Party Rules

We Only Have a Few Basic RULES:

• All riders must wear a helmet*. NO EXCEPTIONS.

• No running, jumping or screaming around the ponies.

• Do not throw items at the ponies or hit the ponies with anything.

• Do not stand behind the ponies.

* A Note about Helmets to Parents:

North Bay PonyPals proudly provides International Equi-Lite (or similar) SEI Certified, ASTM standard helmets for all pony rides. Unlike helmets of yesteryear, modern helmets are stylish, comfortable and extremely lightweight. The front of a properly fitting helmet will lie across the eyebrows and be adjustable to snugly fit around the back of the head (even with a pony tail).

As has been seen with some of the few alternative pony ride companies that use helmets, most simply drop the helmet over your child’s head regardless of fit and consider it safe, which is ridiculous at best and dangerous at worst. In the event of a fall, the helmet would simply pop off leaving your child’s head with no protection from an impact with the ground. “The most common cause of death and serious injury in all riders is head injury; the percentage of these injuries causing death and serious injury is higher in young riders.”

As safety is our number one concern, and a properly fitting helmet is a major factor in preventing serious head injuries, a member of our staff will adjust your child’s helmet to properly fit on each individual child’s head. While this may cause a moment’s delay to “get on with the ride” and some children can get antsy, we know that you understand and appreciate the extra individual time that we take to protect your child and make their ride as safe as possible.

Please Keep These Things in Mind When You Are Around the Ponies:

• Watch out for your feet because the ponies won't.

• Even though our ponies are well-trained, certain things can still frighten them. In particular, loud noises, flapping flags on a windy day or things (people/objects) coming at them quickly can be frightening to them at first and cause them to “spook” or jump away from the scary object (and potentially into you). Extra-caution must be used when approaching and standing near the ponies.

A Note about How We Walk Our Ponies:

You may have read on other pony party company websites that they walk the ponies while standing “next” to your child rather than “dragging the pony along behind them” with the implication that it is safer to walk next to a pony rather than in front. Some even go so far as to claim that by walking next to the child if the situation were to get out-of-hand that they would simply grab your child out of the saddle to prevent an accident. It’s also assumed that if a pony walker is in front of the pony that all the child sees is the back of a person and that their sense of “fun” and “security” is substantially reduced.

In direct contradiction to these notions, North Bay PonyPals staff is instructed to walk in front and to the left of the pony. The reason is simple: if the pony is scared by something while being hand led, they will “spook” (or jump) to the right or left (on a rare occasion they will spook forward) and if the handler is in front of the pony they can maintain the situation regardless of the direction of the spook. They are also in a better physical position to see and avoid potentially frightening objects. If, however, the handler is walking next to a pony that “spooks”, they could potentially be knocked over or down by a frightened pony and then the situation becomes dangerously uncontrolled. Furthermore, as we all know, accidents can and do happen in a split second and there is no safe way to grab someone out of a saddle during that time (worse, if children are grabbed out of a saddle they almost universally panic, and then refuse to get back on the pony which can become a lifelong fear).

Most children instinctively grab hold of the saddle horn should the pony move quickly in an unexpected direction and even those children with poor balance exhibit an innate natural ability to hold on. If a spook happens (it’s rare but it does happen from time to time), your child is encouraged to ride for a little while longer to make sure that they are no longer frightened. They are also praised for hanging on and having good balance; however, care is taken to not over-play the incident as turning a “spook” into a big deal can negatively impact a child’s enthusiasm and self-confidence.

At the outset of the ride, to cement this notion of “how to hang on”, each child is instructed to hold onto the saddle horn for the entire ride and the ride is not begun until they do so. And while it does take some physical coordination, each pony walker ensures that your child is still comfortable and enjoying their ride by turning to talk to them many times during their ride. So while the way we walk our ponies may fly in the face of conventional wisdom and tradition, through experience, consultation and years of horse handling, these methods have proven themselves to be the best practices when it comes to providing safe, enjoyable pony rides.