Pony club without a pony

[OhYouBadBadCrookshanks]

Please can you tell me all about it :)

[Mirage]

DD1 is currently a PC member via her riding school,as we have no pony at present.It is affiliated to the PC and they do their badges,awards ect,using the RS ponies.DD1 loves it,especially the games.Our membership is £20 I think.

[OhYouBadBadCrookshanks]

how often does she do the pC stuff and how much extra does it cost on top of the membership? I wish dds riding school was affiliated!

[Mirage]

The riding school does 'pony days' which any child can attend,pc member or not,however the pc members attending work towards their awards and badges and have a PC examiner come in and test them.They are expected to do mucking out,grooming,picking out feet,plaiting as well as riding and games.The examiner is nice but very strict.All children get a rosette at the end of the day.They tend to be in the school holidays and cost £34 for a 9am -3pm day.The little ones do a 9-12 morning instead,as if they are very tiny it can be very tiring.

I don't know if searching for pony club affiliates would bring one up in your area? We get sent a magazine and there seem to be lots of riding schools doing it.

[OhYouBadBadCrookshanks]

thanks Mirage :) I've found a pony club centre not too far from us, so I'm going to phone up and ask if we can have a look round, watch a lesson and try dd on a half hour private or two. We love her stables that she is at, but dd wants to expand her horizons and try external comps and things. Looking at different options to achieve this.

[emlu67]

Sorry to jump on the back of this thread but what is the best age to start Pony Club? DD has just turned 7, we have a Pony Club at a riding school nearby but she doesn't have her own pony. She is very keen but really tiny for her age and not great at doing things for herself (can't put her body protector on etc) so I think she might struggle with a lot of the tasks. Should I wait another year or so?

[Mirage]

OYBBC,sorry,I've only just clicked who you are.I was wondering why your name seemed familiar.That is what pony buying does to your brain.Good luck with your enquiries.

Emlu67,it is well worth asking your dds riding instructor how they think she'd cope.The school dd1 goes to PC at has loads of lovely,friendly teenage stablegirls who are great at helping the little ones.I'm sure no one would mind giving a hand if needed.DD1 often needs me to help with her back protector,they can be tricky to get on right.

DD1 is small for her age,but had been riding since she was 4,so is very confident around ponies.She started pony days at 5,and joined the PC this year,aged 7.DD2 is 6 and although a keen rider,isn't bothered about PC-she isn't a 'joiner' like her sister is.

I have to say that the PC rding instructors we have come across have been excellent,I'm definitely going to get the dds to have some private lessons with our local ones once the new pony arrives.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

:) thanks Mirage! (back to normal name wise now!)