Pony Cap KIDS
by Victoria Gilbert
In the summer of last year, Lucy Dowie and a small group of keen helpers saw Ham Polo Club's children's polo camp come to fruition. Over three weeks, three different groups of children covering a range of ages came to try out polo, and in some cases, riding, for the first time. The format of the camp catered to the ability and interests of the children; some days were focused on riding, whilst others were a mix of stick skills as well as riding. The children excelled and over the course of three weeks some were even able to learn enough to participate in a mini tournament. Some of the teams went on to play a tournament later on in the season in front of the home crowd at Ham.
The beginning of week one began bright and early and saw a mixed group of children arrive, the second saw the arrival of a smaller group of young girls. The third and final week contained the largest mixed group with the biggest range of ages. All the children got on well, some having made some excellent friends by the end of their week.
The order of the day started with grooming followed by a hack. The children were all very keen to help out and enjoyed learning new things about stable management, especially aspects of grooming and tacking up. Next, once the ponies had been tacked up, a short hack in alternating groups took place. This format allowed more attention for the individual as well as encouraging stable management skills by allowing the children to take initiative on the yard after seeing what tasks needed to be carried out. Some of the children had already come from a jumping or dressage background and so found
52 HPC • THE LONDON POLO CLUB
learning about the tack and the different style of riding informative, refreshing and fun.
The riding aspect of the camp was definitely a favourite activity with children eagerly choosing which horses they liked. As the riding ability was mixed, every young rider was accompanied by an older helper, to help ensure safety, but also so that each child's needs were catered for. The children seemed to greatly enjoy this level of attention, and one said they were very grateful for his 'buddy' as he found it reassuring. All of the children visibly improved in their confidence and riding ability, with some of the children even managing to canter on their own by the end.
After lunch, a brief, but intense lesson on the basics of polo was usually led by one of the teachers who enthusiastically explained rules and different plays, which the children found informative, if not a tad overwhelming. Especially in the final week, many of the children were keen to learn 'stick skills' so as to look 'pro' when riding. Exercises included pair work, group work and chukkas on feet and occasionally, even on a bicycle! After this rigorous training, more riding and grooming followed. The afternoon allowed the children to practice aspects of the course that they had particularly enjoyed, or were keen to improve in ranging from tacking up, stable management, riding, stick work, and a lot of bandaging! Even I was able to learn a new trick or two. This time was very valuable as peer group work and assessment was key in providing the camaraderie which was evident in all three weeks.
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