Pony Club or not?

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My nine year old daughter has been riding for two years and we have owned a pony since October. I have not been bought up around horses, but we are lucky enough to have a wonderful supportive yard, five minutes walk away, where he is kept on full livery and we get lots of help. She rides at least four times a week and we visit him to groom him daily. We are taking things VERY slowly, but she loves being with him and is getting more and more confident handling him.
The yard is small, and she is the only one who keeps her pony there (it is a riding school which allows a few liveries). My daughter is painfully shy, and whilst will join in with the pony days etc, I think she sits back. The yard have said she would benefit from joining The Pony Club, which I am very happy for her to do, but Im worried that shes not competent enough. (Her pony is a little more sharp than we thought, so although she is off the lead reign, she is not cantering yet, although she is close). Do you think Pony Club would be too much for her? We dont have pony transport either!!

It depends very much on the area but most clubs will group riders of similar ability/experience. She may find she is grouped with younger children for they reason. You'll probably find her confidence improves riding with other children.

There’s no ability threshold for Pony Club - there will be some children younger than your daughter who are incredibly competent and confident, but equally there’ll be others who are more nervous. Pony Club is good for shy children as they all have an interest in common so it’s easier to join in conversations. If you have any doubts, you could always call someone on the local branch committee to find out more about what they can offer and to discuss how they could help your daughter to fit in.

There are two types of Pony Club membership - branches and centres. At a PC branch, members will have their own pony (owned, loaned or shared) and rallies and events will be held at various venues in the branch catchment so having access to transport (hiring is fine) makes it easier to make the most of what’s on offer. PC centres are usually based at one of the larger riding schools and are for children who don’t have their own pony

Pony club is absolutely fantastic
My one thing would be if she is not cantering and mainly on a lead rein at rally’s she will be in a group with largely pretty tiny tots. So I guess it’s just if you think that might bother her?

Lack of transport could potentially be an issue for regular attendance though. Do you have any access to a 3.5?

Thank you!! She is physically very small for her age, so could easily pass for a 6 year old! I dont think she would worry too much about being with the younger ones, shes pretty happy go lucky. I have a friend who could potentially help with some of the transport issues. She is also very good school friends with a child who is from a very well known riding family, and I think her mum would potentially help…..she is a million miles away from her level though!!

Is it the riding school's own pony club they are recommending, i.e. they are a PC centre as Please says? Or are they saying to take her off-site to a PC branch meeting which will be all children on their own ponies? Both kinds of pony club are great fun and really good for bringing on children's riding but the latter would certainly be more challenging both logistically and in terms of her confidence than the former - while the branch will certainly be able to cater for her riding level and put her in an appropriate group for her ability, being away from home/in a strange place, having to go on a lorry/trailer, being around unfamiliar children/ponies and a new instructor at a branch meeting will be extra things to handle for both the child and pony. So if the yard/riding school you are already at offer pony club meets 'at home' (whether they're an official PC centre or just offer their own in-house version) that would be a brilliant first step and I'd certainly take them up on that if you can, then build up to taking them away from home? If you do go for the away option make sure to let the organisers know it's your first time and ideally take an experienced friend with you, loading the pony into a trailer/lorry can be tricky even if he's an experienced traveller and I'd want a hand with that plus generally an extra pair of hands to help lead up and generally support is great!

Format wise, whether it's at a branch or centre, the meets (sometimes called 'rallies') all follow a similar pattern, the way to describe it is like brownies or scouts but with ponies, you pay an annual membership fee plus a small charge per session (and there's usually a fairly hefty expectation of parents volunteering to help run things too), there's a uniform and badges , tests and awards to work towards, sessions usually have a more formal 'lesson like' component which isn't too dissimilar to a group lesson at a riding school, sometimes a theory session on stable management or pony care or similar, and then usually some fun and games afterwards (mounted or unmounted). There are inter-branch competitions although logistically these are easier for kids with their own ponies, and there's also usually an annual camp for the slightly older ones. All of mine were members and loved it, did their riding confidence a lot of good and they enjoyed the social side and making like minded friends - depending on the personality of the child some really like working towards badges and awards and being on the competitive teams, other just liked messing around with their mates and didn't really care for the lessons lol . But either way I'd recommend for any horse loving child!

