A real child’s pony

I BELIEVE I am, at 67, the oldest woman still showing regularly at leading shows. Back when I was nine, I had one of the best 12.2hh show ponies in the country, All Springs Gem. When we sold him the people paid in cash; notes and coins were piled up on the table.

The pony pictured is my 12.2hh show pony Bennedon Bambi, in 1959. When we took him to Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) at Wembley, it took two days to drive from Sheffield with no motorways, in a Hillman Imp car towing a canvas-topped trailer.

Bambi looked sparkling. He had been washed with water containing Blue Bag, a blue dye used for white laundry. I too looked very smart in my new jacket and jodhpurs made to measure by Bernard Weatherill of Savile Row.

There were no lead-rein classes at HOYS, so aged six, I was in the 12.2hh class. I had practised my show a million times, but during my figure of eight, Bambi stopped and spent a penny. The judge came over and said not to worry, he was a real child’s pony.

I could never have imagined that I would be a regular competitor at HOYS, that I would have a horse, I’m Blue Chip Too, who would be champion there two years running, or that I would have a horse feed company that would be one of HOYS’ longest-standing sponsors.

Bambi started having skin problems – he was one of the first ponies to be diagnosed with leukaemia. One day, when I was eight, he disappeared; he had been put down. I was inconsolable. Parents then didn’t discuss things with children before they happened.