IN SHORT SUPPLY
AS an ex-Pony Club district commissioner, riding school owner and British Show Pony Society working hunter pony judge, I am often asked for help to nd ponies for people.
But over the past few years, it has become apparent that there is a shortage of good, reliable, rst and second ponies – safe, kind, steady paragons of virtue that will look after a child safely.
Perhaps they aren’t being bred any more or are not receiving the correct education that makes them worth their weight in gold. The prices paid are the equivalent of a top hunter and they are so scarce that people pay quite willingly to obtain them.
A good rst pony is the most important step in a rider’s life and can make or break them, and determine whether or not they carry on. There is a denite shortage of good ones, where manners and experience far outweigh looks. Or perhaps I’m looking in the wrong places?
Heather Metcalf Penrith, Cumbria