When it comes to being bought ponies, I'm well aware I have been spoilt. From my first pony being a beautiful little Dartmoor with a three page long breeding history to my polocrosse pony being a masterfully schooled machine, I've always been aware that I have 'made ponies'. I use that expression with pain as I hate it. It makes it all sound really easy, the pony 'does it all for you'. What people don't realize is that that pretty Dartmoor was actually a devil in pony clothing who regularly dropped me in ditches at least three times in one hack and that just tonight my A grade pony bucked all the way around the arena before attempting to spin me off because he was just simply bored. Possibly the best example I have of looks being very deceiving is Casper, my perfect show jumping turned event pony who started out as nothing more than a nightmare. Admittedly, we set out to Ireland 4 years ago to buy a 'made pony' which we found albeit the rescue case appearance. Everybody was just waiting for me to fall of my new, shining show jumper and I didn't disappoint. A year forward from that and he had landed me in hospital for the second time before being injured at a local show. Another year on, I was being eliminated in every class we entered and I honestly hated him. Fast forward again to two weekends ago where we came second at Burgham International Horse Trials after a foot perfect double clear. People watch him now and think "wow, that pony is doing everything for her! Mustn't it be nice to have an easy pony". What they don't know is that years of hard work from mum, Phillipa, Sarah, Barbara, Lorna and Linda have gone into him and without them (and maybe me a little bit), Casper would be back in the Irish sales and forgotten about.
Everybody is always envious of the people on those 'perfect' horses who cost a small fortune but more than once I've seen those horses and riders fail to perform, purely because they assume it will
just happen. Even with polocrosse, people think that because I have a top pony, I'll be a top player, however until you've been a 5'6 17 year old girl riding a 15.3 monster who does precisely what he wants, where he want, when he wants, you can not comment on either my playing or my riding. Voodoo completely out classes me and until I reach his level, I am well and truly the passenger.
Lookers on always criticize others successes especially if they are riding a bought and previously produced pony which cost a little more than your average steady neddy but what they forget is that even if that pony really does do everything for them, they are the ones who ride it everyday, school it for hours, muck out, rug, feed and love them which is in itself hard work. Just because they didn't bred them and break them, doesn't mean they can't turn them into something special.
So in some way yes, I have been given the silver platter of ponies like many other people I know but in others, I've had to work just as hard being taught how to ride by them than someone teaching a pony how to be ridden.Good luck Rachael and Molly at Championships in the Open Dressage (majorly proud) and see you all after Champs where the Percy Hunt will make it's debut into The Malden Polocrosse Cup, certainly going to be interesting x
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