Will buying a 14hh pony restrict my riding and competing? help!

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I have begun that most wonderful and terrifying of all searches - for a new horse! There's so much I could ask advice on...but this is restricted to ONE topic. I've found a pony I like - but she's tiny - just 14hh. A fairly stocky Connie tho. I am in love already (after just the one viewing) and now am seriously contemplating taking the plunge. But first I want to be sure I know what I'm getting myself into in terms of competitions and potential events to take part in. In short - does buying a pony mean there's not so much to do? I want to do RC in Essex/suffolk and to generally get out and about doing a bit of everything. She jumps up to about 80cm.

Will there be lots for us to do? I hate the idea of going round XC courses and having to miss out half the obstacles. Will I feel stupid up against all the kids?? Forgive me, it's a LONG time since I had a horse last (15 years) and I was a teenager. Now I'm sadly much older and greyer... What do you think? Have any of you made the same choice? How do you decide what was right for you and were you out off a smaller ride because it limited you in what you could join in?

I am 39 yo adult and am 5'5 and weigh about 8st.

Thank you hugely in advance for any help. Me and my bf (who's not horsey at all) are a bit lost!

Xx
 
Unless you want to affiliate no...is her absolute max at 80cm, if so contemplate if you aver might consider wanting to progress beyond this and secondly will it be a problem if you ever want/need to sell her.

But otherwise if you like and she ticks all the right boxes..I wish you all the best of luck :)
 
There's actually a really good thread on the British Dressage forum about competing ponies, a huge amount of people (adults) do it in dressage with great results. I know someone who competes PSG on hers. I don't know the rules RE jumping and eventing though.
 
I would say it depends on level of competition & attitude of the clubs you will join. Courses can be more designed around horses striding at an adult RC event, but ponies are talented & should cope whatever
My husbands 14.2 conny happily jumps 3'6 (not sure what that is in new money!) She does not seem to struggle & i think could jump higher - neither of us has the bottle to try! Never had to go round a xc jump due to her ability, only ours.
Our local RC's are not phased by adult male on a pony, but I have heard other pony squishers finding they feel out of place.
I would say go for it, connys are brilliant. Ours does reasonably at novice level dressage - not sure she would have the talent for much more, even if we did. Jumping she is brilliant & will hack all day, stand outside the pub without complaining & turns her hoof happily to handy pony/le trec stuff - can you tell I'm smitten.
 
You will not be restricted by her height, many adults compete on ponies even smaller and you could do BD or BE if you wanted to, the only thing restricting you will be ability, I think jumping up to 80 cm is no problem but you may have a bit of a limitation there if you want to go on she may not be able to, I expect most 14 hand ponies to jump up to 90 cm comfortably, it may be that her current owners have not tried to go further or that you are happy at 70-80 and have no desire to go further.

I would make a few more enquiries about what she has done and how confident she is xc and sj over different fences, saying she jumps up to about 80 cms is a little vague and if that is what they are saying reading between the lines it may be that she has issues with certain fences or is not brave if the rider makes a mistake, do some digging to find out more, if she is in a PC home ring the DC for a reference, google the name and her riders name and see if there are any results that show up, most ponies have some sort of record if you look hard enough it is surprising what you can find, if you find nothing and she is supposed to have been out competing ask where and when and how she has done, people can be reluctant to ask but if you don't ask the questions you will not find the answers.
 
I kept my 14hh-on-tiptoes pony into adulthood, and then when I was able to replace her myself I have actually gone smaller and got 2 13.2hh ponies! Having a pony never held me back, we may have been the smallest at most competitions but she would go on sponsored rides with the horses and still be the only one happily jumping the open fences, she kept up with all the horses at PC camp (in late teens) and usually bettered them, and when on working livery she was used on adult lessons as well. She adapted her striding to cope with however the course was set up, and could do everything I ever asked of her in dressage. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a smaller pony if it is the right one for you, and you didn't want to progress to higher levels. I can't wait to start riding mine and get out into the riding clubs to show people all over again just what ponies can achieve :-)
 
I have a 14.2 pony, we happily do a bit of everything, only riding club stuff but we have a lot of fun and enjoy ourselves. I am 5'6 and about 9st, I had a TB before but much refer the pony, she isn't as sharp as the TB and has given me back all the confidence I had lost before. Also with a nice little connie you could get into a bit of showing which is fun!
 
If you're thinking of doing area qualifiers for your riding club, there are no rules preventing adults riding ponies in British Riding Clubs competitions. We have a (very small!) member who rides a 12.3 pony so we phoned to check and they said as long as welfare isn't an issue you'd be fine to compete. The Novice Show Jumping is 80cm in the first round 85cm in the second and 90 if there's a jump off so this might restrict you if 80cm really is her limit, but if she'd have a bit of scope to do more when you've got to know her you'd be fine. The 12.3 pony I mentioned above flies round, so ability is more of an issue than size! There's an 80cm class at Horse Trials so you should be ok XC.

ETA - we also have a junior member turned senior member who still has her 14.2 pony. She competes in the BRC intermediate classes at round about 1m and does very well. Her only problem is having to gallop at combinations to make the distance or having to really shorten the canter to get two strides in. She's often torn about what to do!
 
