Local stories


Regaining my confidence By Chloe Bruce


I


am a member of East Lothian Pony Club and I’m 15 years old. Two years ago, on the


30th December 2017, I lost my seven year old horse (Canoe Club) as a result of fireworks. A month later, I got another horse – a 16hh bay Thoroughbred called Mister Carter.


We bought him from an eventing stable where he had evented up to BE novice level. A week after we got him, he ripped off half his hoof in the field and he had lost so much blood that we thought we were going to lose him. Luckily, his coronary band was in tact and we got pressure on it as soon as possible. He spent nearly two weeks in the Dick Vet Hospital. Finally, when he got out, it was box rest for three and a half months and then after a while he could be turned out.


When I started riding him again in August it was a slow recovering of building his strength back up with months of walking, then


Chloe Bruce and Master Carter


trotting and finally cantering and polework. Eventually, we got to jump and again it was slow bringing him back up to 90cm - 1m. We competed in a couple of pony club show jumping competitions throughout the winter and then began cross country in the spring. The horse I had ridden while he was on box rest was very fiery and lively,


My Shetland star By Leah Donald


D


ock or Horninglow Penruddock has been my best friend since he


was two and I was five, that’s nine years. The last two years I’ve competed him regularly and he’s gone from strength to strength, particularly in working hunter and show jumping. He won the massive intermediate workers at the Shetland Performance Show and the mismatched pairs with Lucy Jones and Lunesdale Wardance at NPS Summer Championships, which was just amazing. He managed to keep up with the big Dales in gallop even though he’s only 10hh.


Unfortunately, I’ve grown too big for him so he’s now retired from competition, but he has recently been teaching a three year old girl how to ride – he’s such a good boy. Shetlands are the best. We will miss competing but Dock is quite happy playing at home for a while. Dock has been trying a variety of things lately such as liberty work, jumping and single pony Roman riding and he doesn’t mind at all. Thank you so much to the Shetland Performance Society for all the opportunities you’ve given Dock and I over the last few years, we will miss competing at your show.


but when I started to do cross country on Carter, I found that I had lost my confidence.


Throughout the summer, I tried to gain back my confidence, but it resulted in getting eliminated and retiring on BE courses. Eventually, I just decided to stick with show jumping and dressage and competed in the pony club


area 19 qualifiers. As we come back into the winter, we have made it our aim to qualify for the pony club winter league show jumping and dressage and get as many arena eventing competitions under our belts and then come out of the winter on the eventing circuit with a bang hopefully a more confident rider.


A little pocket rocket By Fiona Walker


M


y pony is Carlung Marksman or Herbie, as he’s known, and he is a


12 year old Highland pony who I bought from Susan Wardrop at Carlung Stud in West Kilbride. He is definitely not the typical docile Highland pony and has plenty of sparkle. I often refer to him as my Duracell Bunny or Pocket Rocket. I have owned Herbie for three years now and have a fabulous bond with him.


We started competing at unaffiliated dressage, qualifying for the finals at Muirmill Equestrian Centre and also the finals at Morris Equestrian Centre, where we were second in the prelim then won the novice. I was over the moon.


Horninglow Penruddock


I’ve competed him regularly, particularly in working hunter and show jumping


After a couple of lessons with the fabulous Linda Barnes, I decided to tick another item off my bucket list and try our hand/ hoof at affiliated dressage, so I registered. So far, we have been out four times competing at prelim bronze level. Our first test scored 68.75% taking second


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place. Les Smith was judging our next outing and we were second again with 66.46%. I am over the moon with him, he tries his heart out and I am enjoying every outing. I love having a goal to aim for and find it so motivating to continue training at home to improve on the next outing.


He is currently stabled at Linda Barnes’ yard and with Linda’s help we have even tried half- pass, proving once again the versatility of the Highland pony. I think it is amazing to just go out and give things a go and native ponies are capable of so much. A huge round of applause for our native ponies.


Fiona Walker and Carlung Marksman


© 1st Class Images


© 1st Class Images


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