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Cheshire Pony Parties

01829 741919
Wonderful pony parties and experiences for all ages
Call Amanda now to discuss your perfect pony party


Educational Visits

What we do
measuring ponies on school visit
We bring primary school learning to life by applying lessons learnt in the classroom to the real life aspects of ponies and their environment.
Our outdoor practical workshops are designed by a primary teacher and are demonstrably linked to core areas of the national curriculum.
We are NOT a riding school, but a small private stables. Visitors remain on foot-riding is available as an option.
Our tiny, gentle, child friendly, experienced ponies are the perfect size for children as young as 2 to enjoy working with.

Why this a great school trip
Unique opportunity to visit the only centre in Cheshire to offer children (and adults) hands-on outdoor learning in a range of curriculum areas, with tiny, gentle, child-friendly ponies as the subject, in a beautiful natural orchard setting.
Safe environment.
Focus firmly on treating each child/person as individual, confidence building fun learning.

Why ponies?
Opportunity for visitors to have a wonderful learning experience with an animal they may have not had contact with before.
All visitors can learn something about the care/management of ponies, which is likely to be very different from the care of themselves or any pets they have.
Our tiny ponies are approachable even for small children.
Ponies are an usual subject matter to base a workshop around!
We have a number of very successful and very specific techniques we can deploy (very unobtrusively) with the help of the ponies to encourage less confident children, to build their confidence and give them a sense of achievement.

Party and pony experience testimonials
"I cant thank you enough for such a fabulous day. You, your daughter and your ponies were all fantastic. Thanks a million for making it so special."

"I've heard from a friend that you're wonderful with the children."

"Just wanted to thank you for a lovely party you made the birthday girl feel really special and although Olivia is extremely shy she chattted about the pony tricks being the highlight. She will always have a memorable time to cherish and I have no hestitation in recommending Cheshire Ponies."

I've also recenly had some 'A' rated feedback from a mum of a party guest who also owns a nursery and out of hours club-she loved the rural setting and the fact it was so different to a playbarn type party, thought we were great with all the children, thought the children were well entertained and also commented that there was a real buzz from the other parents too.

General Information
For 2011 we are providing half day school visits in English and Maths.
In 2012 we will be providing half and full day school trips in a range of curriculum areas.
We have a range of workshops for each curriculum area from which teachers can choose.
Pupils can spend a whole morning on one curriculum area or do both English and Maths.
Workshops are tailored to individual year groups and can be adapted to the needs of your class.
We also offer a a riding experience session and a pony pampering session-the latter being a great hand on activity for KS1 pupils. Both provide an opportunity for the children to ask questions about the ponies AND for us to explain a little of the care of the ponies plus regale some pony tales!
All sessions run by experienced horse people who also have experience of working with the children/ponies combination and all interact with the children appropriately depending on the age group of visitors.
Visitors work in small (approx 6-8) groups and we can take group from 12 up to around 24. At least one teacher must accompany each group at all times.
We can offer visits for groups from the age of 2 to adults incl SEN.
We are located near to Chester, Cheshire, North West.
Two hour, half day school trips are £12.50 per child for bookings made before 31st October 2011, for 2011 or 2012 educational visits.

Further information
Curriculum areas.
Workshops for 2012.
Our environment and facilities.
Our ponies.
Safety.
Equipment you need.
A typical day.

Bookings
Simply request a copy of our booking form by completing the form below.
If you’d like a copy of our risk assessment or would like to perform your own risk assessment please request via the form below.
Alternatively ring Amanda on 01829 741919
a non-returnable deposit of £50 is required on booking.


Curriculum areas
2011-Maths and English only for half day visits
2012-broader range of curriculum areas and topic based work with full days will be available.
The Maths workshops for 2011 will be based around measuring weight and height of ponies, calculating how much food they need, involving ratios, subtraction, multiplication, dimensions, graphs, ordering numbers etc as appropriate to the year group.
English-creating stories/newspaper articles/report writing, comprehension, gathering information about the ponies eg care, feeding, their typical day etc and presenting it. These could involve reading and writing, listening and speaking etc, depending upon the year group. >Workshop plans will be available to teachers in advance and can be adapted to suit.

