Life of a Mom Pony Club Written by BARBARA CHILDS Photograph submitted A pony club mom grooms, mucks, braids, drives to and from lessons, encourages daily riding, takes photos as her child competes and even organizes pony club activities. Pony club moms bake and cook and serve the best snacks too. Sandra Larson is a Greenville Foothills Pony Club mom, and here is her special story. Larson’s daughter, Kylie, joined the GFPC in May of 2012. Larson watched Kylie grow and develop her skills and progress from taking her first jump in one of the pony club lessons a year ago to competing at the equivalent of the Intro Level this past May. Larson herself was fortunate enough to join a pony club when it was just starting out, The Pegasus Pony Club in Massachusetts, and she went from a D2 rating to graduating at the A Level. Sandra said pony club teaches a lot about responsibility, discipline and the rewards of hard work. She also feels the emphasis on teaching pony clubbers to be good instructors played a key role in her own career choice. “I really came to love teaching, both at the club level of activities, as well as taking on private students. When I went to graduate school, I got connected to the local pony club in that area (The Red Jacket Pony Club), and I continued to teach in that club,” Sandra Larson said. “The biggest direct benefit of pony club in my career was how the years of completing oral testing in pony club prepared me solidly for defending my masters and PhD theses, as well as the oral examination program for my PhD. Thanks to 10 years of having to respond on the spot to questions posed by authority figures, the format of these graduate school exams did not intimidate me. Larson’s daughter, Kylie, said she has learned so much about horse management and riding through pony club. Kylie attended the regional summer camp last year, and Larson was impressed when she came home and repeated the skills and exercises without any prompting from mom. “Kylie is enjoying the goals she is striving for, and she has just earned her D3 certification. Now she is studying for the C1 level. In addition, and equally important to riding, is the horse knowledge she has gained. Kylie has found a circle of good friends, and they all love sharing their riding adventures and love of horses together,” said Sandra. Larson said she is very impressed by how well the
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Sandra Larson follows on foot behind her daughter Kylie Simms during a pony Club event. (photo by Michael Simms)
children of all ages (up to college age) get along and support each other. Larson feels pony club in general has as its cornerstone safety, which it brings to all the activities. “One cannot consistently have fun riding and being around horses if appropriate safety measures are not followed. Pony club is about teaching children to be well rounded horsemen and women, who are not only confident, capable riders, but are also conscientious in taking proper care of their mounts safely and comfortably. Passing on knowledge and instruction to others is also important,” said Sandra Larson. The biggest challenge that Larson has with supporting Kylie in pony club is preparing her for the certification testing and riding during the school year, and with her new horse. “I had to spend some time training the horse when we first got him, and we had to squeeze in extra lessons and schooling opportunities to help prepare Kylie for her goals. GFPC has two of its biggest fundraisers early in the year, so we all many had busy weekends,” said Sandra Larson. Larson rides, and she feels it helps with having her daughter ride actively. Larson is an eventer at heart. Right now she splits her riding between her 25-year-old Thoroughbred, an athletic sport pony mare that likes dressage and jumping, and her daughter’s first pony, until she sells. Larson likes to vary her riding between flatwork, jumping and trails to keep things interesting. She also has had great fun riding at the cross-country outings. JU LY 2 0 1 3
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