The heady days of pony fun in the 1970s

When I was a kid in the 80s I'd hack home and let all my neighbourhood kiddies have a pat, there's no way you could do that now on those roads. My fave was riding bare back in the snow on hacks.
 
Riding the horses along a disused railway line to the nearest seaside town, My best friend lived there in a little fisherman's cottage, ride for hours in the sand dunes pretending we were at Hickstead doing the bank I am sure our dunes were much bigger as when I finally saw it for real it looked tiny. Galloping along the beach, jumping the benches and the gorse bushes. Made jumps from old doors and used oil drums as wings. Played silly games like who could jump their own height. I always won that one as I am 5ft4 and Keith was 6ft, I cant believe I now think a meter is a big jump it was the starting height for most of our jumping. Would be gone for hours and getting chased by the Police for riding on council property they had great big mown gardens along the roads with big flower beds and various tempting things to jump on them
 
I never rode with a saddle until I was in my teens!! Rarely used a bridle either, going for gallops on the mountain in a headcollar and not thinking anything of it. Always wore a hat though or mum wouldn't let me ride.:D:D
 
All of the above lol.:D
Survived the ill fitting elastic chin strapped hat.....when I wore it that is.
One of our hacks took us across railway lines.....not at a crossing either:o
Gone all day with 2p for the phone.....hacked for miles on ponies of nonspecific breeding ......
Cantered on grass verges jumping grates......flat out across the playing fields in the days before those annoying barriers....
Happy days.:)
 
I started riding in the 50's and used to ride 10 miles down the main road to the Farriers. I also rode on the M56 as it was being built.
One of our favourite games was to ride 2 up, bareback and play Cowboys and Indians with several others seeing who could go the fastest without falling off

On Sundays in the summer our local riding school had a night ride round the local park. Only the "good" riders could go. It was mayhem. We used to have races across the football pitch and round "Devil's Bend". If ponies and riders got home unscathed it was a cause for celebration.

What carefree days. Now I do a risk assessment before I canter.

I know the title referred to the 70's but the 50's were great fun also
 
I remember hats with out chin straps. Rides through the hills going up and down steep road side banks for fun, long all day exploring rides with a sandwich in a rucksack in case we got hungry. Somehow there were loads of places unfenced where you could gallop, jump fallen logs and streams.
If my children had done the same I would have been a nervous wreck! But they had the advantage of a trailor transport and lots of things going on at the local pony club.
 
Like others have said, hacking for hours with a group of friends cantering on anything that wasn't Tarmac and jumping the benches on the common. Got lost one day and ended up hacking down the hard shoulder of what is now the M25.

Always turned the ponies out bareback with just a head collar and no hat but always wore a hat when 'riding'

Standing on my ponies bum to reach the apples on a tree with no one holding him.
 
Riding twos up bareback everywhere, riding with a head collar and bailing twine no saddle up to the park to jump to logs in the carpark. I didn't notice danger or the pony shying or getting in the way of cars. I couldn't even ride.

Vaulting on from the back.
 
Oh gosh what great memories.... I had to beg borrow and steal rides in the 70s so never got the endless days of hacking. I would be the lead in rides from the riding school I helped at (being the sensible one at 14! - including escorting the blind lady who was the bravest person I have ever met and would happily canter!). Also the (sneaky) riding bareback from the fields, not usually at walk! My proudest moment was when I was asked to hack back the 7 miles from a local show on one of the working pupils' horses - she was very posh and quite sharp and I felt so honoured! As others say, if my daughter had done any of that I would have had a heart attack!
 
Oh yeah my first hat had an elastic strap! It was tied in a knot to fit and on the inside there was that string which you could tie up to make the size a smaller fit on your head, I think that's what it was for!
 
This post makes me so jealous! I'm 21 soon and when I was young enough to get away with all these things, I didn't have the confidence or the pony plus I lived in France, now I have a pony who's game for anything I'm stuck to complying with health and safety, setting the example to younger ones, and avoid the law! Sad times!
 
I know my mum and her friends set up pony rides on the day of the village fair, just far enough down the road so they couldn't get told off but close enough so they looked like they were part of the fair. They made a fortune lol!
 
Hacking for miles to our houses leaving the horses in the back yard and having lunch! and then riding them back...usually over the M4 on a narrow bridge lol!
we would think nothing about being out all day with our ponies. The children that have ponies nowadays seem to lack that eat, sleep, dream horses.
 
Have planned a picnic ride as soon as my face is healed - old school all the way, all day ride, shorts, bareback (well, bareback pad, I'm over 30) and meat paste sandwiches. So excited!
 
Spotsrock said:
Have planned a picnic ride as soon as my face is healed - old school all the way, all day ride, shorts, bareback (well, bareback pad, I'm over 30) and meat paste sandwiches. So excited!
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Fabulous - I always take cheese and cucumber - never anything with meat incase it goes off and gives me the squirts. lol
 
slumdog said:
I know my mum and her friends set up pony rides on the day of the village fair, just far enough down the road so they couldn't get told off but close enough so they looked like they were part of the fair. They made a fortune lol!
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My friend and I did this a few times and made a killing Lol! Unfortunately one small child had an accident on my saddle - I was mortified!!

Used to spend all day long riding and thought nothing of it! Im almost certain there was very few overweight ponies and cases of lami in these days:)
 
Am I imagining that my hat was made from cork? Probably that was the 60s. Certainly had the bit of elastic under the chin with a knot added once it lost its stretch.
 
Hoopsa my hat had a cork lining, I also had a Christy Beaufort with the purple and yellow lining, chin strap over the peak naturally! I thought I was the bees knees lol.
 
