Oh, those heady, carefree days, when all you dreamt about was taking your pony to your local show, and you hung all your rosettes up on a string in your bedroom. Life was so much simpler then, although there were also THOSE moments that we now carry around etched in our memories forever…
1. When someone’s mum had a tantrum
She was the one on the sideline shouting: “Leg on, Petronella, LEG ON! Oh, he’s refused it. She’s been eliminated now. Well, THAT was a waste of five hours grooming him and driving here this morning. What a waste of money buying you a pony, Petronella, we should have stuck with piano lessons.”
2. A child had a meltdown and refused to go into the ring at all
It was probably Petronella’s younger sister. Who can blame her, really?
3. There was a collision during the gymkhana
Steering a feisty Welsh Sec A while clutching an egg-and-spoon is a tricky business at the best of times. When there are several of you doing it at once, nature is going to take its course, and you’re going to end up in a big heap. This may lead to onto the next point….
4. Someone broke their arm
Maybe not an arm. It could be a leg, or a tooth, but someone would inevitably break something. In this day and age where health and safety comes first, such an incident would likely put any fledgling show organiser off for life, but horsey kids were tougher than most and so the show would go on. Said child would get a cast, which everyone from their school and Pony Club branch would sign, and they’d be hailed a hero. The main downside was that they wouldn’t be able to ride for a few weeks.
5. Cries of “loose horse”
It was generally a pony, rather than a horse, but let’s not split hairs. Either it had escaped its trailer, or dumped its owner and made a break for freedom. With a trail of kids chasing after it like the Pied Piper of Hamlin, it would trot happily about, evading capture and snatching the odd mouthful of grass, and generally having a merry old time.
6. Someone won everything
Like at school, when even though it was supposed to be random, all the sporty kids ended up in one house, there were always three or four kids who cleaned up at local shows. Some people may have tutted a bit about this – the mums, mainly – but some of those kids turned out to be the eventers and showjumpers and dressage stars you now read about Horse & Hound, so it must have been a good grounding for them.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout Pau Horse Trials, London International.Horse Show and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Amanda Vlietstra is a freelance writer and editor who’s worked for a number of national magazines and websites. Having thrown herself back rural living with gusto since moving from London to Buckinghamshire in 2012, she juggles her horsey life with work and two small children. She claims to do dressage, but really just potters about having fun on her 14.2hh Belgian Warmblood mare, Roxy. She also enjoys a good gossip over a coffee in the tackroom!
