Is Pony Club still " a thing"?

[Foxtrot_s]

Pony Club is intended to provide quality education for kids who want to ride and it is kept affordable as possible compared to those at the h/j barns. It is about education ahead of competition, and rallies, quiz, PPG, etc. are team competitions.

The levels - D to A - are respected. My daughters got jobs - sight unseen - on their PC rankings alone. One as a polo groom in New Zealand where she trained and worked the ponies and travelled with the team, and the other with an Olympic show jumper in Ontario where she worked with his Olympic level horses, took them to Spruce and took care of them, hacking them, etc.

I hope there is a future for PC. for its values and traditions.

[Albertabound]

My daughter had a fantastic experience with Pony Club! She participated in show jumping, dressage, cross country rallies, camps, PPGs and quiz. She learned a great deal through the manuals, the hands on coaching and help given by the leaders and older PCer’s. They were tireless in helping her with her green OTTB!

Because of their efforts my daughter and her gelding have become a very successful partnership. She has also become a working student and her employer is very impressed with her horsemanship and work ethic. We are very grateful to the Pony Club for developing her and sharing their tremendous knowledge and skill.

Unfortunately, the Pony Club she was with has folded. There were too many demanding parents who wanted perfect ponies, coaching, special events and chauffeur service all provided for free. Of course these parents were NEVER available to volunteer or donate to anything. It was not sustainable and the club died. :(:mad:

[AliCat]

I grew up in a very horsey area of NJ. PC was pretty much non existent, most of us lived in the suburbs, and if you were lucky to have a horse of your own, it was almost always boarded.

I was very fortunate to have an incredible 4-H program. Not only did I develop important life skills I still use today, I also got a very strong work ethic through community based volunteering. Sure, we had horse shows, but the majority of my time was spent learning off of a horse, and frankly I didn’t need my own to comprehend the material. Horse bowl, hippology, horse judging, and perhaps most importantly public speaking were the crux of my time in.

I got to see so many different aspects of the horse world, many breeds and riding disciplines. We went on field trips, everywhere from MSG for the National Horse Show, lectures from feed companies, equine hospitals, to a miniature horse breeding farm. I recall that we used to strip the stalls at Gladstone after The Festival of Champions to raise money for our club. It was there that I learned about how deeply show horses are bedded, and how much it hurts to forget your sunblock at the 4-H beach trip the day prior. I can recall being involved with the driving events held there, and I myself giving presentations about basic horse knowledge to young children. Also at that facilty, I got to meet one of the kindest,most generous horse women around who took time to talk to us “horseless 4-H kids” and ended up getting us into her fabulous lesson program. For several years she graciously allowed us to take her school horses to the county fair. Imagine the joy I felt knowing that when I went to my riding lesson, I got to feed carrots to a horse competing at the Olympics!

My trip to Kentucky for Nationals was just as awesome and I again got to see new things I probably wouldn’t have without 4-H (even though I had family in Lexington).

Right after high school, I briefly worked at a show barn. I still recall the working student (now their pro rider) commenting the she was impressed a brand new “kid” could walk in and know how to properly wrap for different situations and handle some of the tougher horses. Being exposed to so many different situations had made me a better horseperson, even if I didn’t have as many miles in the tack. I had a decent working knowledge of the animals and their programs.

I made friends that I still connect with 20 years later. The men in our social group laugh because no matter what, it seems the group of 6-8 of us 4-H horse girls end up in a circle chatting.

Looking back, I was a bit bratty and didn’t even realize how much was being put in front of me. I was a typical sour puss teen, yet I STILL got to do all this stuff! It seems that 4-H gets a bad rep on here, so I just wanted to share my very positive experience. It had a ton to do with my leader, who after many, many years is still going. Judy Hennessy was incredible and gives so much to the kids in her club. She truly is an amazing woman.

[SweetTalk]

[QUOTE=findeight;8134307]
It depends on the quality of the chapter and the skill of those running it. Some are fabulous, some not and some are bad news.

The cost of horse ownership is getting to be an issue too. Some chapters do require you to bring your own horse to activities and distance/time required to get to that activity and back home can determine whether kids can participate or not. Somebody mentioned the once a week non owners in a riding center setting? Without them, that chapter may be considerably shorter on members and budget.

Thats why you get so many different responses to PC questions, each chapter is different and faces different challenges. The closest one to me is two hours on mostly state roads. Each way.[/QUOTE]

THIS! I wouldn’t probably have my child participate in our local PC, I scribed at a rating once here and was entirely unimpressed with the lack of skills the students demonstrated and they still passed the levels. I think in the example of this region, kids would get a better base education in a good lesson program vs. PC. Maybe there are better chapters and areas out there, but…

[Pipkin]

Pony Club is a MASSIVE thing in the uk. A lifestyle choice

However, it is primarily volunteer run, and that is just not practical when the numbers get up to a certain point. The downsides - It can be a political minefield! But I think that’s pretty normal in any parent-lead group… And not great if you’re not actually an owner. They used to do stuff in collaboration with riding schools, but that has almost petered out now.

