Gymnastics or horse riding?

[toddlerinterests]

My 3 year old DD has recently shown an interest in both gymnastics, ever since she watched it on the Olympics and was transfixed. She's been trying to copy the moves ever since and enthusiastically says "mummy I do nastics, watch me!" . I plan to take her to gymnastics toddler taster classes as she can't join properly until shes 4 next year anyway.

However she also seems to love horses, as we discovered recently. She had her first pony ride a few weeks back and we both agreed we've never seen her smile and giggle as much. Immediately afterwards she was saying "again!"

Partner and I aren't in agreement about which activity to hone her interest in on a more permanent basis - I think gymnastics is the way to go, I'm of the view that this is likely to be cheaper and safer. Partner thinks horse riding during to how she reacted when she rode on the pony (however she hasn't tried gymnastics as yet so we don't know how she'd take to that). I'd like to have one or the other as a regular weekly activity for her, if that makes sense.

Also, I'm aware that she might grow up to hate both 😂 But I'd like to at least try and hone her interest in one or the other from a young age. Any thoughts on which way to go?

Is it not possible to do horse-riding without having a pony?
Like just riding at the club? I did that for 8 years in France, no one had a pony. Is it a british thing to have to have a pony?

Haven’t read full thread but I did both as a child. One thing that I think is important to understand is that you can enjoy horse riding as a weekly activity without hankering after your own horse, entering competitions etc. At my local riding school we did a combination of lessons and fast hacking in the surrounding hills. I learned showjumping, did cross country, simple dressage, a bit of stable management and the stables had their own little internal gymkhanas and jumping competitions. There were more challenging horses for those who had the right experience.
I did it every week from age 6 to when I went to university. Loved it, became a reasonably good rider but never wanted more. I never met anyone who owned their own horse. Most of my peers were the same.

Gymnastics is possibly better to start as young as 3 or 4 because it teaches you balance, coordination etc (also good transferable skills for riding)and you can do some basic moves at that age. At 3 you are just going to be led around on a lead rope and you won’t learn any actual riding for a few years. My stables wouldn’t have taken kids that young for regular lessons anyway.

Gymnastics.
Horses are an expensive slippery slope to financial ruin. 😁

Yes it is. It's how I've always ridden since I was 6 years old.

Imo, saying that if you start riding then buying a pony is an inevitability is like saying by starting gymnastics, then trips to European comps are an inevitability. It's rubbish.

There are also lots of snobs who will tell you that you can't learn to ride "properly" just at a riding school, but if you pick a good one (or ones as you improve/interests change) then you absolutely can. I can certainly ride better than a number of my friends who only potter around on gentle hacks with their own horses that they've owned for years.

Also, when I hit the teen-mid twenties years, I was inundated by offers from owners to exercise their horses 1/2 times a week. There were periods that I rode everyday with none of the expense of owning or the long term commitment. I wasn't anything special, just a competent, gentle rider with no fear and a sticky seat.

For the sake of your future wallet, gymnastics 😂

Horse family here, we have a livery yard on the farm and I’ve ridden since I was a child and was very lucky to have ponies as a child and still to this day.

I'd pick gymnastics personally. Generally safer, more kid-friendly, indoors, warmer, CHEAPER and more capacity for making friends.

I wouldn't give too much thought to the reaction to the horse. We rarely get up close to a horse at any age, so they have more novelty and "wow factor". For most people that comes to an abrupt halt after their first rainy lesson, or the first time they get kicked, bitten or accidentally stood on.

Both of mine do gymnastics and enjoy it. They are nearly 8. I am still grateful that neither have shown any interest in horses, or football.

My youngest child does both. I wouldn't agree Gymnastics is safer. I know of a girl who broke her neck doing a back flip at 5. She's paralysed 😢 my preference would be horse riding but stables near me don't take children under 6 due to insurance. Give the Gymnastics a go but also don't look too far into the future, she's 3 she might not like either in a week!

