Santa Ynez Valley Pony Club Meetings

Our meetings are held twice a month at CD Equestrian in Solvang, CA. The meetings begin at 9 am and typically finish at noon.

The meetings consist of a "mounted" lesson and a curriculum-based Horse Management lesson.

Required Mounted Meeting Check List:

Helmet
Paddock/tall boots or closed-toe boots
Medical armband or bracelet
Horse Management book

Recommended checklist

Water, gloves, breeches

For mounted meetings:

Riders need to be ready for safety check 15 minutes prior to lesson time
Horses need to be clean including eyes, nostrils, and feet
Riders should have shirts tucked in with a belt, if pants have belt loops, and hair tucked into helmet or braided.
Tack should be clean
Riders who lease horses should know where equipment for their mount is located. They should wipe off tack after use and make sure there are no sweat marks on the mount.

All parents should be prepared to help with safety checks on riders. There is a video on the USPC web sight with guidelines for a safety check. US Pony Club website safety section Also see: Safety Check Video

All riders need to have a properly fitted helmet. The USPC website has guidelines for this as well. You can also find the Helmet Regulations here.

Our meeting schedule can be found on our Calendar of Events page. It is very important to RSVP to the meeting invites so the appropriate Trainers are present - thank you for doing so!

Click here for our "snack" schedule :)

Pony Club Group Lessons

Group lessons are held on two Saturdays per month. Lessons are an hour. As the rider’s progress to higher rating levels, the riding groups are changed. New riders will need to have their parents assist them with their horse care. D-2 riders and above are expected to do most of the horse care and preparation without assistance.
Preparing the horse and rider for the lesson takes 30-45 minutes. The horse should be well-groomed and tack cleaned prior to each lesson.

Typical Saturday Schedule

7:15 am: Early group arrives.

8 am: Safety Checks by an instructor or parent

8:15 am-9:15: Mounted Lesson for the first group

8:45-9 am -Later riding group arrives. Tack up horses and keep them tied up until the lesson

9:30/9:45: Snack and Horse Management presentation with all members.

10:00/10:15: Safety Checks for second ride groups

10:15-11:15: Lessons for the second group