Why my Pony Club trip was the highlight of the year – Helen Martin

IT is sad that campsites and residential centres for youth organisations such as Scouts and Guides etcetera may not re-open because so much saved money, subsidising and income has gone during lockdown.

The Pony Club was a cheap alternative way to camp for Helen

That took me back to my young teenage years when life was very different.

Residential centres? I don’t remember them at all. These organisations spent most of their time in a school or church hall, learning about good deeds, marching, cooking, wildlife, and camping - usually thanks to farmers or estates either donating an area they weren’t using or charging a little.

My ‘thing’ was the Pony Club branch at my riding school. The majority of us weren’t well-off but worked there for nothing.

In summer we paid a few pounds, were allocated our pony, and rode from Dumbreck (near Pollokshields) to a farm in Holytown near Bellshill.

The horses’ and ponies’ field was next to our camping area with tents (each for four) loaned by the Pony Club.

We provided our own camp beds and sleeping bags, delivered in a horse float along with a communal tent for basic breakfast (toast, cereal and tea).

No showers (we had a bucket of water), no loos but a little woodland two minutes away where we’d pee and poo. We might have sandwiches for lunch or walk a couple of miles to a village café, and often have a field barbecue- music night.

The owner and instructors were with us, but we were in charge of our ponies. It was the height of my year.

Would such unofficial freedom be allowed now under safety rules? Probably not, but Scouts and Guides might have to find cheaper camping.