Self-confidence and lifelong friendships at Pony Club

SINCE Ballarat Pony Club had their March rally, the youth membership hasn’t been able to properly get together with their horses at Victoria Park as they normally can.

However, utilising the power of social media, district commissioner Cathy Deeker said club members have not only remained connected with each other throughout the pandemic, but have got to know riders much further afield.

“We’ve got a closed group for just members encouraging our riders to upload footage of what they’ve been up to at home, like riding for pleasure or doing practice dressage tests,” she said.

“One of our instructors is good friends with an instructor in the United Kingdom, so we made a joint Facebook group where they can share differences between Australia and the UK – like kangaroos and deer in the paddocks – similarities, and comment on each other’s ponies.

“It’s been really popular, and we’re about to have a fancy-dress competition online for that group, so the kids don’t feel like everything in their life has stopped. Riding horses is a fairly all-consuming passion for a lot of kids, so if that’s taken away, they struggle.”

The club’s cohort is a supportive one, with about 40 young people involved from age five to 19.

Although the kids get to enjoy dressage, show jumping, cross country, games and musical themed dress-up rides, the meetings are about far more than just lessons and time on a horse.

“Pony Club is a youth movement with a focus on horses, so the social stuff for our riders is more important than the riding. It’s about making lifelong friendships and having fun.

“Our riders try and build each other up, and our oldest rider mentors the youngest riders. They feel really excited when someone they look up to knows their name,” Ms Deeker said.

“There’s lots of laughter, banter, and our instructors are really good at building young people’s self-confidence, not just riding, so we’re really lucky in Ballarat. Our club is one of the biggest in Victoria.”

Ballarat Pony Club held different, COVID safe rallies in May and June, with smaller groups, no breaks and social distancing., but it wasn’t the same.

“The kids really miss it,” Ms Deeker said.

Visit ballaratponyclub.com.au.