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Depends on what you hope to do, how far you hope to go. I have only ponies now, but still want something with a bit of speed and scope, and connies have just that. The heavy weight vanner type that is so popular today just wouldn't do for me, just not athletic enough, and if this is what you were intending to buy, then I would say that you would be limited in how far you could go but breeds like connies and New Forests (I am on an NF facebook group, and wow, don't they jump!) have more than enough scope for most. The only problem is that jumps look bigger from the back of a pony than from the back of a horse!
 
Having owned a 14hh connie and a 14.2 connie/tb I'd say the only limitation is SJ courses are usually built for horses so the stride is off for a pony, however, the 14.2 happily jumped tracks of 1.20 and jumped clear round Novice/intermediate BE XC, he regularly beat horses at dressage. They were competed by my daughter but i did ride both and at 5'5" i found the lack of neck a bit disconcerting, much easier to fall off than on a 16hh horse as there is little in front of you. I do love connies though, such great allrounders!
 
As a mature rider I would say that 14hh has 2 distinct advantages.... 1. Easier to mount and 2. Not far to fall

Seriously though, I can't see why 14hh should disadvantage you. If it's the right horse, go for it!
 
I'm another adult with a connie. He's 14.2hh and has done all sorts with me -SJ, hunter trials, mock hunts and dressage. Yes the strides are sometimes designed for horses but it doesn't bother him in the slightest as he can turn on a sixpence and sort his legs out without any trouble. He out jumps many 16.2hh horses I know. Plus he is so much easier to keep than any of my previous horses. He eats less, doesn't need shoes or many rugs, and whilst he is whizzy he isn't so full of adrenaline that he has a melt down at the drop of a hat. Can you tell I love my pony?
 
Hi OP...plenty of adults with ponies in our mid-Suffolk RC so you would be most welcome to join us if you live within a reasonable distance! It really depends on what level you wish to compete at, as others have said, we have plenty of things you could try! Is the pony registered? That might make a difference, our boy has unknown parentage so M&M is out :( but our annual show still had WH, SJ and fun classes either me or my daughter could attempt. I did a small SJ class (4th, :) ), and won the "golden oldie" prize for Handy Pony!! Other opportunities include joining the dressage team to compete against other RC's if you are so inclined... Best of luck!
 
If she is a registered Connie then showing is fine for you, jumping a 14hh connie with talent will jump as high as most average horses with limited talent as she jumps off her forehand ours is happy up to about 110 /120 once she gets onto her hocks she will be a star.
I would heartily recommend pony ownership to any adult and even go as far to say they are better than horses. Registered M&M are often ridden by adults at shows right down to Shetlands so there is no limit to the classes you can do
 
I think it depends what you want to do and how far you want to go.

If your pony is a registered connie then that opens up a wide range of opportunities for you in the M&M classes, NPS do dressage for ponies and there will be working hunter classes though if your pony only jumps up to 80cm that be more restricting as the workers will be jumping quite a lot bigger than that.

There are plenty of ponies that are jumping 90cm+ courses so it won't be the height of your pony that is necessarily the issue but more the ability of the pony.

A registered native pony is very versatile - I have a new forest and am an adult and my pony does all the things that my friends big horses do and his size has not held me back at all {it is my riding that is problem!)
 
I must be near you, as I on the Essex.suffolk border. I have a horse but, have been looking to buy another, have viewed ponies and horses. I haven't got a problem with a smaller size, easier to handle on the ground in some ways, cheaper to feed, more grazing etc. The only thing that I felt, was that when I sat on some of the ponies, they felt so much like a pony and quite narrow. Perhaps its because I usually ride my chap who is a full up horse. But, saying that, I am viewing one next week that's a 14.2! - One that I did view was small, jumped like a stag and would have taken me far, especially at XC, he was 14 hands but very fine, although I didn't necessarily look big, im 8 stone and 5ft 8 but, I felt that I would look like a mum that had borrowed her daughter's pony if I took it to a show and that worried me. Ive decided that I need a min of a 14.2 with good shoulder.
 
I'm having a 14.1 connie mare vetted tomorrow!!! She is well bred (and beautiful IMO) and I plan to show her in ridden and M&M whp classes. I also plan to do dressage and a bit if unaffiliated show jumping. IF she passes the vetting!!!!!

I'm 5'4 but weigh a little more than you do. The owner is 5'11"!!!!! Has shown her (winning) and has a 14.2 connie gelding she shows.

I'm soooo excited and quite nervous about the morning!!!!
 
Thank you all SO MUCH! This was such a good idea to ask you and I am quite overwhelmed by the generosity of replies in both content and number. I am going to go through all the comments again and write down a list of points to ask. Some great suggestions for questions - thank you. What a thoughtful bunch of people you are! (Perhaps horsey people are just a superior kind of people...;)

Thank you again. Now to go through with a fine tooth-comb and really try to sort out what I want and hence good questions to ask before buying, whether this one or the next. It's such a scary business and I really appreciate the help.

Xxx
 
I'm a large adult on a 14.2 connie, he makes no bones about carrying me and we have in the past successfully competed at affiliated level. I happen to know of a lovely 14hh connie mare for sale in Hampshire........and I don't think she is silly money at all.......(no she isn't mine, I'm in Norfolk :) )
 
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