to speed with the direction a guide on adults riding ponies was originally headed in. “There was movement
F E AT U R E
afoot to limit the riding of ponies in competition to children under sixteen
Weight before you ride
years,” she explains. But Pamela had competed on her own pony right up to Grand Prix, and knew that there were a number of adult riders who were better suited to riding ponies simply because they weren’t physically big enough to ride a full-size dressage horse: “I thought the idea of
Are you and your pony a good fit? PAMELA BICE spoke to us about the new rider weight and size guidelines.
F
limiting them to never being able to ride in competition again was pretty terrible. We had to find a better method to make sure the pony industry, which has bloomed since it began in Australia, continued to keep growing and that
on horseback, there have been
however, it’s only more recently that the spotlight has shone on weight bearing
riders whose size has been a
capacity as a horse welfare issue.
compete on the right sized horses.”
Dressage rider Pamela Bice is the pony
Starting the conversation
Overseas, this issue has been receiving
representative on the Dressage NSW
The new Guide to Horse Weight
attention for some time. In Australia,
committee, and she first brings us up
Capacity – Size of Athlete has just been
or as long as people have been
poor match for their horses or ponies.
22 | E Q U E S T R I A N H U B I S S U E 5 • 2 0 2 2
the right size riders could continue to
