Confidence

Published by Peter at July 27, 2020

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Last week I assessed two junior riders who wish to join the Riding For Polo classes that I run at the KL Academy of Polo, at the Royal Selangor Polo Club. Both were 13-year old boys, friends, who wanted to explore the possibility of starting polo lessons together.

The first boy was a vivacious kid who plays many other different sports. He has ridden at a riding school with an expatriate instructor who has long lived in Malaysia. However, he has been marked with a bad experience when he was run away with by a pony while hacking out in the UK. The other boy rides regularly at a big riding club in Kuala Lumpur. Both were said to be able to canter confidently, which is one of the criteria for starting Riding For Polo lessons.

I assessed both, on different days, on the same polo pony, Polilla. This small roan mare has a super temperament and is perfect for beginners.

The first boy was soon cantering confidently on the track around the polo field with me. He was initially wary of the horse, given his previous experience of being run away with. But he grew in confidence as the ride went on. He understood all the instructions he was given, and enjoyed his ride.

The second boy’s assessment was a very different story. Despite having regular lessons, he says he had never been taught leg aids to turn, or to strike off into canter (which he had thought the whip was for.) He was confused when asked for a ‘change the rein’ – as he was neck-reining polo style, he changed from his left hand to his right hand. While he was quite capable as rider, but he didn’t understand a lot of common instructions, which had to be explained to him. I found him brave and determined, and quite trainable, but instead of gaining confidence being able to ride a nice pony well, he lost confidence, because he questioned his own lack of basics.

It made me wonder what some riding clubs actually teach! Unfortunately, there are plenty of riding centres in and around Kuala Lumpur, with coaches who have little or no qualifications. While someone might tell you they have a Level 0 or have started an Intro to coaching course, these are not yet professionally qualified.

Some are just grooms who have ‘made good.’ There are many grooms who ride, who have never had a proper lesson in their lives.

What instructors teach is as, or more important than where they teach, or how they teach. Learning from an unqualified coaches may often mean you often don’t learn the right things. This can affect more than just the way you ride, but call into question also, your confidence as a rider.

Riders speak a common language. With a riding education in a proper riding school, you should be able to go to any centre and understand the instructions and commands that the instructor is giving you.

I’m so glad KL Academy of Polo is re-starting the Pony Club in Malaysia. It is something I am passionate about, having been a Pony Clubber myself. I’m ecstatic that our Pony Club Camp, starting tomorrow, is fully subscribed with 30 kids. It is a chance to give a good foundation to a new generation of riders in Malaysia.

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