The crux of the matter

[ycbm]

I might sound like i'm a broken record but that "wonderful parent" is a pretty massive resource!

even the most talented and dedicated young person can't get anywhere without someone able to pay entry fees and drive the horsebox

You also need to have no brothers or sisters with sports or other activities which demand, for fairmess, an equal share of the parent(s)' time and income.
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[LEC]

It used to be easier 20 years ago than it is now. You can do without money if you have a super parent - one who is either horsey or absolutely dedicated. It’s a bigger leg up in a way than money.

 

[Wishfilly]

Realistically, I think it's very very hard to turn professional in any sport without dedicated and involved parents. Once you get to the stage of needing to travel to competitions etc, and before you can drive, it becomes very very difficult unless you have a parent who is willing and able to put that kind of effort in.

And yes, I think brothers and sisters make a difference too- because parents can make a lot of sacrifices to get one child to the top of a sport, but if you have two talented kids in two different sports (or worse, three) it suddenly becomes very, very difficult and compromise can be impossible. So which kid do you choose?

Also, I think it's worth bearing in mind, when we say "without money" we do really mean "with some money"- if you are struggling to put food on the table, then realistically, most sports are out of reach (I know there are exceptions). Having a pony to compete, even on an absolute shoestring, realistically costs thousands each year- so that is very much "money"- it's a choice to maybe put your disposable income into that, rather than holidays etc too.

This isn't to take away from anyone's hard work. I'm sure even someone like Zara Tindall who has advantages in both parents and money worked really hard to become world champion! And obviously there must be some talent involved too.

But if she'd been born on a council estate to non-horsey parents, could she have done it?

 

[daffy44]

It used to be easier 20 years ago than it is now. You can do without money if you have a super parent - one who is either horsey or absolutely dedicated. It’s a bigger leg up in a way than money.

I've thought this for a long time, especially in view of the child having a career in horses. A very wealthy parent may well be able to buy the Team pony etc, but the less wealthy, but the horsey/dedicated parent is more likely to put the child in a position where the child has to make the pony, ride different ponies, sell some ponies etc and in doing so they learn more about hard work, training and the economics of the sport.

If I had to choose the parent who will benefit the child the most, I'd choose the parent with horsey experience and absolute dedication and support to the child over the parent who is "just" very wealthy, obviously the parent who is experienced, dedicated and wealthy is the equivalent of the child winning the lottery!

 

[SO1]

If you don't have money you need talent and energy. You will need to not just work hard but be able to find people to back you and keep those mentors and sponsors.

I don't think you have to have your own horses as a child to be able to be successful as an adult.

Any sport which is not done at school is going to be harder for kids to get into unless they have family support. It is also harder for children in urban areas to get access to horses. I was lucky I grew up in the countryside and my father had a pony as a child so knew about horses and how to handle them and we lived in a village where most properties had land and nearly everyone had horses so very easy to have access to ponies from a young age. Had I grown up in a town even in a wealthy family I think harder to get access to horses than perhaps a less wealthy family in the countryside.

There is also luck involved with horses. They break easily so even if you have a very expensive horse there is no guarantee that you will be able to ride it.

 

[suebou]

I know two females who worked exceptionally hard, with the support of not at all poor parents, they got to either shortlisted or representing their country on ponies. One pony sold for enough to buy a reasonable farm in Lincolnshire! Neither have been able to consistently maintain a presence at national level. One has given up and doesn’t ride at all any more (maybe30?) the other has built a yard with parents and breaks Highlands…..

 

[Orangehorse]

Leslie Law grew up in a council house and his father was a lorry driver - but he had a lot of support from his parents.

 

[maya2008]

I think some people have, as mentioned above, but it takes sponsorship and working within the horse industry.

As an ordinary family with ordinary jobs, my kids are focusing their skills on learning to back and bring on youngsters alongside having fun. They can play on their dad’s cob for a safe and steady ‘made’ pony. Both kids have been backing ponies for themselves/friends since they were 7, and as they grow they can take more of an active role in the backing process. The difference in cost between sweet unbacked 3/4/5yo and ready made pony is astronomical, yet it is only 8-12 weeks until they’re on and riding. Whatever discipline they get into as teens/adults, their only chances of having a quality pony/horse bred for that discipline are to buy a youngster, so I am trying to equip them for that. Incidentally, we have already had people asking if my son will ride their pony. He wants to train horses in some capacity as an adult, but we’ll see how that goes.

