8 year old wants a “special day with ponies” for her birthday

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DD would like “a special day with ponies” for her birthday instead of a party.

She is 8 and has been taking riding lessons at her local riding school. She is pretty good riding independently in trot but cannot yet canter, although she might be able to by her birthday in spring.

Any suggestions? We are in the south east but happy to travel.

thanks

Oh and I’m envisaging something hands on rather than just looking at horses or watching a show

Anywhere near you do “pony parties”? The riding school my DD goes to does them - you basically get to groom a pony and do a short lead ride.
Or perhaps you could book them all on a lead ride then go to a cafe afterwards

Many riding schools do an "own a pony day" in the holidays. They usually do some stable management , grooming etc and then have a group lesson / hack.

Several places near me do this. South east. Whereabouts are you?

A stable management day? I did them at that age.

Would an alpaca trek be an acceptable alternative? There might be one of those near you.

Is there somewhere nearby that does trekking? A great alternative to riding in the school, and its potentially something that the whole family can do. :)

I’m guessing she would like to do all the stable stuff. Muck out. Make up feeds and nets, groom pick out feet, lead and turnout?

whereabouts are you? Lots of stables do Own a Pony days which sound exactly like what you want

In North London, Trent Park EC and Frith Manor EC do nice pony parties.

My 7 year old DD went to an absolutely lovely pony party at this place:

https://www.littletrottersponyparties.co.uk/

The surrounding area is also really lovely!

Where in the southeast? I know a riding school that does pony parties.

Several around here (Central Scotland) do "Pony for a day" sessions. - they do the mucking out, grooming, feeding and some supervised riding (mainly lead rein for younger kids). One of the local ones also does a snack and cake whereas another it's bring a packed lunch.

I would have thought a lot of stables offer this?