Euro Pony Club

Click on the links below for a really interesting report on Pony Club Training in Hungary by Nikki Herbert in October 2009. An album of pictures is also available to view.

Click here to read report

Click here to view photos

Hungarian Horseback on the GREEN ISLAND

This summer brought us a big surprise as 3 of us from the Hungarian Pony club could pay a visit to the beautiful Ireland. Andrea Balogh – a competitor from the Kiskunhalasi Ponyclub – and Daniel Pap – a rider from the Soskuti Dwarfs Ponyclub – came with me.

We expected the trip with great expectations: No one of us had ever been on the Green Island – so we were curious how the Irish Riding is different from the Hungarian and if we would fulfill their expectations.

Our plane started on July 4th in the late afternoon. We have been a little bit tensed by saying good-bye to our loved ones and we convinced our parents that they do not have to worry as we were looking after each other. After a pleasant flight, we landed in beautiful not expected sunshine in Dublin, where our adventures tour really started. Because we only could use English – as nobody wanted to speak Hungarian. Thanks God that did not mean a problem.

The first evening we spend with Sylvaine Gaillac – one of the leaders of the Irish Pony club. She took us to Gurteen College on the next morning, where they organized a camp. Before that, we went to a competition of a closed Riding Club where Sylvaine was judging. The owner told us that a Riding Club is just a Pony Club for adults and this was true. To the competition came amateur riders that visibly enjoying the whole event. This competition in such a great mood remembered us of Pony club competitions only the Competitors were 18 plus and could not start any longer in Pony Club. We saw a great production and it was a surprise for us that we talk about an event for adults. The participants started as well with ponies and achieved the best results. In my opinion the Riding Club is a great platform for the rural riders who grown out of Pony Club and still want to compete on a certain level. I really hope this will also happen in Hungary one day.

We stayed in the heart of Ireland most of the time close to the Shannon River. The first week we participated in a camp of the local Pony Club. That was bringing some surprises for us: As we were riding due to our age in a special group, luckily without any difficulties finding the common language with the trainers and horses. Our hosts were well trained riders who gave us highly trained horses / ponies and it was a pleasure riding. We learnt a lot during this week. First of all, that there is no bad weather only unsuitable dress. There was a big difference of the way of building up of training. The Irish Riding puts a strong importance in relaxing work. On the first day we saw with surprise that from one and half hour riding – in fact there was only 30 minutes of "real work“ – and this only in small portions. The main part was working in walk on longer reins. Therefore the horses / ponies were extremely relaxed by fulfilling their duties (obedient, concentrated and honest). Our trainers most important task was that everybody finds his best riding rhythm and this is the „basic music“ of everything. After riding we participated in the theoretical training and we learnt a lot of important details. We are proud that we as Foreigners could pick up so much that at the final competition we were standing on the podium waving our Hungarian flag (in our hearts)!

The second part of our journey we spent with families who were arranging a lot of exciting programs for us. We never would have thought that we would go kayaking in the ice cold River Shannon (that is considered to be warm by the Irish people ?!?!) and visiting in pouring rain a 12th century Celtic cemetery. We also joined our host to local Pony Club competitions. Although the rules of the Irish Pony Club are slightly different we felt very much at home in this environment. We could not stop being surprised as we knew that in this competitions they registered 400 participants and most of them in 3 categories and the competition went smoothly without any delays. We saw fantastic beautiful ponies and we admired them deeply – thinking that we would go to our next competition the day after arriving home.

During this week we had the possibility to ride, although the possibility to learn about daily live of horse keeping which differs a lot from Hungary. The biggest different is that every second person has a private pony / horse keeping them at home. Our hosts were telling us: to keep a horse is not more expensive than keeping a dog. You do not need much more only a little field, a small open stable where the pony could go during the night. Due to the heavy rain the grass is of very good quality and you do not have to feed them with something else like oats etc. It is very important that the Irish children grow up by taking responsibility for their own pony: they have to feed them and to care them. Probably that is the biggest difference between them and the Hungarian kids. The Irish kids are in daily contact and this closed contact leads to responsibility and this makes the riding sport even more popular.

The Last morning of our stay we visited of Ireland's most famous jockey, where we could admire the gallop work in the morning. Irish horse racing has an old tradition and is moving and engaging a lot of people. In that stable there were 70 horses in training. The pony gallop is also very interesting, so every weekend somewhere is happening one.

The day of travelling home came too fast. We had 2 really adventures weeks behind us where we became more brave, we learnt a lot and inhaled the Irish climate and we felt very happy. Unfortunate we could not take home the ponies because we could not have paid the overweight in the plane but we hope we will see them again. After an emotional good-bye we left with 4 layers of cloth to protect us from the „Irish Summer“ into the Hungarian heat wave (38 C). I believe I can say in the name of all of us how thank full we are to the Hungarian Pony Club giving us the possibility we will never ever forgot.

Click here to read this article in Hungarian