Windsor Horse Rangers

Information on Joining Windsor Horse Rangers

Windsor Horse Rangers runs on a Saturday and Sunday for 50 weeks of the year. We have a morning session for seniors (10-18yrs) and an afternoon session for juniors (8-10yrs). Choose which day of the weekend your child will attend, either every Saturday or every Sunday. The cost for the first 4 weeks is £10 per week to assess whether the potential ranger (NR) would like to become a permanent ranger (PR). During the first 4 weeks the NR will ride every week and also be shown around the farm and the horses to get familiar with the setup and all the activities. The NR will be put into a company (A, B, C, D) and will have a ranger to look after them. After the initial period, if they decide to stay, they will pay a £20 one off enrolment fee and be enroled and become a permanent ranger. If the child is enroled mid-month the balance for the month is payable on enrolment also. Once enroled, fees are £480 per year split into £40 monthly payment in advance due by the 5th of each calendar month for every month of the year whether your child attends for the full month or not and are paid by standing order. This is because our horses need feed and vet care all year round and we need all the monthly fees from all our members to pay our basic bills.

 At this stage the new PR will ride every other week and on the non-riding week will learn theory and be taught practical skills regarding the care and maintenance of horse and equipment. They will require an A4 ring binder or lever arch file with 20 dividers to keep all the 'fun sheets' they are given for their theory work.  Rangers need to bring this file with them every week.  As with all organisations - please make sure everything is clearly named with your child's name - as we have over 130 members and everything looks very much the same, boots, hats, wax jackets are all costly to replace if lost.

Windsor Horse Rangers is NOT a riding school, but rather a horse education centre. The teaching eventually leads to badges and certification to indicate successful passing of all exams. Some of our badges include Junior Tenderfoot, Senior Tenderfoot, Bronze Spur, Silver Spur and Golden Spur. We also reward rangers for hard work and dedication by giving ranks. Rangers wear a black hat band with insurance badge. We have leader rangers and they wear green brands. Acting NCO's wear red bands and NCO's wear white bands. Troop NCO's wear purple bands and finally officers (adults) wear dark blue bands.  We also have a number of very valuable Adult Helpers who take on jobs around the farm and help with the running of Rangers. All Adult Helpers and Officers are required to be CRB checked.

After enrolment the new ranger will need both a farm and a parade uniform. The farm uniform consists of long black riding boots (privately purchased -not chaps or short boots), beige jodpurs (privately purchased), a ranger t-shirt, jumper and wax jacket (all purchased from rangers) and a new black riding hat that conforms to the BS EN 1384 or PAS 015 (privately purchased from a saddler/tack shop only please, hats from outlets such as Tesco are not suitable as they make our insurance void and are not safe enough to protect your child adequately.) Please do not buy second hand hats. Body protectors (privately purchased) are an additional piece of safety equipment which may be worn, please ensure they are correctly fitted by a specialised tack or riding shop - a list of these is on this website that give discounts for horse rangers.  Riding gloves are also very useful, a cotton pair for the summer and a warmer pair for the winter - but do name them please!

We also have a parade uniform which must be worn on the first Saturday/Sunday of each month and is also used on out-parades and events. The difference between farm and the parade uniform is a white long sleeved school shirt (privately purchsed) that needs the company badge and other insignia, a ranger cap and tie which can also be purchased from rangers.

The Horse Rangers Code
A Horse Ranger must:

1. Be Honourable & Trustworthy
2. Show loyalty and respect for the Queen, her Governing Bodies, their Parents
   and for their Elders.
3. Be a friend to all animals and must at all times be prepared to help and
   protect them.
4. Be prepared to work on his / her own initiative, and to be methodical in
   all undertakings.

Please feel free to visit us on a Saturday or Sunday morning between 10:00 and 11:00 in the morning or 14:00 and 15:00 in the afternoon to see the farm, horses and meet one or two of the officers.