Workshops for 2012
For Spring 2012 we will have a broader range of workshops available including History, Geography plus 'topic' based learning around animals, nature and the countryside.

Our environment & Facilities
We are not a big riding stables or commercial ‘farm’- activities takes place in our orchard at the bottom of the garden.
Our land is grazed and is therefore not as a formal lawn. It is gently sloping some of which is slightly uneven and can be slightly slippy in very wet weather.
Most activities take place on short grass on a level site
Some activities may take place where wellies would be required during the winter months.
It is a rustic, natural environment with a variety of natural flora and fauna including weeds such as nettles and brambles.
We have a large variety of trees (incl willow, apple, pear, plum, silver birch, newly laid and established natural hedging, fir trees, oak, rhododendrons) which provide plenty of learning material.
Parking is usually in our field unless there has been substantial rainfall, in which case parking is on our drive.
Both can accommodate large minibus/a number of cars. Parking is at most approximately 80m from the orchard.
We can provide wheelchair friendly access on request and would discuss which workshops were suitable for wheelchair users(or any other visitors with specific requirements) to ensure they can participate in all the activities than able bodied visitors participate in.
We have some indoor space for pony activities in inclement weather plus a small indoor space where visitors can work/eat.
If you wish your group to ride this has to be done outside.
We have one outside toilet with hand washing facilities plus antibacterial gels and wipes located around the orchard.
We do have some outdoor play equipment that is NOT available to visitors and is cordoned off. This rarely causes an issue.

Our ponies
Our ponies are relatively small, the smallest, Maisie being around 29" to her shoulder. Their size and breed means they are very inviting even for pre-schoolers, their thick coat providing lots of tactile fun for younger children.
The largest pony we have, Demi is around 44” to his shoulder-still far smaller than the smallest pony you’d usually find in a riding school.
They all have friendly dispositions and are used to children around them. They all have experience of this type of work having been the main attraction at pony parties for at least several months and most of them at least a year.

Safety
We take health and safety seriously.
Our philosophy is that whilst everyone has a responsibility with regard to safety our job is to closely monitor the visitors/ponies to ensure that visitors remain in a safe environment and can therefore enjoy whatever activity they are involved in.

The main issues people think of when dealing with horses are biting, kicking and being trodden on. We address these as follows;
All visitors are advised beforehand to wear ‘sturdy’ shoes to prevent damage should a pony put it’s foot on a visitor’s foot.
Our safety briefing advises visitors
not putting fingers near the ponies’ mouths
not to stand near the pony’s tail - for young children we also ask accompanying adults to keep an eye on children to ensure they don’t stand right underneath the front of the pony.
None of the ponies wear metal shoes and virtually all the activities are held on grass which both reduce the effect of being trodden on.
Additionally the pony handlers constantly watch for children standing behind, or too near a pony, plus any external factors that may unsettle a pony eg children running/throwing things, tractors in the next field etc.
Whilst ponies are animals, the breeds we use are known to be very placid, unlike, for example, highly strung race horses!
You are welcome to mingle with the ponies on your risk assessment visit.
We do not currently have a qualified first aider on site but are looking into this.

Equipment you need
‘Sturdy’ shoes are compulsory for most of the year for ALL visitors including accompanying adults. Sturdy wellies are advised during Autumn/Winter. For insurance purposes we cannot allow anyone wearing open toe sandals near the pony.
Trousers/leggings are essential if riding (can be worn under a skirt)
This is an outside activity and visitors are not running around so they need to be warm-we advise an extra layer throughout summer and if cold a coat PLUS a waterproof coat (ie 2 coats), gloves, hat and 2 pairs of socks.
We provide hard hats which MUST be worn when riding.
We have a handful of small wellies and coats for KS1 age group if necessary.

A typical day (am or pm only for 2011)
9.30 arrival
9.45 safety briefing
10.00-10.30 workshop 1 eg maths measuring and ordering ponies' heights for KS1
10.30-10.45 snack
10.45-11.30 workshop 2 eg maths subtracting ponies' heights for KS1
11.30-12.00 workshop 3 eg English comprehension based around hands on care of the pony
12.00 wash hands return to school

Teachers can choose which workshops to include for their visit.
We can sometimes be flexible on timings-please ask if you'd like to alter these.