A pony racing taster day is being held Cheltenham racecourse – aiming to introduce more young people to the sport.
The day is being run by the Pony Racing Authority and The Pony Club is aimed at 8-15 year olds who are not currently involved in pony racing. They do not need to own – or even have ridden – a pony to attend the day.
The children will get the chance to meet champion trainer Paul Nicholls, visit the weighing room, dress up as a jockey, learn about the tack and ride a mechanical horse with tuition from a jockey.
There will also be a “balance and bounce” challenge run by the Injured Jockeys’ Fund to help them improve balance and learn how to fall.
Pony racing has been a growing sport over the past few years, with graduates including Sam and Willy Twiston-Davies, Rhys Flint and Hadden Frost all now jockeys.
The Pony Racing Authority’s Rebecca Morgan said: “The results from pony racing speak for themselves. We are now looking to promote the initiative to children not currently involved and that may, until now, have had no knowledge of pony racing or how to get involved. This will be a fun day to introduce them to pony racing.”
Paul Nicholls, who is sponsoring the day, added: “My daughter Megan has gained so much from pony racing that I wanted to give something back. I am delighted to be sponsoring the day and hope that lots of young people attend and see what a good thing it is.”
The day runs from 10am to 1.30pm on Tuesday 3 April and costs £5 per child.
To apply visit http://events.pcuk.org by Tuesday 27 March.
For more information contact info@pcuk.org or tel: 02476 698301