 

[tristar]

if its any help to you, forty years ago i swapped two old saddles for a very thin colt, he had navicular syndrome when he was 3 the vet said he was cat meat, but treated him, by the time he was 6 he was winning dressage comps, i had no help to start with, although i had a small business, but later had a sponsored horse lorry, also had no training, but had spent years breaking youngsters

wherever the horse went people wanted to buy him, so it was a rags to riches story for the horse really and opened my eyes to what can come from just trying

i woul dsay though of course money is involved, a certain amount, if you struggle to pay the mortgage, where will the money come from for the horsey basics?

but if you have a few pounds to gamble with then go learn first, at different establishments, see who you can get on with, gain experience, see what fate has in store for you

 

[Most Curious]

i woul dsay though of course money is involved, a certain amount, if you struggle to pay the mortgage, where will the money come from for the horsey basics?

but if you have a few pounds to gamble with then go learn first, at different establishments, see who you can get on with, gain experience, see what fate has in store for you

Unlike other activities having a horse requires daily maintenance. Its a huge responsibility.

I've just joined another riding school, as I'm not making any progress on the lazy horse I've been given. It was a catch 22 situation. Constantly kick and whip the horse to make it move which doesn't always work (and might result in being banned from the establishment), or let the horse stand like a statue in the middle of the arena and feel demoralised. The main reason I decided to try horse riding was to develop my riding skills, the goal by the end of this first year is to canter and jump. There has to be cooperation between rider and horse. Hopefully I will have more success at a different riding school.

 

[tristar]

absolutely certain you will, sounds like it could not be any worse

once you have bump in trot you need to be on a horse that moves off from a squeeze of the leg into a hand that lets the horse go forwards, until you are going forwards you cannot ride properly as all your balance will lost on moving around trying to get thing to move, you need to be able to sit still and go forwards with the horse, then you can make real progress

 

[Caol Ila]

I think some people have, as mentioned above, but it takes sponsorship and working within the horse industry.

As an ordinary family with ordinary jobs, my kids are focusing their skills on learning to back and bring on youngsters alongside having fun. They can play on their dad’s cob for a safe and steady ‘made’ pony. Both kids have been backing ponies for themselves/friends since they were 7, and as they grow they can take more of an active role in the backing process. The difference in cost between sweet unbacked 3/4/5yo and ready made pony is astronomical, yet it is only 8-12 weeks until they’re on and riding. Whatever discipline they get into as teens/adults, their only chances of having a quality pony/horse bred for that discipline are to buy a youngster, so I am trying to equip them for that. Incidentally, we have already had people asking if my son will ride their pony. He wants to train horses in some capacity as an adult, but we’ll see how that goes.

That makes me feel useless! Your kids can back a pony in 8-12 weeks, and I’ve had my youngster for over a year and we are nowhere close to getting on board.

 

[maya2008]

That makes me feel useless! Your kids can back a pony in 8-12 weeks, and I’ve had my youngster for over a year and we are nowhere close to getting on board.

Do you have experienced helpers, available for as long as you need, six days a week though? How much recent experience do you have in backing youngsters? Sometimes if you haven’t done it for a while, the ‘feel’ goes a bit and it’s harder to gauge exactly when to move forwards to the next step.

My kids have a family full of experienced helpers, and that family includes older ponies who can come with us on walks and from whom I can lead youngsters. I backed my first pony 13 years ago and have done plenty since (everything we are currently riding for a start!) so my husband knows the ropes when it comes to helping. For the kids, we’re on our second one this year so they know the drill.

I had them behind me (on more experienced ponies) encouraging new pony forwards when he fell behind today, so he could learn to keep up nicely when led from another horse. It is so easy with the right help - in the days before they could help me, I used to use a long whip to tap the rump of the one I was leading as needed. Took longer to get the same result and was a much less smooth process!

 

[Caol Ila]

The last youngster I backed was in 2013 (I was helping someone else) and the last one I backed myself was in 2006. So not that recent.

I don't have any helpers now. Nor do I have a horse I can pony her from. I ponied my last youngster from my old mare, but we had immediate access to off-road trails, she was an experienced schoolmistress, and they were at the same yard. None of these things are the case anymore.