too old for pony club?

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sarahsylvie

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hi guys, my daughter will be 16 in january, and has alwasy wanted to join pony club, but weve never had the oppertunity as we have had no transport for pony, now we have transport (literally only just today, therefor i have to learn to pull the trailer first lol!!). so now we can! but my daughter is worried she is too old, and its perhaps a little to late? shes worried she will be stuck in a group with little ponies as her horse is rather fiery lol! thanks for any suggestions :)
 
She wouldn't be the first older "child" (lol) to join PC and should be in a group relevant to her age and ability... Dafthoss on here didn't join PC until she was older than you D afaik and she seems to enjoy it :)
 
You need to do some local research and ring up the Secretaries from 3 or 4 Pony Clubs in the area and be honest about the level your daughter is at, and what her fears are. Understandably. Some Pony Clubs would welcome you both with open arms and make you feel wanted, others may not!

You might also find a local Riding club that has a Junior Section too.
 
I believe the age range has been put up to over 20, though I'm sure someone will correct me!

What was found when my son was in pony club, was that the older ones started to gravitate towards going out, rather than going to rallies, so there wasn't a huge membership for that age, but i'm sure it's different for different branches.

Wish I was 16 and in the pony club! :p
 
Pony Club now has an age limit of I think 25 might be wrong but most older teens swap rom pony club to Riding Club and your daughter at 16 is probably old enough to join.
 
Personally I would arrange for her to have a lesson with one of the instructors from the pony club you want to join. This will give a clue if they have a group of her age at her level and also put in a word with the DC when it comes to grouping her at rallies.

I still went to Pony Club until 21 and never felt too old. :D
 
If she's a capable rider they would stick her in a group with people of her own standard, the PC takes people up to twenty one years old and they do things like ODE's that would be challenging for many riders (apart from the pros). She should be fine :)
 
This year at camp we had 3 first-timers who were 16/17 who rode horses ranging from a very cheeky 14hh Welsh D to a massive ex-racer who's not been out of racing long... Chose your branch carefully (maybe post on relevant 'All things horsey" type things?) and phone the DC and ask about things like the age range of rally attendees, how many they had over 15 at camp, how many members are over 16...
 
I'm 15 and in Pony Club. It's fine as age doesn't really matter at my yard but often I've been the 'oldest' one when doing badges and tests etc which doesn't feel great haha. However I am at an centre and not a branch as I don't have my own horse, and there are usually older ones like 14-17 at a branch. I'm guessing she'll be in a branch?
 
I did indeed join pc at 18 and me and pony love it :D.

Do as much research as you can, some round me have hardly any members above 15 but others, like mine, have loads in to their 20's. Also check what sort of venues they use as the ones with better facilities tend to have more older members.
 
you can be a pc member til you are 25! lots of benefits .. can hunt for a tenner or free in some areas. insurance, casn do camp/rallies etc. certainly not too old at 16
 
I didn't join til I was 15! Went on one pony club camp and got bucked off and broke my arm on the second day but I loved it for the short time I got to go!

I would definitely encourage her:)
 
Your deffinatly not to old , the pc my daughter goes to have lots of older members the have 2 seperate camps, minis and seniors 13+. the elder ones came to the mini camp and help out my daughter got a brill private lesson off an 18 lad member who is currently eventing at 1.10 and doing really well she had a great lesson off him. Theres not as many as the minis but still a fair few members. Defo research the local pcs. What area are you in people on here might be able to help you.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Is there a lower age limit? Looking on their site I don't see one.
Click to expand...

No theres lots of tiny tots at my PC they do slightly different stuff but my PC holds things like eater rallies with the end bit an eater egg hunt. Again its worth researching different clubs as i picked one slightly futher away as they held more stuff for minis, one club i spoke to only had about 8 unders 9s so obviously they didnt hold as much stuff.
 
We had a new member join our club at 20!! (You can join upto 21 which can then be extended to 25yrs) We also have some new kids at 15 this year & they love it! 2 did join together but one came on her own & is a bit shy so we buddied her up with a long standing member & she seems to be settling in great. I find that at that age they really want to be a part of things, get involved & actually want to learn so listen!
 
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