I think pony club is good but without being a kill joy to get really involved you would need transportation. I say this as someone who has had to do without and not had transport but has a trailer now. Everything needs to be travelled to and if you are in the little group, which sounds fine and maybe a good way in, they will not be the same slot/ activity as the older kids unless it’s camp/ an all day rally. Also need to get pony used to games etc perhaps depending on their experience. Maybe have a try of a session if you can get a lift. If you have a few PC branch options locally have a look at the booking system on the website to see what they do for little kids/ ask around. Some do much more than others. Also see which school holidays they follow if they are variable in your area. We are in our local PC hunt branch but because there is traditionally a lot of hunting past the area the all day sessions are actually when we are still at school sometimes. It doesn’t bother me but could be a factor. I think the main thing to consider is travelling and handling the pony on your own/ would someone come to help? I find the trailer/ child/ tack up pony combo a bit much sometimes and have been doing it years. But there is lots to be gained and I think given the time to buddy up with a friend etc your daughter would love it. Camp is great. Don’t underestimate the work it would be for you though so you do want to want to do it…:

I think “real” pony club would be much better for her if she had her own pony. It will help her branch out, meet other horsey children and hopefully gain a little confidence.

An active pony club will always be good . How many lessons does your daughter have and who supervises her riding otherwise ? In all honesty I’m wondering why she has a pony as you’d have probably been better off waiting until she was more competent particularly as you are not horsey yourself .

Thank you for your helpful comments. She has four lessons with a qualified instructor every week. I am able to tack the pony up and do basic work with her on top of those lessons, as well as stable management stuff. I also have an in-hand lesson (without my daughter) every week. We are committed!! I dont have transport yet, but this is a possibility in the future.
The riding school / yard which we are based is Pony Club affiliated and she can work towards her badges….she is just so shy, and is also the only child who owns her own pony. There is no nastiness at all, the reason I posted was because the yard owner suggested it might be good for my daughter to try a pony club branch as she would be even more immersed in it.

Sounds like you are doing loads of riding and lessons, I think it would be nice for your daughter to meet the other kids with ponies at pony club, hope it all goes well and you both have lots of fun

Are the lessons always on her own pony as I must be missing something that she has been riding for about 2 yrs , has 4 lessons a week and isn’t quite cantering .

Oh definitely, pony club is brilliant. Mine all started when they were still lead rein, they progressed at very different speeds, but enjoyed it throughout. Decent clubs also do a fair bit of 'off the pony' stuff, stable management, quizzes, learning to plait, bandage, health check, tack check, field management etc. My daughter (now 17) was one of the more nervous 'little ones', then came on massively between age 8 and 10. I have photos of 2 pony club camps a year apart, the first the was jumping a telegraph pole on the ground and looking pretty unstable, the next year she was jumping a 2'6" trakhener, on the same pony. She even went to PC Champs last year - tetrathlon, competing over some massive XC jumps.

If you are going to join, do give up your time and join in, volunteer, you will learn so much more yourself, and you will get so much help and guidance too.
If her pony is a bit sharp for her, it may be worth getting her some lessons on a school pony too, from time to time, so she's developing her confidence, and not feeling like she's getting left behind.

Thank you again! Floralnomad - yes, four lessons a week (since Oct when we got her pony) - before that, twice weekly on riding school ponies. As I said, we have been taking it slowly on advice of the riding school which she is based at. She is loving her lessons, and although progress is slow, we are both happy with that.
I am very happy to volunteer at pony club. I work closely with children so although I might not be much help with the ponies themselves, I am great with the children.

To be honest if you don’t have transport I wouldn’t bother. This Easter so far we have been to four rallies already. They have been excellent value training with really good instruction at a third of the price of independent lessons.

Our branch also does lots for very novice and new riders and the younger children do lots of mounted games and fun shows.

We also go to a range of venues though and that means you may struggle to get a lift unless someone lives very close. I think hire us about £90 a day near us.

If you can acquire transport I’d recommend like a shot. All the ‘pony club kids’ in our area are miles ahead in their riding, and imo, particularly importantly, in their safe riding and handling, of most of the riders we see at local venues.

if the yard has recommended it, then they think it would be a good idea for a reason!
Maxelly asks the right question: is this a centre or a branch that is being recommended?