Pony club vs lessons

[Takingontheundead]

DD (10) and I ride weekly. I go for fun, have no idea what I'm doing, just go for an enjoyable potter.

DD loves it, but wants formal teaching. She wants to build confidence, eventually own and jump etc.

I am utterly clueless, feel like I'm navigating a whole new world and don't speak the language.

Pony club, how expensive? The website for local school does not indicate which is concerning. Does she need pony club if she's going to be ship shape to own in a couple of years?

Or so we continue to potter on a weekend and book in for some private lessons once or so a week?

We're not rolling in spare money so want to be sure we're funnelling funds to the right set up.

It really varies from place to place! Do you mean Pony Club, like scouts but pony focussed, or does your stables run something called pony club?
If you do mean Pony Club, the membership is about £70 annually (if you have your own pony), and then you pay for the rallies, which are like group lessons. Some riding schools are Pony Club centres, which means you can borrow a riding schools pony to join in. Where do you ride at the moment, could you talk to someone there about what happens locally?
I'm a complete novice mum of a pony mad daughter, but people in the horse world have been really kind when I've asked for help!
Have you thought about a pony share? That's where we started, and now we have our own, plus a lorry to transport him in!

Keep going with the lessons. If the riding school run a Pony Club branch from their stables then she can work through the D, D+ staged tests through her stables. She won't be able to access an area based Pony Club without her own pony and transport really. The staged tests and achievements are the same whichever route you go. She'll learn how to look after a pony (stable management) like grooming, racking up, feeding, mucking out, poisonous plants, field management etc. It's a really good scheme.

How old is DD ramona? I am thinking of a share in about 12 mo time or so, owning in the next 5years perhaps. If we own I want to be able to ride it too (I'm little fatty, so dd would need to grow to handle the size horse we'd need 🤣) how is your share working out? I'm still exploring this in terms of what a normal set up looks like too so any info helpful.

We ride at a stables that don't have an arena etc so we'd be looking to attend a school locally for the "proper lessons" talking to one of the girls at the yard today they've recommended one down the road. I googled and the pony club sounds as you say- annual fee etc, -it states open to those who don't have own horse- but I'm a bit confused about the various activities and fees for each, I'm worried we could sign up and end up spending hundreds upon hundreds naively agreeing to xyz everytime somethings suggested, does that make sense.

Sadly our stables won't let her help out on a Saturday until she's 12 and tbh she needs to be shovelling some shit before i commit to a share 🤣

Have a look here:

pcuk.org/join-us/

My dd is 10 too!
We started with lessons and 'own a pony' days at our riding school from about age 6, then shared a couple of ponies. The last share we ended up doing 4 days a week, and my dd is very independent in doing all the chores... The thing she says most often is "no mummy, you can't help. I'm doing it by myself!"
In March we took the leap and bought our own, then in May I got a tax rebate and bought a 3.5t lorry for transporting him.
It's been amazing for my dd, she's out there in all weather's, completely committed. She helps at the riding school now, 8-4 at the weekends, as well as being up most days for her own. We do PC rallies on average once or twice a month, and they're about £20 a time.

Really helpful replies thank you!

Reading threads on horse prices rocketing like dogs is a bit 🙄 we actually wanted to get another dog this year but i put my foot down when our usual breed was 3k instead of 1!

Is pony club a sort of scheduled series of progressions /learning with exams to move on? If so, what level am I looking for her to meet before I'd consider her ready for a share?

Have a look on the pony club website and look at the staged tests (D, D+, C etc). They start at E (aimed at age 4) and get harder as you get to A. A is the equivalent of an instructor. I'd say c test is a good benchmark for someone who could solely care for a horse (with support on hand for asking about lameness, illness, difficult behaviour etc)

Thanks Sanity! Thats great!

It sounds to me like you both need to go to a better riding school , preferably one that is also a pony club centre and have some proper structured lessons and take it from there .

Pony Club is as a PP says like Scouts/Brownies but with ponies - the children attend weekly/monthly rallies which are a mixture of fun activities, games and teaching. Some branches also do formal and informal competitions (often inter-branch comps) and an annual camp. Like with scouts there is a structured series of tests/badges to work through which is a good way to improve your knowledge and riding abilities but not strictly necessary. PC 'branches' tend to divide into ones which are based at large riding schools and use the school's ponies and ones which are more independent and largely are for children with their own ponies - you can join the latter if you don't own your own but if so in addition to the membership fees etc you will need to arrange to hire or borrow a pony plus pay for transport to get to the venue of the rally, so it would be much easier to join a riding school based branch as the rallies will be all in the same place and the cost will usually be inclusive of the pony hire as well as the teaching.

