How To Survive Growing Out Of Ponies
It happened to me. It will happen to a lot of you. I got tall.
Every year, as I grew from smalls to mediums to a 14h large, I knew it was coming. Then I heard my parents and trainer talking all the time about ponies that “take up a lot of leg”.
I was really lucky to find a stunning Welsh x Hanoverian mare to show last year, who suited me when I leased her, but by August there was someone at every horse show who commented on my height.
They meant it as a compliment (who doesn’t want to be told they have “supermodel legs”), but it made me kind of sad to think I wouldn’t be showing ponies anymore.
They said “You need a horse. You need a horse. You NEED a HORSE.”
I heard “Get off that pony”.
And my heart slowly broke, until I realized I had to view the changes in my height and riding career as a good thing. When people said I was getting too tall to be riding ponies, they meant I would look better on a horse. I later realized they were right and showing horses was just as much fun as showing ponies.
To ease my way into the idea of showing horses, I started riding more horses around the barn and it made me feel more comfortable with the overall idea of showing and riding a horse. I could stretch up and be tall in my riding. I felt good in my body and not resentful of growing. I felt pretty and elegant, when I wasn’t trying to twist myself up like a rubber band to fit a pony.
When I had free time at horse shows, I spent time outside PonyLand, watching other divisions. I started to get excited about other possibilities. I am very lucky to be friends with Ashley and Kevin from Struck Apparel . They took me under their wing and introduced me to JumperLand.
I walked courses in the grand prix ring and set jumps in the warm-up for Kevin. After hanging out with them and learning more about the sport of show jumping, I became more interested in trying a different discipline.
The hardest part for me to process was that fact that I couldn’t show ponies anymore. The pony ring is so special to me. I sat and watched the ponies go and found myself falling in love withother pony kids. I realized I had just as much fun cheering on a little person rocking the smalls as I did riding one myself.
I went to Pony Finals as a working student for Emily Elek at Stonewall Ponies and spent a lot of time on the grass ringside. And I realized that I was happy there too. Just because I don’t show ponies anymore doesn’t mean I can’t ride them. I’m not so tall that I can’t enjoy squishing from time to time. I occasionally worked on a project pony. Sometimes my height helped. My experience definitely did.
Now, as I develop my own string of 13 investment ponies and embark on my journey as a coach, I find myself thinking about this circle I have made back to ponies, as an adult.
My advice to a child who is outgrowing ponies is this:
Remember that your body might get too big for ponies, but your heart never will be. Once ponies are a part of who you are, it will always be that way. Find new ways to love them. And find new ways to love yourself and be a happy competitor.
Stay gold, Pony Girl.
