Two tickets for The Pony Express, please... and don't spare the horses!
STEAM and horse power combined to make a new video made on the South Devon Railway a smash hit on the internet.
Horse expert Emma Massingale's film All Aboard The Pony Express Train, which depicts the adventures of her Shetland ponies Albert, nine, and Ernie, eight, on an outing from Staverton station went viral, with around 2,500,000 views within the first month of it being posted, and more than 65,000 likes and nearly 6000 comments on her page at www.facebook.com/ emmamassingale
A call to the railway's office led to the two ponies arriving at Staverton in April for an exciting day out and being filmed doing all of the things that passengers can do again now the railway has reopened.
Albert and Ernie took a ride in the luggage compartment of one of the pre-season refresher steam trains before disembarking at Buckfastleigh, where the pair made friends with some residents of the Dartmoor Otter Sanctuary.
“The otters were very interested in the ponies which was hilarious so that worked really well,” said Emma.
Back on the train, they travelled to Totnes (Riverside) to visit the adjacent acclaimed Totnes Rare Breeds Farm.
Emma dreamed up the idea of the equine railway adventure, and the whole escapade was filmed by her fiancé, Jeremy Colwill. Albert and Ernie have starred in many films made by Emma before, but this one was their first encounter with a steam railway.
The film can also be seen at https://youtu.be/Mn4-bLjw1KU