I would start off with some lessons at a proper riding school, ideally one which is a PC centre as well and ask the teacher for ideas/help on how best to progress from there. Usually they will get more from pony club and other activities such as own-a-pony-days, mounted games etc once they are a little more advanced and confident in their riding.

Looking to share a pony eventually is an excellent idea - I would say to get the most out of a share she should be a quiet confident rider off the lead rein, with an independent balanced seat in walk, rising and sitting trot, with and without stirrups and also canter (canter without stirrups optional). Which is 'C' test standard-ish (they start at E and go to A as the highest/hardest), although as I say so long as an instructor can confirm she actually is of that standard it doesn't matter too much if she's taken/passed the test or not - no-one will ask to see the certificate ! Bear in mind that privately owned ponies are often livelier and harder to ride than riding school ponies and perhaps more importantly, if she is only used to riding fully under supervision and with a teacher telling her what to do at all times she may take a while to adjust to riding on her own.

Also, in order to share, you (as you will be responsible even if it's DD's share really) need to be able to handle a pony confidently and safely without supervision - so I'd look at the 'care' elements of the C and D tests and perhaps look into getting some specific stable management lessons - I part-loan one of my ponies and the sharers need to be fine bringing her in from field, tying up, rugs on/rugs off, grooming, tacking up, spotting basic signs of broken equipment or injury/sickness in the pony etc. Arguably this is more important to me than riding ability as if I'm loaning out a pony as suitable for a beginner it doesn't really matter if they can do lateral work/jumping etc or if they just want to bimble around on a lead rein, so long as pony is comfortable and happy doing it!

Good luck, happy to answer any other questions you have?

Maxelly this is super helpful thank you!

Yes I totally get that responsibility will mainly fall to me so I too want to know how to look after it. After my last walk i had to ask my riding companion to show me how to remove the saddle and reins etc, she didn't naturally offer it up as a learning situ, and I have a brain like a sieve so I've already forgotten which has annoyed me.

A previous riding school we tried but seemed so poncy i couldn't bare the vibe charged 30/40 for per lesson. Normal?

Right now we pay £15 for 45m but we just go out riding about the fields or private roads. Dd did get to trot today but its just not enough for her. I'm not so fussed about me in that respect, I'd rather focus on dd and her goals... but I'm not learning how to look after them either.

Yep £30-40 a lesson normal I'm afraid, in the South East anyway, maybe it's cheaper in Scotland/wales/the North, £15 sounds like a total bargain albeit you aren't really getting taught. Remember at a proper school the teachers should all have their BHS instructors qualifications which means their hourly wage should be higher plus ofc the school needs to pay for all the care and upkeep of the ponies, tack, equipment etc as well as other important expenses like insurance. I don't really think they could make ends meet if they charged less than that. To save a bit of money you can ask about group lessons, even if they're not cheaper per lesson you'll usually get an hour in a group vs half an hour as a private for the same price. And there definitely shouldn't be a snobby or horrible atmosphere, if the school you went to didn't make you feel welcome and comfortable 100% try somewhere else, it's too expensive a hobby not to be treated well and there are good schools and bad. You can even try somewhere smaller that doesn't do Pony Club, it really isn't the be all and end all and smaller places often run their own 'non branded' versions that offer similar events/badges/comps without the affiliation to PC. You can use the British Horse Society look up tool to find accredited centres?

The other benefit of a smaller school is they may be more flexible about teaching you care/stable management as well as riding. I livery at a large riding school and at weekends/after school there doesn't seem to be much time for helping clients even with the basics like tacking up/untacking because there is very little intermission between lessons, the grooms do all the getting ready and pretty much take the horses off the clients as soon as the lesson is over and the instructor goes straight to their next lesson, they don't have the time or can't be bothered to show people how to look after the horse themselves which is a shame I think especially for the children. But like I say maybe somewhere smaller and friendlier they would be up for you turning up early for your lesson to get your own horse ready and same afterwards which would be good prep for loaning a horse later.

Some schools do a part loan/share scheme which would be worth exploring, it's usually more expensive than a private share total rip off and sometimes your riding time is restricted but they area good halfway house between lessons and a private share, with teachers around etc to help?

