Wow! It feels good to finally be sitting down and have the opportunity to blog and give you all an update on what has been happening in this neck of the woods!A couple of weeks ago we suddenly realised how busy our riding school was becoming, which begged the question of whether or not we had enough riding school ponies to go round all the lessons. Without even a second thought I decided no we didn't and so the search began for two new additions to join the "Hundleby Equestrian gang". I love pony shopping and have to admit have quite a fetish for it.
Five horses in I was stopped in my tracks by a lovely looking 14.1h cob cross gelding called Guiness. At just 5 he was described as being the perfect gentleman but young enough to still have plenty to learn. Of course I had to view him and after a rather quick phone call I was booked to see him the next day. He was only an hour up the road from us so I asked two of our young liveries if they wanted to come along and try him as well. Need I have bothered asking? Of course they wanted to come!
As soon as we arrived I was greeted by a lovely, sweet pony that immediately pushed his nose into my face and back down again. What a sweetie! After the three of us had had a ride on him I was smitten and could see bags of potential. He was still very green but most importantly seemed to be very willing, even when asked of something he didn't quite understand.After a quick phone call, I couldn't resist in pulling the deposit I had ready out of my pocket and offering his owner a deal. Need I say that he arrived "home" two days later!
However, whilst horse searching I realised that all black cobs with white feathers were called Guiness so I changed his name to Sooty - which was a pony who I learnt to ride on at the age of 6. Guiness reminded me so much of Sooty, even when I very first met him, so Sooty seemed like a fitting name.
Since arriving home Sooty has proved to be a good buy and is already very popular with the majority of our clients! Despite only being five himself he is teaching many of our younger clients to ride; including my good friend Katie who can be nervous. His talent and ability never ceases to amaze me and each task we ask of him is never too much. His willingness to work is so lovely to witness and already after just a few weeks he has settled into being a riding school pony. I cannot wait to watch this young pony grow and am sure we have yet to witness the best of him - he just keeps on getting better!
Pony number 2!
Pony number two comes in the form of a lovely 14hh Gypsy piebald cob called Splash. His name suites him down to the ground and although he is very quiet natured he has bags of character!
Our newest member of staff, Sam, chose Splash and what a good buy he was! We purchased him from Leicestershire and are so pleased to be able to keep in touch with both his old owner and loaner.
Splash is very different to Sooty and more for the nervous/novice riders to gain confidence on. He is also five but a little greener than Sooty in the school, however a more quiet hack and general ride. Splash is very good for those wanting to build confidence as nothing will phase him and he genuinely doesn't have a bad bone in his body.
After just a week of being on the yard Splash is also proving to be popular with many of our riding school clients. He has one of the biggest and fluffy moustaches you have ever seen so is already known on the yard for this!Splash is also showing to have huge potential and I am sure will go far. Like Sooty he will pop a course of fences with ease and whatever you ask of him he will try his hardest. He also seems to be enjoying life as a riding school pony being pampered and loved by every child (and adult) that meets him!
Personally I feel we have been very lucky with these two and I cannot wait to see them both grow in confidence over the next few months.
We are now on the look out for another riding school pony that is about 15-15.2hh. I am sure finding another won't be as easy as it has been with these two boys. They are both fantastic and get on tremendously with one another.
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