Teenagers at Oakhanger Riding Centre, Crewe, Cheshire are the latest young riding enthusiasts to benefit from the Sport England funded Young Equestrians scheme, which aims to provide 13-18 year olds with the opportunity to connect and re-engage with equestrian sport, via Pony Club linked riding schools.

An initial eight participants, aged 13-17, took part at the Young Equestrians launch afternoon at Oakhanger Riding Centre, where they found out more about how Young Equestrians gives teenagers more choice and freedom in how they take part in equestrianism, as well as a focus on their skills development.

The organised activity for the afternoon focused on training the horse from the ground and how body language affects the horses behaviour, involving participants taking part in a  ‘loose schooling challenge’, working in pairs and then as a team to encourage their pony participant ‘Oscar’ to jump all three jumps – which they did successfully!

“We had great fun doing something different and I am looking forward to my future Young Equestrians sessions”

said Emily, with Nathalie Ecclestone, Proprietor at Oakhanger Riding Centre, echoing the enjoyment saying:

“It was nice to be able to focus on something just for teenagers and I am excited about helping them put into place all the ideas they have for future sessions”

The Oakhanger Riding Centre Young Equestrians group will run every Thursday between 5.30pm – 7pm. Young Equestrian’s can log their sessions at www.youngequestrians.club, where they can record their activities and achievements as well as accessing training materials offered by The Pony Club.

Riding schools who deliver Young Equestrians are given access to virtual tools to help them establish their group, including example session plans, marketing materials and a host of different ideas on how to retain teenagers in equestrian sport.

If you are a riding school or young person and want more information on how to get involved in the programme please visit www.youngequestrians.club.