Most days, in between writing essays and solving integrals, our
15-year-old daughter Anne dons a pair of breeches and a muddy pair
of riding boots, and goes out to Woodmyst Farm, 7460 Crews Road,
near the hills east of Gilroy. Sometimes she rides, sometimes she
works, usually she does both.
Most days, in between writing essays and solving integrals, our 15-year-old daughter Anne dons a pair of breeches and a muddy pair of riding boots, and goes out to Woodmyst Farm, 7460 Crews Road, near the hills east of Gilroy. Sometimes she rides, sometimes she works, usually she does both.
But on the second Sunday of the month, the breeches are spotless, the boots are polished, and a bright red polo shirt completes the ensemble. The shirt’s logo proclaims “Golden Hills Pony Club.”
Like many another little girl, Anne became infatuated with horses at an early age: 7, in her case. She read all the Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry books. We found friends with horses who were willing to barter riding lessons for my tutoring skills. Anne started saving her money to buy a horse: all her allowances, birthday, Christmas and odd-job money.
A year and a half ago, she started working for a professional trainer in exchange for riding lessons. Last January, she joined Pony Club. And last July, she bought Tedd, a thoughtful, intelligent, affectionate gelding. Tedd was not a well-educated horse, but under the combined tutelage of Anne, her trainer, and Pony Club, he is learning fast.
Our local club, Golden Hills, is only a year old. Pony Club International has a long and hallowed history.
The Pony Club manual introduction says, “Pony Club began in 1928 in Great Britain with 700 members. By 1992, there were more than 125,000 members in 27 countries, making it the largest junior equestrian organization in the world … The program teaches riding, mounted sports, and care of horses and ponies …”
Pony Club is also a lot of fun. This month, the Clubbers are practicing for a games rally. The children come, with their ponies and horses, if they own their own, or on rented lesson horses, to Woodmyst, sometimes every Sunday.
They set up relay races of cones and flags. A clubber will ride to the first cone, lean way over, pick up the flag from the cone, ride to the next cone, place the flag in the cone – much harder – ride to the next cone, pick up the flag from the cone, and ride to her teammate, and hand him the flag.
If a Clubber drops her flag, she has to retrieve it, usually by getting down, picking it up and remounting without a mounting block. This is hard, so the club is organizing a vaulting lesson, so that the Clubbers can learn how to leap lightly into their saddles, and the horses learn to accept such gymnastics with aplomb.
Pony Club teaches English riding. Every Clubber starts out as unrated, and can progress through levels D1, D2, D3, D4, C1, C2, C3, B, and A. By the time the rider achieves an A rating, he or she is ready to ride in the Olympics, or set up as a professional trainer.
When a child joins Pony Club, he receives the D manual, a 300-page book about riding and horse care. The book is so complete that I have a hard time imagining what the C manual must be like, let alone the B and A manuals. For example, I open the D manual to a random page, and learn how to measure leather hole spacing when adding holes to one’s stirrup leathers, and how to fit snaffles, pelhams, kimberwickes and curb chains.
I like many things about Pony Club. First, Anne is learning to get herself, her horse and her tack scrupulously clean. Second, she’s learning a tremendous amount about horse care and horse management. Thirdly, she and Tedd are learning a high standard of riding skills, including jumping, which they seem to enjoy. Most importantly, Anne is learning responsibility and self-confidence.
Anne likes Pony Club because it gives her an excuse to spend hours getting her horse very, very clean. She likes riding with other kids who share her love of horses. And it offers her more opportunities to compete.
For more information, come to Woodmyst any second Sunday, 2 pm to 4 pm. Rain cancels. Or call our District Commissioner, Renee Sanders, 776-0111.
