Pony Gang Equestrian Services

🐴💕 Little Riders Pony Time 💕🐴

Does your little one get excited every time they see a horse or pony?

Our Little Riders Pony Time program is designed especially for children 18 months to 5 years old who would love the chance to spend time with a pony.

This is not a structured riding lesson program. It’s a gentle, recreational pony experience where children can meet their pony, participate in simple grooming and pony care, and enjoy a closely supervised lead-line pony ride.

Our staff leads the pony throughout the ride. Little Riders are not expected to steer or control the pony — they simply get to enjoy being on a pony, become comfortable around horses, and make some wonderful first memories. 🥰🐴

✨ Ages 18 months–5 years
🐴 $35 per scheduled appointment
📅 Choose weekly or every-other-week recurring appointments
⏰ Weekday appointments available between 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM, depending on the day and availability
📍 Pony Gang Riding Academy in Hopkins, SC — near Columbia

Want to learn more?
👉 Visit our Little Riders Pony Time page for program information, availability, and registration:
https://www.horsebackridingcolumbiasc.com/little-riders

Spots are limited because each Little Rider has a recurring appointment reserved just for them.

Little steps. Big smiles. Lifelong memories. ❤️

🐴 NEW Homeschool Riding & Horsemanship Program at Pony Gang! 📚

Looking for a hands-on homeschool experience that goes beyond the classroom?

Our Pony Gang Homeschool Riding & Horsemanship Program is designed for homeschool students ages 6–14 and combines:

🐎 Mounted riding instruction
🧹 Practical horsemanship
🩺 Horse care and health knowledge
🧠 Horse behavior and education
💪 Confidence, responsibility, balance, and coordination
🤝 Small-group learning with other horse-loving homeschoolers

This is not simply a weekly horseback riding lesson. Our students learn how to understand, handle, care for, and work responsibly with horses while developing their riding skills at an appropriate pace.

📍 Located in Hopkins, SC, near Columbia
📅 Monday or Friday groups
⏰ 10:00–11:30 AM
👧🧒 Ages 6–14
🐴 Beginners are welcome
👥 Only 4–6 students per group

Our Fall Semester runs September through December, and space is limited.

If your child loves horses and you’re looking for a meaningful, hands-on homeschool activity near Columbia, SC, we’d love to have them join the Pony Gang!

👉 Learn more about the program and enrollment here:
https://www.horsebackridingcolumbiasc.com/homeschoolprogram

SPRING BREAK HORSE CAMP FOR KIDS AGES 7–12!�

Looking for a fun spring break activity your child will never forget? Join us at Pony Gang Horse Crazy Camp for a week full of horses, riding, learning, and confidence-building fun.
No experience needed! Beginners are welcome.

Spring Break Camp�April 6–10, 2026�8:00 AM – 1:00 PM�$360 per camper
Camp activities include:
�• Daily horse riding lessons�
• Vaulting & trick riding�
• Grooming & horse care�
• Horse games & learning activities�
• Confidence building with horses

This is a great opportunity for horse-loving kids to spend their spring break making memories, learning new skills, and enjoying hands-on time with horses in a safe and fun environment.
Limited spots available!

�Register here: https://link.nextlevelhorsebusinesses.com/widget/form/YcI3gIBcNXgqGR4J2SSi?notrack=true
�
Call or text: 839-777-3457�
Website: www.horsescampsc.com

I couldn’t agree more with this post. It speaks to what I feel in my heart every single day. Our horse world is moving in the wrong direction—rushing students through the ranks, skipping over the foundational basics, and, worst of all, normalizing harsh and thoughtless riding.

I’m 56 years old, and I grew up in a world that wasn’t always perfect for horses in terms of their care or our understanding of their behavior. But back then, being a rider still meant something. It meant working hard to learn the fundamentals correctly before moving forward. Riding instructors took the time to teach, not just collect a paycheck. It wasn’t parents dictating the pace of a lesson because they wanted to see their child “progress” faster. Students understood that their own fitness and mobility mattered in riding—that how we move and control our own bodies directly impacts the horse.

Now, too many instructors are willing to bypass those fundamentals just to keep students happy and paying. But the basics matter. They are everything. They protect the horse, they protect the rider, and they create true horsemanship—not just the illusion of it. Teaching that it’s okay to rip a horse around by the reins, to kick them, to hang on them like a limp sack or a stiff board—it’s not just bad riding. It’s abuse.

As instructors, we are the advocates for the horse. If we don’t protect them, who will? Making money should never justify teaching students that this kind of treatment is okay. It breaks my heart to see the direction things are heading, but I refuse to be part of a system that prioritizes convenience and ego over the well-being of the horse.

Let’s bring real horsemanship back. Let’s bring back the respect for the basics, the time it takes to build a true partnership, and the hard work that comes with it. Because if we lose that, we lose so much more than just good riding—we lose the very thing that makes horses so transformative in our lives.

The new small arena is taking shape! Just a few final steps left—cutting the poles, installing the top board, and letting the wood dry before applying waterproofing paint. Then, it’s complete!

Next up: fencing the other small arena, and finally, we’ll tackle the jumping arena.

Once all three arenas are ready, we’ll have the perfect setup to teach every rider, from tiny tots to advanced equestrians!