Any riding holidays or riding schools where you can ride without a saddle?

[marioncoakes]

I used to ride bareback as a child, and now all my family do quite a lot of work without stirrups to improve our balance, seat etc. But I'd love my dc to have the experience of riding bareback. Is there anywhere that offers this? Presumably elf and safety is a bit of an issue, but we are all good riders.

I used to love it - it was when we took the ponies back to the field at the end of the day. Magical.

[marge2]

I don't know of any. I think you are right it may be a bit of a health and safety issue nowadays. It is nice though isn't it although probably only nice on fat ponies. I had to ride my girl bareback when the saddle was in for reflocking once. Bloody nightmare in anything other than walk though.

I do totally marvel at those top showjumpers who can still jump huge courses bareback. I've seen them do it at Olympia. at their amazing seats and balance.

[marioncoakes]

Fat ponies...yes, they were...lovely in the sunset on the way to the field!

Even at a walk would be nice. Something about horse/rider contact, I think.

[30andMerkin]

Aw, can't help but fond memories here too. I used to go on holidays at a Welsh farm where we'd ride the ponies up to the far fields in a head collar every evening, and they'd get all excited and start trotting, so you'd have to canter just to give yourself a chance, and it basically turned into a kind of bareback child cowboy race!

Would last 2 seconds now if I tried it I reckon!

[WhyHavePets]

Iknow that we have been told they are not allowed because of insurance. The dc can ride their own bb (on livery there) but not in a lesson. TBH I think you will struggleto find a school that does this.

personally I think it is a great way tomake a better rider - especially jumping!

[haggisaggis]

I sed to ride at a school (now closed) that did this regularly during lesons to improve seat and balance - trying to do a rising trot without a saddle is something I've never mastered! It was fun though but they did have to stop for insurance reasons.

[marioncoakes]

So owning your own pony is the only way to go...

[frenchfancy]

Come to France.

Although I usually use a saddle I have riden bareback at instructors orders.

DD2 rides bareback regularly.

[JRsandCoffee]

Chuckles.....I still give people the heebees riding my Dales bareback, usually in an nosebandless bridle....we used to race the traffic down the hill from Polesden Lacey in surrey like that (the bridleway runs next to the road - cue ashen faced drivers and screaming waving kids it's a long time since I passed 30 by the way so age is no barrier to the joy!

Interesting point on BB - if you are able to do it.... it's very good if you have just a niggling stiff/ sore back, the first thing I do if my back is sore is ride bareback - gently that is, not the full tilt galloping thing but walk and collected trot in the school.

Anyway, back to the point, I'm afraid I agree, now you would probably struggle to find someone who would let you do it in a riding school situation, insurance would be the reason. Do you know anyone who might let you ride a pony of theirs? Are your DCs members of the pony club? The only reason I ask is that I used to teach a few children riding other people's ponies, they had linked up through the grapevine and the pony club. While it was usually just a once a week thing to allow the owning child the majority of the riding it did work well as the pony was usually much more of a schoolmaster than you generally find in RCs and they got to do things like ride bareback and go to the odd PC rally etc.

Seems insane that all the things we used to do to make us generally safer in the long run like jumping with no stirrups and no saddle etc are now just not possible on "safety" grounds.

[seeker]

My dd and her friend ride bareback and with knotted reins - scares the bejasus out of me!

[marioncoakes]

Oh, thanks for all this. DC aren't yet in the Pony Club but am hoping dd will want to soon.

Walk and collected trot is all I've ever done bareback, iirc! God I would love to do it at speed, though.

Frenchfancy, riding in France is a strong possibility for us. We all speak French and love France. Is it pretty standard there? We are thinking of taking a riding holiday somewhere in France.

[AlpinePony]

Times have changed haven't they? I remember one riding school in my youth who had 2/3 ponies who were always ridden bareback and if you worked in exchange for rides you had to ride bareback.

I must admit I do it occasionally now - not the same on a knobbly withered biggun as it is on a M&M! :(

[JRsandCoffee]

Indeed, Piper's barrell like qualities and general comfort and "leg at each corner" balance are a bit more conducive to the BB than the knobbly withered ones!!! Funnily enough I went back to ponies, if you'd told me ten years ago I'd have a dales I'd have rolled on the floor laughing!

Again, going back to the main point - you may well have more luck in France, whereabouts were you thinking?

[seeker]

You haven't know fear until you have seen your child jumping 2'6 with no saddle and no reins............

[TennisFan]

Have you tried asking one of the riding holiday specialists?
I know of one based in England, but their holidays are all over the world, I am sure they will know of where you could ride bareback.
here is a link in the saddle

[marioncoakes]

Thanks for that link, TennisFan. We have not got far in planning our hols, just in the realms of dreaming atm. Somewhere in France, not too hot, though. Good horses would be the prime factor plus a good, safe riding experience. But with BB if at all possible.

I'll pass on the sight of seeing my dc jumping with no saddle or reins, Seeker!

[frenchfancy]

I really don't know if it is normal in France. My DD rides at two different stables and they do it at both. Both are in the FFE so it can't be an insurance issue.

[marioncoakes]

Thanks, FF. Encouraging!

[FannyPriceless]

I am grinning as I remember riding our pony in the '70s. Bareback was the norm as we could not be bothered with a saddle. I have a great photo of my sister and me sitting on our Welsh pony with no saddle OR bridle. (Of course the sun is shining as it is the idyllic 1970s childhood snap).

We didn't start using the saddle regularly until I was befriended by a girl from the 'posh' school who was horrified and convinced me that using my saddle would improve my riding. (Realised years later that she only befriended me as I had a pony and she didn't.)

All our local gymkhanas back then would have a competition called 'Bareback Rider'. You had to walk, trot and canter bareback and then you were given the option of doing a course of jumps. I always did the jumps. I always won.

Imagine that now!

[marioncoakes]

Priceless, Fanny. I have to say I never jumped bareback, and can hardly imagine I would have stuck on! I do know all the ponies I rode bareback were pretty small, so I wouldn't have had that far to fall. Unlike the great beasts I ride now!

[AlpinePony]

I remember those gymkhana comps fanny - I too did the bareback classes. It was all very normal in 70s/early 80s.

Anyone read the Richard Maxwell books? He rides without saddle & bridle. Not sure where he puts his tackle either!

[notasausage]

Have used In The Saddle as TennisFan suggests. Rode bareback at Horizon in South Africa to swim the horses in the lake (mind the hippo!). A bit far to go for the whole bb thing, but if there's anywhere doing this then In The Saddle should be able to tell you.

[Ebb]

Oooo notasausage I've swum in the lake at Horizon. Hippo definately wasn't in it at the time thank goodness! Was a fantastic holiday. Highly recommend In the Saddle. My friend works for them. She has to test drive the holidays. Poor girl!

I regularly used to ride the ponies bareback at my old riding school but that was in the 90's. Our kids aren't allowed any fun with all this health and safety.

[marioncoakes]

Yes, yes, riding the ponies into a lake - just the sort of holiday I'm thinking of. S Africa is too far, though. Thanks for that lovely image, though.