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Driving Ponies
(Click on the thumbnails to see large versions of the photos)
Ponies have featured in my life forever! However, as age advances I have found great pleasure in Driving. After a tentative start with an old
gymkhana pony my daughter grew out of, I took lessons and bought Sam, a registered Fell Pony. Fells are typically stubborn and devious when
they don't want to do something and I became fairly cunning at times, finding that gentle persuasion often got me what I wanted...
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| Sam - in a good mood |
Meg's first lessons |
Whilst tiptoeing around Sam and his temperament I acquired two 'in foal' shetland type mares that had a history of maybe having been broken
to drive at one time in their lives. Meg and Molly had their foals very soon after arriving without any assistance , which is a good thing because
they were too terrified to let me near. To cut a long story short, one colt foal was sold but I kept the filly and called her Mouse, so I had three
identical ponies.
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| Fell Pony 'Dinah' |
Granddaughter Sophie, with 'Fiona' |
The process of breaking was slow because bad memories were obviously lurking in the background, but eventually we managed it and I really enjoyed
the experience! Meg, Molly and Mouse were sold to lovely homes and I have since had a succession of little ponies to break... These ponies are surprisingly
strong and can pull a light carriage with two adults along flattish ground, and they are amazingly competitive in scurry competitions!
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| Friends practising 'Scurry' |
Ready for competition |
Having a rest during a rally |
At the moment I have a part Welsh pony, Jim-Bob, who is a bit of a show-off, I have had a great deal of fun at rallies with him. I also have two
miniature Shetlands due to be broken in the Spring of 2006.
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| Jim in a two wheeler |
Jim-Bob with friends |
Scurry competition with Jim-Bob |
My next project is to train my young Dalmatians to run with the carriages, a challenge to come is the Carriage Dog Championships mostly held in
Hampshire but hopefully soon to come to the Midlands.
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| Jim-Bob and Ellie in training |
Carriage Dog Championships, Hants. |
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