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HI Spy: Share your pony tales.

Small in stature but big in personality, there's never a dull moment with these diminutive equines.

By Cindy Hale

Are they angelic creatures who make wonderful teachers for aspiring young riders? Or are they more like the devil in disguise, just waiting to nip your sleeve, step on your foot or dump you in the dirt? If you haven’t guessed, we’re talking about ponies. Whether they’re good little ponies with hearts of gold or conniving critters who take advantage of unsuspecting humans, ponies have left their tiny hoofprints in the lives of many horse lovers. 

“My parents couldn’t afford to buy me a nice horse when I was a kid,” recalls Brenda Springer of Mesa, Arizona, “so I ended up with this barely broke, half-Arab pony cross named Shamrock that was maybe 14 hands. When I think back, it was totally the wrong thing for my parents to do, to just turn me loose with this wild pony. Thank goodness he was so small because it wasn’t far to the ground! After I’d come off about a dozen times my parents wised up and got me some lessons with a trainer and, amazingly enough, Shammy and I ended up showing in western pleasure and trail. We went from a couple of ragamuffins to winning a lot of ribbons. I must say, Shammy really taught me how to ride. When I outgrew him, it broke my heart to sell him. No matter how many great horses I’ve had, I’ll always love that little guy.”

Another benevolent soul was a pinto pony named Ladybug, who became a local legend on California’s A-rated show circuit. A suburban family bought her for just a few hundred dollars from a seedy nighttime auction. Once she was clipped and fattened up, little Ladybug blossomed into a fancy pony. She seemed perfectly happy to be ridden. When asked to jump, she did so in fashionable style. She even learned flying lead changes without hesitation. Eventually she ended up winning numerous pony hunter championships and endearing herself to a succession of loving families.

But for every Shamrock and Ladybug there’s a pony like Mikey who, the story goes, would lie down in the middle of a riding lesson if he became bored. Or Lulu who’d be gleefully galloping down the trail, only to stop suddenly and dive her head into the grass, thereby tossing her rider over her head. Every pony, it seems, is special in its own memorable way.

Which type of pony have you known? Whether it was a good pony or a bad pony—or somewhere in between—we’d like hear your special pony tale for this installment of HI Spy. Just click on Submit a Comment below. Some of the responses will appear in a future issue of Horse Illustrated.

See more HI Spy Questions.

January 2009


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HI Spy: Share your pony tales.
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Reader Comments
One of the lesson ponies, Howie, loves toturn around and nip you when you tighten his girth.
Periwinkle, Sacramento, CA
Posted: 3/14/2010 1:55:28 PM
I have been around a bunch of ponies, my most favorite was a welsh/Shetland cross named Jelly Bean. This mare was 21 years old and the moodiest old bat I had ever met, But as soon as my gelding laid eyes on her he was in love. Now my gelding is 17.1h and she was just about 12.h. Nothing funnier in the pasture than those two. Everyone at the barn would laugh and call jelly bean a cougar because of the huge age difference. Charlie 5 y.o and Jelly Bean 21. Cranky as she could be but she let me move her around and wasn't afraid.
Amy, Lexington, KY
Posted: 3/1/2010 6:29:22 PM
When I was 11, I had 2 halflingers. They were type of ponies that you could just hop on their backs, ride around whenever, and even take a nap on. But they had their naughty side too. Like one time when I had my younger cousin over to ride one summer, whenever she tried to get on the older one he would sit down and just look at us as if to laugh at us. We tried for what seemed like forever, then we eventually gave up on it all. And of course after we walk away he stands right up and starts grazing.
Mariah, Rochester, WA
Posted: 2/23/2010 5:57:50 PM
We have a shetland at the barn were I ride. He has a horible habit of bucking, and no one can get him to stop. He was trained to buck. but he is so gentle. one day my sister decided to try and sit on him. He surprisingly didn't buck. So she tried to put my 3 year old brother on him. He bucked and he went flying off. He was right as rain, but no one in my family has ever tried to ride him again!
Sj, Northwood, ND
Posted: 2/19/2010 12:30:10 PM
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