Pony Club

Glen Jakes Riding School welcomes you to Glen Jakes Pony Club. The Pony Club is an organisation that was formed in 1929 and is an international voluntary youth organisation which offers young people (4-25 yrs) the opportunity to gain experience, boost thier confidence, make new friends (who have the same interest), ride, have fun and learn to enjoy enjoy all kinds of sports connected with horses and riding. Whilst at the same time achieving awards and qualifications that are recognised world wide.

The Pony Club qualifications are equivilent to other organisations that are connected to the horse industry, which are normally available to school leavers as an apprenticeship or college course. Where as the Pony Club qualifications can be obtained from a much younger age (Whilst still at school) , so upon turning 16yrs, experiences and qualifications can have already been accomplished. Everyone between the age of 4-25 years are welcome to join the Pony Club, if you would prefer to attend a meeting event, prior to joining, to observer the sessions in progress, please contact our Pony Club organiser Rebecca Homer who would be more than happy to help.

Meeting and training sessions operate all year round, so new members may join at any time, these sessions are normally held on monday evenings, on a fortnightly basis, between 6:15 and 8:00 pm depending upon which group you have been allocated to (These times may vary at our discression). No experience is required because we run several groups depending on ability and age etc.

Keep checking our site for up and coming events, meetings and training sessions. If you require more information or Pony Club membership forms, please don't hesitate to contact Rebecca Homer (Pony Club organiser) Phone: 0161 483 7063, Email: glenjakes@aol.com. Additional information can be obtained from the Pony Club website.

Membership and Session Fees

Pony Club annual joining fee: £27.50 per year

Meetings / Sessions / Exams and Achievement Awards: £8 per session

Our aims are:

• To encourage young people (from 4yrs - 25yrs at Glen Jakes), to ride, have fun and to learn to enjoy all kinds of sports connected with horses and riding
• To show members how to properly care for animals
• To promote the highest standards of sportmanship, citizenship, and loyalty to help cultivate strength of character and self discipline.
• To educate through both ridden and practical activities.
• Glen Jakes Pony Club provides insruction in riding and horsemanship enabling you to achieve qualifications that are recognised worldwide and can provide a qualification equivilent to BHS Stage 2 (min. age 16 yrs), if all progressive tests are achieved, this allows direct entry into stage 3 examination if taken within 12 months of passing and if a senior instructor agrees to sign for them. Even if this is not achieved all tests put you on the ladder to give you a head start if you wish to attend an equine college or to own your own pony.

Pony Club qualifications are recognised worldwide and are a big step forwards in the right direction whether it is just for fun or for your chosen career path!
There are a number of achievements, badges and awards that you can do with the Pony Club.
We aim to cater for all members wishing to take part in activities.

The Pony Club Achievement Badges

These are aimed at helping young children learn all about the different aspects of daily care of the horse and pony. The badges don't only cover equestrian topics, for example, bird watching, working dogs, map reading and much more.
The training for these badges will be covered over the coming months, and when gained, a sow on badge would be awarded to the member. There are also a new additions to the main badges in the form of the 'mini badge' these are aimed at the much younger member to encourage learning skills and as a sense of achievement.
Once gained these badges may be sewn onto a sweatshirt or jacket (like in brownies or cubs).
There will also be competitions held throughout the coming years, that may be entered for both mounted and un-mounted events, leading up to yearly presentation evenings.
You can do as many or as few training sessions as you want, obviously the more you attend the more you achieve, please see notice board in the office, and our website for the training dates.

The Achievement Ladder:

Bronze 3, Bronze 2, Bronze 1
At this stage you may now be ready to take your D-Test
Silver 3, Silver 2, Silver 1
At this stage you may now be ready to take your D+ Test
Gold 3, Gold 2, Gold 1
At this stage you might like to have a go at your C Test
Platinum 3, Platinum 2, Platinum 1
At this level you should be of a standard to achieve C+ Test
From here you could progress to your B test, A test and AH test
Please Note: to do the riding and road sense test, you must attend two training sessions before hand. Please read the notice board and check the website for updated information on all Pony Club sessions.

The ridden training for the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum awards will be carried out in your normal weekly / fortnightly riding lessons, be it either group lessons, hacks or private lessons you take. These remain vitally improtant to your continued improvement, they will incorporate and run aside Pony Club but not soley based on Pony Club so training sessions still need to be attended. New members are continually joining throughout the year so don't delay, please join and come to the next session.

Pony Club Requirements

• You are required to bring: pens, pencils, note pad and folder to each session you attend.
• Dress code / suitable riding attire (please see main site) information on Terms & Conditions page (Please Note: Specific riding attire maybe required for exams and award sessions, please ask your Pony Club instructor for the required dress code)
• You are required to complete a Glen Jakes Riding School Registration Form prior or upon your first session (if you have not already done so)
• Payment for each session is required upon arrival, please report to Glen Jakes Riding School reception to check in, payment is required prior to our session starting. Please Note: All cheque payments which are connected to the Pony Club are to be made payable to Glen Jakes Pony Club

Glen Jakes Riding School group, private and semi-private lessons incorporate Pony Club requirements, so you can progress and improve continuously whilst attending lessons at Glen Jakes (available all year round 6 days per week).Also Glen Jakes Stable Management courses (day, week or hourly) work hand in hand with the pony club awards and achivement qualifications, enabling you to progress at a pace that suits you, these courses are available in all school holidays / in-service days and the hourly sessions can be arranged during the day, evenings and weekends (at our discression).

We hope that Glen Jakes Riding School and Glen Jakes Pony Club provide enjoyment and that you all gain a great sense of belonging and achievement along the way. We are looking forwards to meeting you, kind regards, Rebecca Homer, Lorraine Mulhall and all of the Glen Jakes team.

Thank You