It can be really great. I always found it very inclusive in terms of ability, though I know that can be branch-specific. Some kids had grooms at home and so on, or kept their horses on full livery, and had never even picked out feet. They started pony club as great riders, but left as better horsepeople. When I retire, I would definitely help out the Pony Club!

[Bent_Hickory]

[QUOTE=Sunflower;8135330]
Elsewhere I read on a thread about a PC kid eventually being able to ride and produce a horse from a green OTTB as a rite of passage. I wonder how many of the junior riders in the ring today have that ability or experience.[/QUOTE]

The March/April 2015 edition of Warmbloods Today has an article about two young H/J riders (14yo and 13yo) that started two young mares (4yo and 3yo) from scratch without the benefit of any other riders and very successfully competed these mares in their performance tests (young horse riding test roughly equivalent to a first level dressage test).

http://www.warmbloodstoday.com/archive.html

[Wishuponastar]

I was a pony clubber and to me the best aspects of were:
-access to trainers and clinics that I couldn’t have afforded otherwise, because they are largely discounting/donating their time
-learning both independence taking care of my horse and how much a team of kids can accomplish together
-the ability to compete on equal footing regardless of how much your horses cost
-learning horsemanship to a standard that I’ve been confident that no matter what barn I was in, I could work there in a safe and correct manner, you just needed to learn the particular rhythm of the barn.

[CactusFlower]

It’s definitely still a thing. There’s three in my area (which is not a big horse area) including one of which I’m a member. Unfortunately, my club happens to be full of downright terrifying riding, poor horsemanship, and advancements/ratings based on politics.

I have seen great Pony Clubs (one started at my old barn just months after I moved) that are clearly teaching good basics, but don’t think being in Pony Club means you’re wise or sportsmanlike.

[Foxtrot_s]

Ha! teaching sportsmanship is a big part of Pony Club! All those teams where it is not cool to yell at someone or blame them for screwing up. But it takes all sorts and some parents – well, could write a book - THEIR little darling was the best rider, needed to be on the top team, and was going to the Olmpics, dontcha know. It takes all your inter-personal skills to keep the boat afloat.

BTW my Pony Club manual is the Third Edition dated 1956. Still got that thing and read it cover to cover when I was a kid.

[Pennywell_Bay]

My daughter signed up and is participating in our local chapter of Pony Club. There is now an equitation track- I was told (as opposed to dressage, eventing etc).

I’ll be honest, please don’t flame me, I had always looked down my nose a bit at Pony Club. I grew up in an A show barn, showing on our local circuit with a BNT. i NEVER would have thought I would sign my daughter up for Pony Club.

Perhaps that’s because the PC near me back East was a bunch of yahoo riders who could barely stay on, had horrible horsemanship and just were a mess.

Now that we have joined, I am embarrassed of myself. In our club, the beautiful facility donates tons of time, super discounted lessons, runs fundraisers, clinics at reasonable prices. All so these kids with the horse bug can ride and compete.

My daughter is lucky. We have a super fancy pony. She rides almost every day. We keep the pony at home, I teach her during the week. She has gone to some really nice horse camps back home (East Coast), she’s gone with me to some big shows, she got to ride at Devon in lead line, she got to watch mommy ride at Devon. We’ve been to Upperville, Warrenton. She has a great foundation base and has grown up around A shows and barns.

Guess what we’re doing this year? We are taking Mr Pony to the horse park for 5 days camping with Pony Club (caveat- I am going as a volunteer otherwise Pony would not be attending). There are really nice stalls, the kids sleep in cabins (so fake camping but still). Affordable, fun, great experience.

I agree it really depends on the instructor, the facility, the parents. Though I was extremely hesitant to join, I am so glad we did. She will still get to show outside of PC, but it has been an overall great experience. So yes, in some areas PC is alive and thriving.

[Dewey]

I’m glad to hear that there are some good PCs out there teaching good principles of horsemanship, sportsmanship, and teamwork. I cannot express how much Pony Club did for me while I was growing up. Today, I can train a green horses, ride about any horse well and with confidence, and run a stable–all because of PC. I hope the ratings are still as respected as they were. I wrote a recommendation letter for a barn kid recently and signed off mentioning that I am a graduate H-A; the person requesting the letter told the kid’s mom that meant more than if I had been a trainer with years of experience.

I was extremely fortunate in my PC experience. The club I belonged to was very large and well run. We had frequent clinics by top horse people. I remember several by dressage master Michael Handler (I still say his were the best clinics I ever attended), and we had George Morris in twice. A winner of the Maclay in the 70s was a member of our club and participated in all activities except the regional rallies as her A-show schedule always conflicted. Another of our members won the national rally at the A level, and this was a girl who had never owned her own horse. Today she is a nationally known dressage judge and clinician. Our club used to clean up at the regional rallies–we were the New York Yankees of our region. :lol: But, PC was still PC, we all felt confident that the kids involved, even in the small clubs, were getting excellent training in horsemanship.

I know change is inevitable, but it’s painful for me to read that some clubs today are not providing anything like what I experienced. It’s especially painful to think that the ratings may not mean what they used to. I hope those poorly-run clubs are in the minority.

