Joining a riding club

carly_2011

Hi All..

I have been taking riding lessons for the last couple of months and was looking to maybe join a riding club. Is it possible to compete at a beginners level for adults? What would I need to be able to do to compete? What's the best way to go about it?

Advice please?

fits

The lowest level of riding club competition is 'primary'. At that level, you would be competing over a course of jumps at 70 cm, and be able to do a basic dressage test. It normally takes quite a while to get up to that standard though.

Is there a riding club in your local riding school? Some schools have their own clubs and facilitate non-owners. brennanstown would be a good example of that.

DougalZ

Where are you based, I can put you in touch the the secretary of your nearest club

byhookorbycrook

Primary don't do cross country. Have a look at airc.ie to see your local club. I'd suggest you go and have a look at one of their club nights. Some clubs are friendly and more craic than others.

carly_2011

Is primary t most basic level? What do you need to be able to do to compete at this level? Is it mainly showjumping and dressage. Am based in co. Waterford was maybe thinking about woodstown rc?

fits

carly_2011 wrote: »

Is primary t most basic level? What do you need to be able to do to compete at this level? Is it mainly showjumping and dressage. Am based in co. Waterford was maybe thinking about woodstown rc?

Yes mainly show jumping and cross country. Some shows run showing classes for primary riders and you can do combined training at one day events. Thats just showjumping and dressage and no xc.

Its worth joining for the training and social element to the riding club too. I find it great. Do take a look around at a few clubs before committing to one. Some are stronger in certain areas than others.

doctor evil

It goes by calender membership so I wouldn't be joining now, no reason why you can't go along to watch though!

convert

doctor evil wrote: »

It goes by calender membership so I wouldn't be joining now, no reason why you can't go along to watch though!

It really depends on an individual's situation. If there's nowhere else to compete (i.e. not a member of EI, SJI, etc.) and there aren't that many unregistered in the local area, then it's worth the cost to get a few months competing.

OP, if you're just getting back into riding and don't have your own horse atm, it might be worthwhile just sticking to the lessons before 'taking the plunge', so to speak.

Does your riding centre lease horses for competitions? Is it expensive? Do they require extra insurance for this? And would you have to pay for transport on top of the hiring and entry fees? Or do you know somebody who'd let you compete their horse if they're going to the same competition?

I don't mean it to sound negative, but sometimes it's good to know these things before you find the costs increasing way more than you expected. As fits mentioned, if you're based in a school that has a riding club it would make life a lot easier for you.

Best of luck with it!

ashlingm

PM'ing you