“Hi, I'm a 13-year-old boy and I was wondering if it was maybe too late to start horse riding? I have had no experience but I am very eager to learn and my main interest would be tocompete in show jumping and dressage.  I have recently found a local riding school but do you think that it’s too late to start and should I have started earlier.”

H&C’s expert Jenny Rudall replies: “It doesn’t matter how old you are, it is never too late to start horse riding and I would say 13 is a perfect time to start.  Horse riding is a great way to make friends, exercise, learn responsibility for another living creature but, most importantly, it is so much fun.  I recommend that you go and try your local riding school and see if you enjoy riding before going out and buying all the gear, and if at first you don’t enjoy it, try somewhere different.  Every riding school is different and a place or instructor that suits one rider may not suit everyone so take your time to find a place you really enjoy.

Pony Club

Once you get started there are loads of ways to make the most out of riding, you can volunteer to help at many yards and joining your local Pony Club is another great way to start competing.  Most of the top riders you see today have worked their way up through the Pony Club . Good Luck and have fun. Jenny”