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THE STRAIGHT FORWARD RIDING COURSE

One of the original aims of Pony Club was to produce sound, basic, logical and progressive system that could be used as building blocks for the teaching and training of horse and rider. In recent times there has been an increasing dilemma emerging in the horse world in that the teaching and training of riders and horses/ponies has become so diverse and segregated that those objectives are now quite a rarity! However, Pony Club emphasise that these original ideals still have vital, as no rider can progress without a sound base.

Hence the Straight-Forward-Riding course run by Carol Brett and Chris McGrann.

Carol Brett has been teaching in Pony Club since 1966. She is an A Test examiner and has been co-presented of the Advanced Young Instructors Course with Chris McGrann for the last 14 years. She has been involved with the study of equine and human biomechanics for many years and is now an International teacher and trainer. Carol has a unique and unusual way of sharing her knowledge, which means that although this course will be covering the basics, it will be stimulating, fun and it will provide everyone with food for thought.

 

 

Chris McGrann has just retired from the Pony Club Training Committee after over 20 years of extremely valuable service.  He is a ‘dyed in the wool’ Pony Clubber and is still involved with his original Branch, The Pendle Forest and Craven, and their Chief Instructor. As a member he passed both D & A tests on his Birthday, the latter being obtained with never owning his pony or paying for a lesson, just true Pony Club input. He is a British Sports Horse Judge, Riding Club Master Judge, British Eventing Accredited Trainer, as well as a Pony Club ‘A’ Test examiner. Chris gets as much from helping hobby riders ride well as from the International riders he has coached.

 

The act of riding inevitably subjects the horse/ pony to a range of stresses and loading on his body that his biological structures have not been ‘designed by nature’ to cope with. Therefore it makes good sense to gain an understanding of how we, as riders, and coaches of other riders can minimise these stresses in order to:

When one becomes will to look at and identify, efficient and more bio-mechanically correct movement, balance and co-ordination (in other words, how the horse works), from a more scientific perspective, it is easier to be discriminating about the appropriateness of various riding techniques and training methods. They either fall into the category of supporting progressive correct movement or inhibiting/eroding correct movement. With knowledge of the simple mechanics of riding, we can understand the balance of horse and rider regardless of the latest trends or streamlining equipment. Therefore we can simply assess all influences on the horse as either helpful or appropriate, or unhelpful and inappropriate. This is information that riders and coaches at all levels, in all disciplines and all ages can gain from.

 

Straight Forward Course Format
Click HERE for the Straight Forward Riding Format