Bring your own pony riding breaks/holidays for DD

[Saveusernsme]

Hello, my 12 year old daughter is keen to take DPony away for a weekend riding break. I’d accompany her too but non-ridden. Does anyone have any recommendations? She’s still nervous novice (he does PC and has weekly lessons still) but her confidence is growing and this would be a nice thing to aim for. Thank you

I should add that she’d want organised lessons and hacks etc., and in England. Thanks

Does her PC not do a summer camp? That's the best place to start. But at 12 you wouldn't be encouraged to join her, the cut off is usually 11/12 ie senior school, although maybe on the cusp, some 11/11 year olds who aren't as confident go to 'mini camp' where parents stay. It probably depends on your DC.

You can take your own pony to Wellington junior riding holidays but they run Monday to Friday and you wouldn’t be able to stay. My daughter did her first camp there when she was 10 and despite some initial nerves on the way there she was absolutely fine. The staff were lovely and realised she was very shy and called me to let me know how she was getting on. When I went to pick her up she was brimming with new found confidence and had had an absolute ball - she definitely got much more out of it than if I’d been hanging around and her riding came on immensely - she’d only jumped a single cross pole before she went but by the end was sailing round a small course. She also loved going to PC camp - parents volunteered so I saw her for one session (and had reports from friends about how much she was enjoying it) but they were encouraged to be independent as much as possible

She does, yes. This would be in preparation for senior camp - she’s a little late to the game. Too old for juniors but inexperienced compared to the seniors so want to work on this before she goes.

Thank you @Pleasedontdothat Wellington looks fantastic! Would be ideal but they don’t allow you to bring your own pony (I’ve just called them).

@Saveusernsme Oh that’s a shame - they always used to but this is going back a few years..

They said they would only consider it if there was a group. It’s close enough for us too. Thank you for suggesting it though.

That's a shame re Wellington. Are there any local riding clubs which do camps?
Also, If you join your local equestrian Facebook group you might get a group of likeminded people together?

As she's in PC already, I would just increase the number of PC activities that you do (we literally went to everything beforehand as my daughter was very anxious first time), so your daughter gets to know everyone really well before they go.

I'd also chat to the leaders about how they organise camp so you can prepare your daughter. If she's worried about not being 'up together' in terms of knowing what to expect at camp, I would ask if they will be doing any pre-camp preparation for those that have not been before. Our PC often ran some unmounted Horse and Pony Care Quiz sessions at this time of year. The Quiz is run nationally in set age groups, with a big final at PC Champs, and is all about looking after your pony and their equipment, and there are certain sections covered most of which can be learned and a badge is taken eg mucking out, equipment safety, feeding, yard safety - all good basic stuff ideal for knowing what you're doing at camp later on. Nearer camp time, they may offer camping badge if they've a lot of inexperienced campers for example.

At our PC for camp, they tend to split them up into packs rather than friendship groups for the horse and pony care part of it, so they have a very experienced leader, an almost as experienced second, and then the rest of the pack will be younger. They'll gain points for their pack for looking after their ponies well, keeping them well groomed, clean tack, and everything stored away neatly equipment wise, and keeping the yard area tidy, so you'll find the leader and second will be dab hands at doing their ponies and know exactly what is expected so when they've done theirs they'll have time to help and show the less experienced who obviously will be slower, as it's a team effort for points. And there will be a trophy for the best/most improved individual and also sometimes best first time camper, and 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc rosettes for all groups at camp.
For riding they'll put same ability together so mostly she'll ride with her friends she's already riding with (again lots of rosettes to be gained), and they'll likely be taking a few badges too, for badges and for evening activities they'll divvy the groups up according to activity so she'll be working with others not necessarily in stable group or friendship group. and and for sleeping they'll pop friends together in the same tent/cabin/share of horsebox.

As pp has said explore the PC option more. At our pony club children were grouped by ability and confidence. So there could be a very experienced 10 year old in with a 14 year old not wanting to jump at the height of their age group. If your pony club turns out not to be able to accommodate her ask around about other locals ones or simply call the DCs for a chat. There is a pony club local to us that is really small and well known for having rally groups with mixed abilities. The instructor just has to make adaptations so for example the jumps go up for the more experienced riders. Then there are also riding club camps but I expect a parent would have to stay so she wouldn’t come on as much.
I think the only other option would be to send her to something like Wellington and give her pony a week off. That type of holiday is more likely to have children who are her age and ability. Lots of the pony club families we met put their toddlers on shetlands and they have basically ridden at least one pony everyday since. It is a way of life rather than a hobby and of course those children are often very confident and also talented. It is just a matter of hours in the saddle but difficult to compete with if your family is more normal 😀