[Outyougo]

There is this:
Did you know that two-thirds of the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event field were Pony Club alums?
http://www.eventingnation.com/…/the-first-rule-of-pony-clu…/

[Lucassb]

I was a PC-er as a horseless kid back in the early 70s. It was a boon to someone like me - a horse crazy child whose parents were not particularly interested or supportive, much less knowledgeable, about riding or horsemanship.

I got my ratings on a borrowed horse that was lent to me by one of the parent volunteer leaders. I did very little riding at PC events other than the ratings; I Just didn’t have a mount.

However, I audited the lessons, clinics, rallies and so forth. Our particular club kept track of points from quizzes, know-downs, events and so forth and I was the high point member every year that I participated, mostly because I was still able to learn a TON about horsemanship just by watching. While I certainly would have preferred to be able to join the mounted activities, it was still a very valuable part of my education and I very much appreciate having had the opportunity to participate. It’s great to hear that there are still some clubs around who can provide this experience, including options for kids who don’t have horses of their own.

[MHM]

Just by coincidence, today I happened to drive by a place where I attended many Pony Club gatherings in my youth. It was the home of one of the members, and they had a small barn for their own horses out back, and a ring next to the house where we would have small group lessons, as I recall.

Now the barn is closed up, and there is no ring. And either the ring was much smaller than I remember (which is possible), or there is a building next door where part of the ring used to be.

I would think this is a factor in the decrease in Pony Club activities these days. Not as much room, not as much land, not as many people with a handy farm for club meetings.

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=Lucassb;8137611]
I was a PC-er as a horseless kid back in the early 70s. It was a boon to someone like me - a horse crazy child whose parents were not particularly interested or supportive, much less knowledgeable, about riding or horsemanship.

I got my ratings on a borrowed horse that was lent to me by one of the parent volunteer leaders. I did very little riding at PC events other than the ratings; I Just didn’t have a mount.

However, I audited the lessons, clinics, rallies and so forth. Our particular club kept track of points from quizzes, know-downs, events and so forth and I was the high point member every year that I participated, mostly because I was still able to learn a TON about horsemanship just by watching. While I certainly would have preferred to be able to join the mounted activities, it was still a very valuable part of my education and I very much appreciate having had the opportunity to participate. It’s great to hear that there are still some clubs around who can provide this experience, including options for kids who don’t have horses of their own.[/QUOTE]

I find it hard to believe you passed any rating above D1 without any saddle time except at ratings.

You can’t learn to ride by watching other people do it…at least not enough to pass a D or above rating.

[Dewey]

[QUOTE=MHM;8138374]
I would think this is a factor in the decrease in Pony Club activities these days. Not as much room, not as much land, not as many people with a handy farm for club meetings.[/QUOTE]

I agree. We had very generous landowners back in the day. One area where we used to have “drill” is now a subdivision. Another is a wildlife preserve. No riding there now.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8138385]
I find it hard to believe you passed any rating above D1 without any saddle time except at ratings.

You can’t learn to ride by watching other people do it…at least not enough to pass a D or above rating.[/QUOTE]

She said she did very little riding at PC events… not that she did very little riding at all. I used to ride at a barn with a good PC. A few of the kids did hunters and rode a fair amount but used borrowed mounts for PD ratings/events. It would be fair to say that they did minimal riding with the PC but got plenty of saddle time on their own/with their non-PC affiliated trainer. I don’t know if that’s the case for Lucassb or not-- but I think there’s plenty of value in the unmounted part of PC. If you’re pretty agile and pay attention and take advantage of the saddle time you do have-- you can make the lessons pretty useful.

[MHM]

I also remember studying and practicing for knowdowns, which drilled lots of horse information into our little brains. Who does that now outside of Pony Club or 4-H?

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=vxf111;8138406]
She said she did very little riding at PC events… not that she did very little riding at all. I used to ride at a barn with a good PC. A few of the kids did hunters and rode a fair amount but used borrowed mounts for PD ratings/events. It would be fair to say that they did minimal riding with the PC but got plenty of saddle time on their own/with their non-PC affiliated trainer. I don’t know if that’s the case for Lucassb or not-- but I think there’s plenty of value in the unmounted part of PC. If you’re pretty agile and pay attention and take advantage of the saddle time you do have-- you can make the lessons pretty useful.[/QUOTE]

she said “I did not have access to a mount.” I think you’re reading a lot more into it than I did; I took it as face value “I had nothing to ride” which is pretty much exactly what it says.

[Mango20]

The majority of Pony Clubs are still great. If kids are moved up the ratings before they’re really ready, it will catch up to them when they get to the national-level ratings.

Our club is small, but we have three great instructors who work with the kids for a discount to their regular fee. Our kids are great kids who know how to work hard, get along great, and have fun. We have some parents (like me) who are high level Pony Club graduates themselves, and some parents who know nothing about horses.

I think the biggest issues for Pony Clubs all over are working parents and kids into too many activities. I’ve been trying to schedule lessons and games practices, but between soccer, hebrew school, sunday school, moms working late and other conflicts, it’s been really hard to get as many kids together at one time as possible.