Windsor Horse Rangers is entirely run by volunteers. As a clause of membership we require parents to help out in the canteen one morning or afternoon a year. We run a rota which can be completed once your child has become a permanent ranger.

To add your childs name to the waiting list please complete the following form . We will get in touch when their name comes up. In the meantime you can come and visit Juniors with your child on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

If you need any other information please contact us via email on webmaster@windsor-horse-rangers.org.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone. Visit our Contact Information page for more information regarding phone number and address.

Kind Regards
Windsor Horse Rangers Webmaster

IMPORTANT NOTE: We currently have an approximate waiting list of around 2 years for juniors and around 3 years for seniors.

Additional Information for parents of children wishing to join

Thank you for your interest in Windsor Horse Rangers, your child's name has been placed on the waiting list and you will be contacted when a place becomes available. We are unable to say when this may be as we can only cater for a set number of children.

Windsor Horse Rangers is a voluntary organisation run for the benefit of it's members. The organisation is administered by a board of trustees comprising parents, officers and persons with specialist knowledge or ability. The daily running of the organisation is undertaken by volunteers who have either significant equine knowledge and/or experience of running children's organisations such as Scout groups.

The children attend one of four sessions depending on age, preference and availability. The sessions are:
1. Saturday AM 08:30 to 13:00
2. Sunday AM 08:30 to 13:00
3. Saturday PM 13:30 to 16:30
4. Sunday PM 13:30 to 16:30

Children aged 8 to 10 attend an afternoon session and those 10 to 18 for a morning session. The sessions are referred to as for "Junior Rangers" or "Senior Rangers" respectively. Some senior rangers remain for the afternoon session by invitation to assist the junior rangers.

When you are contacted and your child invited to join, a session will be offered determined first by age and then by availability, you will have advised us of your preference when submitting your child's name. Your child will then be invited to attend that session for a period of four consecutive weeks as a trial period. Given that the basic clothing and protection requirements for riding involve significant cost we find it best to offer this trial period to ensure that you and your child are happy with the ethos and practise of the organisation before committing fully. Your child is expected to attend Rangers every week, where possible.  Rangers is not suited to those who want an occasional visit or ride.  We have a large waiting list running into hundreds of children and it would be a waste of a place if a child only came occasionally.  If your child does not attend Rangers for 4 weeks in a row, then their place will be offered to someone else unless a special arrangement has been made.

On the week following the conclusion of the trial period your child will be enrolled. This is a short ceremony at the end of the session during parade. Parents are of course welcome to attend to enjoy the enrolment of their child. Upon enrolment your child will be placed in one of four "companies" designated A-D. For the most part this will remain their company throughout their time with us. Achievements will earn points for their company, which will be totted up at the end of each year to form the basis of an award.

Children ride (weather and circumstances permitting) every other week and are graded according to ability.

For the rest of their time with us they are taught the principles of care and welfare of horses generally and undertake some of the jobs around the farm that are required to look after the horses. The teaching for riding and theory are taught following the basic principles of syllabi as those offered by the British Horse Society and the Pony Club but adapted to the facilities and requirements of our horses. We also have additional activities available during some of the holiday periods, details of which will be supplied on enrolment.

Your child's safety is of paramount importance and our procedures and rules are based on that premise. Horses are live animals and as such are unpredictable and potentially dangerous. In as far as it is possible children are made aware of this and are supervised at all times. There are always a minimum of two adult Officers on duty at all times, at least one of whom is female.

As stated Windsor Horse Rangers is a voluntary organisation and as such relies upon the dedication of its officers to run at all. We do ask that if parents have any particular interest or knowledge that they are prepared to offer us that they approach one of the Officers to discuss this however small or irregular the commitment might be.  All adult volunteers will be required to have a CRB check and provide personal references for safety and child safeguarding purposes.

It is a clause of membership that parents participate in the canteen rota, which requires a commitment of one hour per year to assist with the children's break-time.