well was going to join pony club......

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skye123

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but i`m now not allowed!!!
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because i`ve "got GCSE`s this year" and then i`m hopefully going residental at college with skye for a year and then if i get an aprentiship (spelling??) thats four years and unless its near home i wont be able to join.

worked it out and i wont be able to join till i`m 21!!
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not happy at all!!!

so am i missing out on much or not?? cos i really want to join!
 
Join a riding club, seeing as you have GCSE's this year you are either 15 or 16, and if you are just setting off depending on which branch you are in you will be in the same group as a bunch of 8 year olds
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RC's are likely to have older teenage members etc, tis just an idea but you just get to do PC stuff with loads of big kids, sorry, adults
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After the DC of the pony club I was a member stood by and watched my horse get beaten into a lorry (by the yard owner of the place where we were on camp, it took 3 hours to load her) and do nothing I've been left with a very sour taste in my mouth. I couldn't catch my horse for almost 2 months and she would go for me in the field so I'm not the biggest pony club fan after all that!
 
Do you know what? It makes me really sad (read that as peed off too) to hear so many people slate the Pony Club, there are hundreds of Branches, why tar them all with the same brush. OK so not everyone likes it, or has had a bad experience, or didn't like the instructors etc, but that could go for any riding establishment etc. If you think you can do better or have something to offer then I'm sure your expertise would be welcomed, even if it's only to teach them some manners if that's what is lacking.

I have been involved with Pony Club as a Secretary and Instructor for years and I can tell you that those people you rant about spend a lot of their own time organising events, shows, rallies,camps, rides etc and quite honestly get very little Thanks for their efforts at times. I know that the entire Committee of my last PC often felt like just walking out and saying "Well, sod the lot of you, you ungrateful little buggers" then we'd get one little dot of a 6 year old come up and show us how to tie a knot, or put a bridle back together with a grin as wide as his face and it would make it worth while.

At one time all the best Equestrians came up through the Pony Club so it must have been doing something right somewhere along the way.

BTW Joining a Riding Club is probably your best option as Vivhewe said.
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I think Pony Club's great - it's where I learned an awful lot of the little I know about horses and met loads of horsey people in my area. I know how hard it is to organise things to suit everybody (my mum is on the branch committee) and I can say that often a lot of work is put in for not much thanks. It's great fun being on teams and I don't know if the RC has a similar system but you can work your way up through the PC tests and the B, AH and A tests exempt you from some BHS stages. There is no reason at all why you would be put with 8 year olds to start with - you will be grouped according to age, ability and preferences. It's great fun!
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I think it depends on the branch - but I love the pony club
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I'm 30 now and still go to camp every year (to teach!)...

There are (as in life in general) some people I might not agree with and some peoples methods I wouldn't agree with - but generally I think you find really knowledgable horsey people who give up lots of their time to organise things for the pony club.

The kids all seem to love it and PC camp used to be the highlight of my year - and taking part in the teams etc etc...

You can join and just go to the occasional rally - it's not a huge commitment unless you want it to be!
 
PC is great, my daughter has had a wonderful time. You get nuggets in all equestrian walks of life, not Just PC. I would join as most rallies etc are in the college/school holidays. Even if you just do a few rallies you will cover the membership fee. There are usualy some fabulous instructors.

I think some people worry because its a bit 'hooray henry' - if 'normal' peole joined then it wouldnt be would it - perhaps a bit of inverted snobbery going on?
 
Regardless of what you want to do, you don't gallop past other horses - not only is it bad manners, it's dangerous. If you need to pass you wait until there is enough space to do so, and then pass at a slower pace.
 
Pony Club taught me an awful lot, and I had a great time doing it too. I was lucky enough to come up through alongside some of the great names of equestrianism today, but regardless of that, it was a great way to meet likeminded people, have a great time together, and learn a little bit along the way too
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Could you join and go to the events in the summer holidays after your GCSEs. Maybe your Mum and Dad would pay for you to go to camp as a reward. but you'd probably need to put your name down now.
 
Some of my happiest memories are of times spent at Pony Club. It's like any club- not everyone will be happy all of the time and having to be politically correct and ultra health and safety conscious before all else means a lot of the fun - and proper tellings-off, have diminished. However, it is still one of the finest institutions around. For the most part, it instills discipline and responsibility in its members and enables them to learn effective and correct horse management and become capable riders.

Long live Pony Club and all the hard-working committee members and DC's.
 
[ QUOTE ]
it is still one of the finest institutions around. For the most part, it instills discipline and responsibility in its members and enables them to learn effective and correct horse management and become capable riders.

Long live Pony Club and all the hard-working committee members and DC's.

[/ QUOTE ] Couldn't say it better myself - both my OH & I have come up through the Pony Club and enjoyed and benefitted from it immensely, and now my daughter has joined, and is loving every minute of it!
 
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