My kids all rode at a young age. The age limit in NATRC is 10 yrs. old and
my youngest wanted to ride also, but he wasn't 10 yet. It was a good lesson for
him... "good things are worth waiting for". He didn't whine about it, he knew
that "no" meant "no". He learned that there were rules and his parents didn't
gripe about the rules, we followed the rules.
That being said, at a very young age he was out at P&R's and could take
a pulse and respiration with the best of them before he was 10 yrs. old. That
way he got to be part of the ride and he learned a lot by doing the recoveries
and watching how people took care of their horses. When he turned 10, he rode
his rides, alone (don't need sponsors in CT) and we never worried about him. He
was "all grown up at 10", haha.