Whereabouts are you op? I'm near brighton, and lessons vary here, but are around £30ish for a group hour, £50 for an 'own a pony' day, which run in the holidays.

I’m SE and ride at a very small ( but excellent) school , lessons are around £36 for a group hour and £45 for a private 30 minutes . That seems to be the going rate . Where I ride we normally untack , rug up , turn out etc after a lesson and if I wanted to groom / tack up that wouldn’t be an issue ( I don’t because I have my own and have had for 40 yrs so actually just want to ride a couple of times a week ) . At the price you are paying I would be very concerned about the licensing and insurance arrangements as it doesn’t sound ‘right’ at all to me .

I'm worried we could sign up and end up spending hundreds upon hundreds

Replace hundreds and hundreds, with thousands and that sums up horse riding.
It’s an expensive hobby/lifestyle

@Polkadotties

I'm worried we could sign up and end up spending hundreds upon hundreds

Replace hundreds and hundreds, with thousands and that sums up horse riding.
It’s an expensive hobby/lifestyle

Yup people say, want to know what it's like to own a horse (or a boat)? Step 1 go to the cash machine and withdraw as much as you can. Step 2 return home and turn on your cold shower on full. Step 3 stand under the shower fully clothed, shredding the contents of your wallet, telling yourself this is fun. Step 4, repeat, every day, for the rest of your life

Pretty accurate IMO

We’ve been horse owners for 40 yrs now and aside from what we’ve paid out on livery / rugs / tack etc I reckon I’ve bought our vet at least 2 landrovers . Very expensive hobby , I’m just pleased that both of my dc had given up riding by the time they were 7 , they are now both 20 + as is their pony who is thoroughly enjoying her retirement on full livery !

Not much to add to the excellent advice you’ve already had but just to say my teenage dd says that pony Club camps have been the best weeks of her life.

She had to wait until she was 15 to get her own as she needed to be travelling independently and not need supervision when she was at the yard. She had regular lessons - twice a week from when she was 13 - worked at the riding school on Saturdays and during the holidays, which gave her another free lesson. She did occasional competitions on the riding school horses as well as their internal competitions. She also went on riding holidays every year from Year 5 at Wellington (highly recommended). So she was getting a lot of experience riding different horses and learning how to look after one without having her own at the time.

Having her own horse has been a wonderful experience but definitely not all plain sailing (he’s had a series of unfortunate events this year which has been difficult and expensive). It will be much more expensive than you think ... if you’re serious about the idea in the future, it would be a good idea to save the money you’d pay for livery each month and see how doable it is. Good luck!

It’s also not all about money it’s also about time , I have neither the time , inclination or good enough health to look after a horse anymore which is why our pony is on full livery . If you get a horse and go to work / child at school you have to factor in doing the animal in the morning and in the evening , add in riding and you are looking at finding 2/3 hours per day , everyday ( unless you pay for someone else to do it so back to money )

Thank you all so much, I'm really soaking up everything you're saying.

Taking notes and going to explore this further!

We live around a half hour from Hartpury where dd is making noises about studying at.

Our pony is on grass livery, at £60/week. No mucking out, feed all provided, win:win! Insurance is £30 a month, he's barefoot, so minimal farrier costs so far. Just to help you in the planning!
Our previous pony was stabled, and we paid £15/day, and had to do all the jobs.

My DD8 has started riding earlier this year. The plan was to have a couple of private lessons to get up to a standard where she could go in a group lesson. The school normally offers Saturday morning Pony Club where there is 45 minutes stable management teaching & activities and 30 minutes of group lessons ( some do the riding before the stable management and some after). I always wanted her to do the stable management aspect - she needs to understand the effort involved in the care of horses particularly as she has desires to own a pony in future. Sadly the group lessons have not resumed with Covid so when we can we have been attending and carrying on with the private lessons - it’s expensive... £40 for 30 minutes (in the South East) but I’m not paying other costs at the moment. When the group lessons resume we’ll join the PC as a non owner.

if you can, do Pony Club (at a Centre) and add in some private lessons when you can afford it at the same school. Centre membership enables access to all Pony Club activities in your region if the Centre has the capability to transport ponies (but expect to pay for transport etc). Centre members do benefit from the odd 1-to-1 lesson here or there, to tackle things that need the concentrated eye of a coach. My daughter has made great friends at her Pony Club Centre.