Working at local riding stables in 80s/90s, anyone remember this?

[Carrotsgrowintheground]

May just have been my local stables and possibly others were more moral and fair but does anyone else remember this? We were allowed to just hang around all day, walking horses on lead reins for little children, saddling up, mucking out, feeding, in return for free rides.

The women who worked there were really bad tempered. Kids who owned their own ponies and kept them at the stables were the envy of us all!

the highlight was riding the ponies back to the field bareback
O yes this! Happy times. The woman who owned the stables was brilliant - I wanted to be her when I grew up. Still do!

Ah I did this! Was the best time. We stayed there all day, walked round to the chip shop for lunch. Stood in the muck heap in winter to warm up our feet, sat with rugs over our laps on bales of hay. Rode everything and anything I could and loved them all. Was lucky enough to get my own horse as a teenager and carried it all on at the livery yard. Was amazing!

My sister and I went to something called Horse Rangers, like guides except horsey. One week riding, one week kicking out, occasional camp.

Later turned out that one of the men running it had been convicted for molesting the kids there! So perhaps grumpy women are the lesser of two evils.

It didn't feel like work though, did it? It was just what we loved doing - and there were far more up sides than downs. And wasn't it always sunny? (Apart from getting snowed in and having to put the little ponies into some pig sheds..... THAT involved some crouching.)
I want to know if there is anyone here from Mrs Croppers at Holymoorside? x

I had riding lessons as a kid and was desperate to be one of the girls who helped out at weekends, but my mum wouldn’t let me. I was allowed to go on a “fun and learn” day once, though. I tried SO HARD all day, and when I was given the red rosette at the end I nearly burst, I was so proud. All I wanted in the world was to be a proper pony girl like Jill.

The yard my daughter rides at is still like it! Loads of pony mad teenagers working dawn till dusk on the promise of a free ride. I rather like it. It’s character building. Never did me any harm etc

Yes loved this. Used to cycle 3 miles to get there, dark in winter.

Drank out of the hosepipe, got 1 ride for a whole weekend of intense physical work. Happy memories.

Yes, fond memories. We were treated quite well in terms of rides, but the h&s was very lacking! Still have a bad back now from being kicked in a totally avoidable situation!

Was such a good escape from what was quite a difficult home life and taught me so much that I still value now. Wish there were more (but safer!) opportunities out there.

Never quite sure about the child labour vs free childcare arguments!

My daughter rides and we own ponies. Nothing has chabged. What you describe is exactly what happens 😅

I’m in Europe and this is very much a thing here still! My dd went to a stables just like this until recently- the woman is awful! Rude, slave teen labour yet people line up to be there!

Haha yes. I only went a few times as despite being a fairly gullible child I cottoned on to the scam quite quickly - you had to do something stupid like 30 hours mucking out to earn a lesson. Ours was in the farm complex of what I now realise was an abandoned manor house, long crumbled to ruins. Come to think of it the farmhouse was also semi ruinous and a complete health and safety nightmare by today's standards. Some of the old cow sheds had been repurposed into stables.

The woman who ran it used to leave us to "man the phones" in the office. We used to call the Lombard direct number, which we'd memorised from the telly advert, and ask them if it was true that one call to Lombard direct and you're laughing. When they confirmed that this was the case (which I guess was part of the script?) we would laugh maniacally and slam the phone down.

Simpler, happier, more easily amused times 😂

She sounds like the Nigella and Henrietta from Caroline Akrill ‘s eventing trilogy . I love those books - the stables with the slightly iffy horses , the old bay mare , and the bad tempered chestnut could have been in my yard !

When I think what we used to do - getting the horses up from the far fields in the morning by riding them back in head collars down an A road , and then doing the same on a summers evening , and riding to the shops for snacks , leaving them tied up to the bike rack , well , you’d be reported in a flash !

Happiest day of the week for me. My parents paid for a ride (£4!), I stayed all day and got a free ride in return for mucking out, lead rein etc.

The local riding school here still does it.

I don't see anything wrong with it to be honest. I absolutely adored it. Only stopped when I got my own horse (stabled on my own land). All I wanted when little was to get good enough and old enough to "work for rides".

Absolutely! And was also obsessed with the saddle club, had quite the collection!

Absolutely - I must have walked MILES around the paddock leading ponies for children in exchange for a 20-minute ride at the end of the day!

It led to becoming a working student and then eventually owning my own horses. It was totally worth it to me.

Yes, sounds just like the stables I worked/hung out at 🤣, probably from the age of 12 ish I used to spend the weekend at the stables, mucking out, helping with younger childrens lessons and at the end of the day if I was lucky I could have a free ride…..usually on the pony that no one else would/could ride.

We had to pay to do that in the holidays! Mucking out, hack if you were lucky.
Bad tempered woman who ran the place, equally bad tempered girls who owned the ponies. Said I was too fat to ride her pony, I was 6.5 stone 🤣
She was just jealous because her pony loved me more and I frankly loved him.
Didn't have pop stars posters on my wall just badminton horse trial and eventing posters from horse and hound.

Our local stables is still like this. Full of teenage girls who are spending the day helping out, very informal - just turn up. Also it still does a summer camp for a week exactly as a PP mentioned. They all bring camp beds and sleep in one room. However the people who run the stables are lovely and not at all rude!

DDs stable still do this (although the staff don’t seem quite so psychotic as when I was a teenager!). She’s not old enough to work for rides yet but I can see her doing this in a few years time…

Yes also did this for several years, it was gruelling and there were awful women in charge (and some awful girls), we were put in some ridiculous dangerous situations (riding horses back to the field bareback through a town centre with two others on lead reins?!), but it was some of the best times I ever had. Makes me sad that girls (it was always girls) don't get to have these experiences now.

My daughters riding school is like that now 😂

Yes! Work weekends all year to have the reward of loaning a pony for a week in the summer hols. Sit on anything just to get to ride. My God did you learn to stay on! 11-16 for me. Tidying the muck heap was a great winter job just because you could bury your feet to defrost your toes.

Ahhh memories of leading the little ones in lessons for 50p an hour from the age of 10, first money I ever earned!
Mine had nice owners, an ex jockey and his wife who was more into dressage
I was quite shy and in awe of the teens who were there all the time and so confident. I was desperate to learn more but everyone else seemed so accomplished, I'd have loved to have been shown how to tack up and muck out. Would have happily done it for free

Yep! This is a very nostalgic thread. I fondly remember mucking out, grooming and hacking. One wealthy lad used to smoke dope in the stables & we were shocked. Some of the women in charge were slappers.