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This summer we are very excited to be working with Great British Racing as part of their under 18s race free initiative. In over 60 venues across the UK, kids race free for the vast majority of fixtures until the end of the year, with every paying adult. Which is fab if you’re looking for a family day out.
As part of working together, Aria and Logan were invited to have their very first riding lessons. Which they were very excited about. We headed to Santolina Stables in Wokingham, which had so many beautiful horses and ponies and was very child friendly. There were lots of children involved in feeding and grooming the horses and ponies around the stables, was fun atmosphere.
Before their lesson, I had to complete a safety form which included any health issues as well as the children’s height and weight. After this, the children were fitted out with helmets and body armour to keep them safe. It’s Santolina’s policy that any child under 18 must always wear body armour when riding.
As Aria and Logan are still small, Aria particularly so! They had their first lesson on ponies whose names were Scrumpy (the gold coloured horse) and Danny (the white coloured horse).
There was a special step platform to use to help them climb up onto the pony’s back, although Aria was so small she actually had to be lifted on. Then the stirrups were adjusted to fit properly.
As it was their first ever lesson, they had an instructor and both children were led by a more accomplished rider in the arena. They started off walking while they were taught how to hold on properly, how to use their legs and words to instruct the horse to do different commands.
When the children were more confident in the saddle, they were then allowed to trot which Aria thought was the best thing ever and giggled and squealed as she bounced up and down in the saddle. Logan wasn’t quite so sure about trotting, although he did say he imagined he was jousting! He also spent a lot of time grilling the instructor all about horses.
As I mentioned above, this was Logan and Aria’s first ever riding lesson, so it was more about getting comfortable on a horse, getting used to being around the animals and starting to understand some of the very simple basics. But they both have a great time and Aria in particularly really loved it. It was a super fun thing to do in the summer holidays.
Under 18s Race Free
Don’t forget if you’re looking for some days out inspiration that kids race free at the majority of races in over 60 venues across the UK.
Over the summer holidays there are more than 200 fixtures up and down the country, including 50 special family days with additional activities put on for families and young people.
To find out more about ‘Under 18s Race Free’ and find a family race day near you, go to www.under18sracefree.com
I used to ride as a child and always wanted my children to ride but none of them have shown any interest, I am taking my 6 year old for a ridding lesson soon though as she adores animals. It looks like they had so much fun xx