My 3 kids do gymnastics at a fab recreational inclusive club ( it does have a squad that competes but most of the classes are recreational). I am coming to realise that our gym club is not the norm but you may find that one of your local gyms has a similar reputation.
My kids are so fit and strong from it despite only doing an hour a week (since age 3), 9yo DD isn’t otherwise very sporty but loves being able to do cartwheels somersaults and flips, my super sporty 6yo DS stays flexible and his upper body strength is so much better than if he just played football all the time which would be his choice, the other DS6 has ASD and hypermobility and is so well supported in the SEN class and it has improved his mobility and core strength immeasurably. I know gymnastics as a whole has had a bad rep but every single club is not like that so don’t write it off before she even has a try. Obviously keep your ears and eyes open as she gets older if she sticks with it.
We did go to another club’s preschool fun sessions when my DD was a toddler and already the comments about the 2/3yo kids and their abilities that I overheard from the coaches put me right off. Plenty of her friends went there, and got plenty of medals and certificates along the way but now by 9 I’d say 90% have stopped, whereas the group that went to her club are all still doing it.

dd did horseriding weekly from around the age of 7 and spent every saturday from the age of about 13 until she went to uni helping at the stable yard. We loaned a pony over the summer for a coupe of years as we were not horsey and couldnt really afford to own a horse.

However it was great for dd as gave her a whole different group of friends - especially valuable at times of extreme bitchiness going on at school. Also built enormous resilience especially in the north of Scotland in winter but dd loved it. She stopped riding for a while when she went to uni but has gone back to it of her own accord now she can afford it herself - and again is very good for her wellbeing and has helped her make a different circle of friends as a young adult.

My daughter does gymnastics and dance. We were considering cheerleading as it combines gym and dance but the local one clashes time wise so we can't make it. She'd have liked horse riding too but no stables nearby and of course the cost!

There’s a lot of very extreme reactions on here for a 3 year old.

Gymnastics will not be ‘toxic’ for a 3 year old.

She doesn’t need her own horse to do a few horse riding lessons as a 3 year old.

Don’t overthink it op, just try a bit of lots of things! Can she even have regular horse riding lessons at 3? It’s 5 around where I live I think. Gymnastics will be roly poleys and climbing ladders with some singing and slides in the mix and there’s a high chance she won’t be doing either anymore by the time she hits infant school.

Be very, very careful with gymnastics, if she goes beyond recreational (I know it's early days for you).
I have 2 friends with gymnast daughters who had eating disorders by age 10, one of whom gave up sport due to damaged knees at the save age.

37 year old former gymnast, I can barely walk from absolutely fucking destroying my ankles. I wouldn't let mine do it competitively tbh, the toll it's taken on my body is awful. I sound like a bag of spanners going up the stairs.

I will add the "body shaming" element of gymnastics is slowly dying out. You can see the shape of top level gymnastics and the focus is more now on a strength and health rather than weight.

Exactly.

Try lots of things.

Give her lots of different experiences.

My DD has done gymnastics for 2 years and loves it. She has also been horse riding maybe 10 times in the same 2 year space and also love that. Horse riding has more of a treat as it’s so pricy and booking lessons isn’t the easiest

Honestly, I'd find classes that will suit a child of her age and work for you in regards to cost, timings, etc. Try them out and if theres something she enjoys, great.

Theres loads of different levels of gymnastics. Just fun classes for an hour a week, or local competitions but only in floor & Vault, or full on grades & competitions nationally in 4-peice, or aiming to compete internationally. There's no need to be too concerned about long training hours ultra-competitve gyms doing high-risk moves, because you can avoid that world whilst still doing gymnastics.

Horse riding is imo more dangerous because horses have brains making them unpredictable - but again, there's no rule that says she must thunder about over a huge cross-country course on some "spirited and characterfull" horse.

Agree with PPs that you should expose her to both (and others) - the fit may end up being about finding a group or teacher that suits her rather than her 'talent'. At this age the benefits of both are a bit of physical development and learning to learn - follow instructions (within reason for a toddler) and work at something. It's very early and she may end up getting into something totally different, so it would be fine to pick the one you find most convenient - the choice you make here won't define the rest of her life!

I think gymnastics is great first sport at that age. It is fun and it develops a number of general athletic skills like balance, flexibility, body awareness, etc that can be translated to a variety of different sport contexts on down the line. It’s a good all-rounder to enjoy for a few years while she decides what sports she actually likes and wants to get into.

My DDs are into riding, but they only started when they were 10 years old as the stable advised us to wait until they were big enough to be able to really handle the horses. I know that people obviously can and do start their children on horses younger, but we don’t
feel at a disadvantage for having waited. It’s an expensive hobby and it's a nice one to be able to whip out of your back pocket when they start to hit the stroppy tween years. Something about regularly being in the stable with the animals is really grounding for them at that age, I think.

This!