Irishdan said:
Im almost certain there was very few overweight ponies and cases of lami in these days:)
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No, sadly my pony had laminitis in 1972, but we were on a dairy farm with way too much grass for a Sec A. She was very unimpressed with weeks spent sharing a yard with a cow with (possible) tuberculosis.

I didn't put a pony in a lorry or trailer until I was 17. Hacked 8 - 12 miles each way to gymkhanas, often in gangs of 6 of us. We were told to get off and walk up the hills coming home, though. We also rode to the forge to get ponies trimmed or shod. Used the same saddles on all of them - some had those horrible serge linings that got very, very hairy.
 
Stylo matchmaker rubber long boots no chaps! Took it in turns being first to ride naughty grey pony because we enjoyed his bucking fits!!
 
When I was about 10 my mate and I used to jump my mothers highland pony bareback in a head collar with both of us up (when my mother wasn't looking!). It was the only way we had enough leg power to get her moving! Couldn't stop or steer much though. We wore our 'super safe' crash hats with the elastic chin straps!

My mate managed to break her arm trying out vaulting on the elderly 12.2hh, it had no saddle or bridle on, she was just trying to do 'vaulting' while it was grazing, and it wasn't impressed!

We also used to jump the fences between the fields, or out of the school for 'cross country practice'.

On my first Saturday job at the local riding school, we used to take the ponies up and down the lane to\from the field, ride one bareback in a head-collar, and lead 2 in each hand. How we didn't get killed or end up on the main road (which was at the end of the lane) is beyond me...
 
:) where to start..

1. riding in shorts
2. not wearing a hat
3. if we did we a hat then no chin strap and they had the "cork" filling
4. 2 little girls going off on their own on ponies for hours and hours
5. taking a picnic and going to the back door of a pub to buy 2 glasses of
lemonade and can we please have a bucket of water for the ponies?
6. taking the ponies out into Morecambe bay and getting cut off by the tide
and having to swim them out.
7. taking carrots to feed to a huge stallion that was not noted for manners
8. cantering on the grass verge next to the crematorium - whilst funerals
were taking place :eek::eek:
9. an old chap on a bicycle running into the back of my pony and he fell off
dead - must have had a heart attack.
10. finding someone drowned in the canal whilst out riding.

All this without my Mum's knowledge ( God Bless Her ) and still home in time
for tea :)

PS ...should add that we were only 11 or 12 at this time
 
loving this, we used to ride on the school playing fields at night, it was mowed and flat, we could have a good gallop round as school was closed. Unitl one morning it was announced in assembly that it was forbidden and you know who you are lol
 
Working like a slave for 1 pound a day just to be near horses ... then when you got your pony disappearing for a day after breakfast - as long as you got back for your tea everything was OK. Jeez - I wouldn't let my kids do it now!
 
Wot a lovely thread
Had to cycle 3 miles each way to check my pony at £2 per week grazing
Out al day ,,ponies were the fittest in those days ,,always hack to the local shows ,n hack back
Use tie up pony at a friends front drive ,n go n play on garden for abit ,,pony would still b standing lol
Yep the usual ride bareback no hat in shorts etc ,even hack out bareback ,
Ponies lived out regardless if clipped just use the canvas rugs , lucky to Han mud floor shelter
My parents r non horsy n didn't hav a clue where I was riding on my own mainly but fun with friends , used to go for miles ,
Hardly heard of lami
Most rented fields , only a few livery yards around
U made ya own jumps n worked in the field
Used to ride him home n shove him in the garden ,,lived on a estate back then
No fluorescent on ,,traffic less busy as it is now
Good times but I'm more safety conscience now since got older n having kids
 
Does anyone remember doing a "Gretna Green" at the local gymkhana?? When I was 14 I used to ride my mothers horse and take a 7yr old out on her pony leading them both from the horse :)
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
I used to ride with 2 or 3 other friends all similar age.
Memories are of:
Going off with picnic of sandwich & a biscuit in our pockets - off exploring on adjacent commons all day.

Playing cowboys & indians - meant we hared around all over our local patch whooping etc :D undoing the reins so when you stopped you could ground tie (never worked as often we had to go 2 up to go & retrieve a pony) the braver ones swinging over the pony & trying to hang on when crouching - on 1 side so it looked from the other that the pony was riderless.... my mum went bonkers at that one when a dog-walking friend told her what we were doing :rolleyes: :o :D

Riding the ponies to the local shop & tieing them up on their reins to a pole so we could all go in & buy sweets at the same time.

Swimming in the local stream after riding & then having to cycle home soaking wet.

If I had found my daughter doing the same........ :eek: :o
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We must have been in the same gang! :)
 
We had (still have) a piece of land which was an old quarry; and has/had a very steep bank, well series of banks actually.

It made The Bank at Hickstead seem tame by comparison; you could either do the sissy bit which was hair-raising enough, OR chuck yourself plus pony down it into the Abyss and hope to live to tell the tale. We all did, somehow. But god help any poor dog walker in the way...... they'd be flattened instantly.

I still live in the area; and the "bank" is still there, but worn down a bit over the years and trees have grown up around it. A shame, coz the younger generation of riders won't have the pleasure/thrills we had from it.
 
Clava said:
I always wore a hat but I went for miles on our ponies with my friends and my mother rarely knew where I was.
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I'm afraid I'm an 80's child, but I also did this! I have such fond memories doing this, its what summers meant! I'd go out on my own and with a friend on hacks for hours from the age of 9! That included road work and miles of forestry where up here, you never see a sole. Didnt have mobiles back then either so terrifying to think what could have happened if I fell off! I wouldn't do it now.
 
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