the privilege as a child! I'm sure they think im bonkers! Im a nervous rider but my mare and I love jumping, I only want to get to jump 2ft6 well and that's enough (we're at 2'3 with the odd 2'6 thrown in). One serious accident in 2013, broken bones, a year off for both of us and being told I might not ride my mare again (luckily the vet erred on the side of caution) and I now have her daughter too who will hopefully be my grow old horse. I think I must be mad to have a youngster too but she is the sweetest gentlest filly who loves people, I hope she won't be too much for me as I don't know how I could part with her. She's the only living thing I've had from birth. Maybe I'll do some dressage with her as I get older? One thing though, I will be paying someone else to back her and ride her on...and investing in a good body protector!!
 
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My wife decided that she wanted to do a dressage competition before she was 60. She's done some unaffiliated jumping over 40 years ago but nothing since. She qualified for the veteran horse society dressage championships & she came 2nd & this was the day after her 60th birthday. She was so pleased & I was very proud of her. She also won a prize for being 'Oldest Combination', she was 60 & her horse was 17 years so totalled up to 79 years.

She's got the bug now & I take her competing quite regularly. Daughter does show jumping, arena eventing & dressage as well so we are out quite a lot.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
My wife decided that she wanted to do a dressage competition before she was 60. She's done some unaffiliated jumping over 40 years ago but nothing since. She qualified for the veteran horse society dressage championships & she came 2nd & this was the day after her 60th birthday. She was so pleased & I was very proud of her. She also won a prize for being 'Oldest Combination', she was 60 & her horse was 17 years so totalled up to 79 years.

She's got the bug now & I take her competing quite regularly. Daughter does show jumping, arena eventing & dressage as well so we are out quite a lot.
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I am going to aspire to this! Fantastic! Love the oldest combination win too!
 
I'm chair of my riding club. We have two members in their 70s, one who still does a bit of everything and one who doesn't jump but I'm not sure she ever did, and about 20 in their 50s and 60s - many of whom are the stalwarts of our teams who have been placed at national championships. I'm 38 soon and have no plans of doing any less than I do. In fact I'm looking forward to retirement so I have more time to ride! Only 20+ years to go!

T_Z - Well done to your wife, I think the "oldest combination" is a lovely prize to give!

Both our 70+ members would out-do her though. One is 74 and her horse is 19 and the other is 75 and her boy is 25 so 100 combined!
 
I will be 45 on Friday and I ride 2 - just backed my 4 year old last spring and start his jumping career this year - my friend is in her 60's and still jumping 80/90cm courses
 
40 is certainly not too old :-))

I am 47 and have one child, now aged 17, have had various horses throughout my whole life and although when child was younger it was much harder to juggle horses, child, work etc ( and then for 10 years we did the whole pony club thing, so more about her than me)
last year aged 46 we sold her last pony (outgrown) and my older horse and bought a 5 year old ISH , plan was we would share, but she has lost interest at the moment, and that actually suits me down to the ground, as I am loving him! Have been and done loads this last year SJ Dressage, clinics,and plan to get out eventing this year.
I do still think I am in my PC years ( probably because I never got to do all that when i was younger
:-) !!

so, my advice is to go for it, as long as you are physically capable, make the most of it.
 
fantastic, that is our aim to still be riding well into my 60's and beyond!
Toby_Zaphod said:
My wife decided that she wanted to do a dressage competition before she was 60. She's done some unaffiliated jumping over 40 years ago but nothing since. She qualified for the veteran horse society dressage championships & she came 2nd & this was the day after her 60th birthday. She was so pleased & I was very proud of her. She also won a prize for being 'Oldest Combination', she was 60 & her horse was 17 years so totalled up to 79 years.

She's got the bug now & I take her competing quite regularly. Daughter does show jumping, arena eventing & dressage as well so we are out quite a lot.
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I am 46, had a few lessons as a kid but not many. Spent many years as my daughter's groom and at age 42 I learned to ride, I mostly just hack. I lost my first horse last year after 3 happy years together and it broke my heart and I thought I might just give it all up. However, a couple of months on I was lucky enough to be offered a lovely boy and whilst he's a bit more challenging than my mare he's still a really good egg and we enjoy our hacking. I am not really interested in competing or anything like that, too stressful. I just want to chill out, have some more lessons when the weather is better, and enjoy hacking with friends.
 
I'm 40 this year and I have no intention of slowing down :D I aim to keep going and having fun doing a bit of everything, BD, hunting, ODE, Hunter trials :D Have a friend who is mid 60's and is the same too so there is hope for us yet :D
 
I started riding at the ripe old age of 26, bought my first horse at 28 (4yr old) and owned her for 23 years when she had to be PTS due to an injury sustained in the field. I did though have waiting in the wings a lovely youngster I bought as a yearling. I was 49 when I backed him myself at 3. I will shortly be 54 and have no plans to slow down until both of us are a lot lot older. When I bought my little Connie x mare all those years ago I never dreamed I would own a horse as nice as him and that I would end up loving as much as I loved her. We compete affiliated dressage (prelim still, old age and a late start does have its drawbacks!) and hope to go up the grades as high as we can while we still can. Would love to emulate his half sister Di Lapponia T but I am nowhere near brave enough. The link is a video clip of her with her amateur owner/rider last year in Las Vegas ���� https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KxbJay3GVcM
 
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I am weeeell past 40, and still ride professionally, though I am slowing down and don't ride the crazies any more. My friend is in her late 60's and her horse is 33, they still hack at the combined age of 101 (she'll kill me if she sees this!).
 
LOL brilliant

hope we all manage to do that at their age !

Cortez said:
I am weeeell past 40, and still ride professionally, though I am slowing down and don't ride the crazies any more. My friend is in her late 60's and her horse is 33, they still hack at the combined age of 101 (she'll kill me if she sees this!).
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Bought my first horse when I was 28 and he was an 8 year old and sadly lost him at 25 years old, bought my second horse who was aged 8 and sadly lost her at 28 years old and then bought a 6 year old. I am now 64 and still hacking. My next adventure is to ride across Wales!
 
Bought my first horse at 48, my second at 50. 5 years on and we do TREC, fun rides, hacking, with nothing I like more than a good belt along a headland with my eyes streaming from the wind of it. Waheeeey! No intention to slow down until the day I can't climb on any more.
 
I'm 46 and without kids. We do everything we want to do with no slowing down. I'm not interested in competition or showing, but we attend clinics, fun rides, cross country training etc. Hacking is our main interest and we don't get accompanied very often because apparently we go "too fast".
 
My instructor was 70 last year, still teaches 3 full days a week. Rides his point to pointers daily, including some fast work and jump training and has recently brought himself a pair of scurry ponies so he can 'go fast sitting down' as he put it. He also hunts when the sun's out and will give you a lead over any hedge or wall you care to jump. That's what I intend to be like!

And another lady I knew retired at 65 from running a yard, spent her money on a huge Irish hunter and promptly moved to the Shires. Five years later, she's brought another hunter and goes out three times a week.
 
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