Signs you were a horsey kid in the 1960's/1970's

All of the above. Greater London Horse show on Clapham Common. Travelling to shows in the trailer with the pony!
Loved the Jill books - does anyone remember the Jackie series of pony books- think the first one was Jackie Won a Pony.
Got my first pony in 1979 & had a horse ever since.
Still use a cottage craft head collar bought in 1979 & still have a Lavenham stable rug in good condition used in 1979 & a green string sweet rug. I am still using some bridle work, brushes etc bought secondhand before I got my first pony!
 
You and your best friend could recite pages of the Jill books (by Ruby Ferguson)
If you rode at a riding school you turned up before they opened to go and get the ponies from the field and ride them bare-backed from the field to the yard in just a headcollar, and did the reverse at night. You spent the day mucking out, filling water buckets, cleaning tack and all manner of other odd jobs in the hope you'd get a free lesson (not often). Your mother insisted you wore a hat, this was velvet with cork lining and a thin elastic with a chin cup.
 
oh all of the above. Being the only one in the riding school gang short enough to stand on top of the hay when the lorry delivered it and get under the barn roof, so the only one that could throw the bales down.
The hours spent sweeping the yard and raking the gravel in the centre.
Tack for all the full livery horses being cleaned daily.
The joy when I had saved enough for a pair of Stylo Matchmakers - much posher and far more comfortable than the Dunlop rubber boots.
Sewing the tapes on exercise bandages.
And feeling so grown up escorting hacks as a 14 year old, and then being allowed to teach.
Slave labour? Possibly. Good training? Most definitely. We had an eventer as our head instructor, and my free lesson was always either in the staff lesson or a private with her. I always went to ODE as her groom, and warmed up her horses when she had more than one entered.

Even on our family holidays I worked all day in the local trekking yard that was a hunter livery for the rest of the year. That paid off when we (Dad and I) were invited to spend the autumn half term (different in Scotland and England) back there taking new horses out cubbing.

It's set me up well for working life (don't procrastinate, always put things away and don't walk from one end of the yard to the other empty handed), and I don't regret the time I spent at the riding school.
 
SWilliam,
I've now got this thought stuck in my head:

Harry Cheeseman was a "big boy" who helped my grandfather (always little for his age) to get on and off the horses, which they generally rode bareback and also taught him to ride. Harry returns to The Lines in later life, teaches you, and I see you sometimes riding as I was studying for O + A levels in '66 and often chose to walk home from school across The Lines. So both of you helped inspire me to actually learn to ride too. Thank you.

I shall drink a toast to you tonight.
 
I have a signed photo of roy rogers on trigger i bought at an antiques fair. I also have a boxed dvd collection of all the episodes of champion the wonder horse which i loved rewatching! Another treasure found was a pewter medal in memory of pennwood forge mill. I remember all the tv programmes mentioned. I am 63.
 
I love this thread! I used to read Jackie pony books by Judith Beresford. I loved these.

I also remember Caroline Bradley, the showjumper who died so tragically young.

And keeping my brushes spotlessly clean, my dad was very strict about having clean grooming brushes!
 
I remember going to White City. Would it have been the Royal International?
I learnt to ride at Mr Henderson's in Banstead, Surrey. Most of the ponies were docked (and probably ancient), this was 1959/60. They were mostly kept in stalls and there was no turn out. I had done some riding before I started there, which was just as well, as everything was ridden in a pelham with double reins. There was no knotting of one rein, you had to learn to use them. I will always remember how my hands ached after every lesson. We used to ride in Nork Park or round the roads.
So, docked pony (probably hogged as well), pelham, me in elephant ear johds with sensible lace up shoes, and more than likely my absolutely hated pale beige riding mac which was as stiff as a board and had buckles and straps to stop it flapping round your thighs, and of course my squashy riding hat. I was well equipped for the year.
Does anyone remember the saying 'If you can't ride, wear a brown hat'? There were only 2 choices of velvet hat; black or brown. When I got my own ponies and horses I usually didn't bother with a hat at all. I was really miffed when I went to work at a racing yard in Epsom in the 70's and crash hat wearing was compulsory, I had been backing youngsters for years just with the protection of a bobble hat.
Different times!
 
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