If you’ve ever watched a pony storming round a 1.10m showjumping class in a jaw-dropping time, and winning, you’ll already known that small is beautiful — not to mention bold, fearless and cheeky! Here are a few reasons why ponies absolutely rock.
1. They’re amazing in a jump-off
Horses may be able to jump bigger, but ponies are quicker. They can turn on a sixpence, jump clear from the weirdest angles, are braver than lions, and ridden by fearless Pony Club demons.
2. It’s not so far to fall
Also useful in a jump-off, if even your trusty steed can’t jump from THAT angle, and you end up taking a flier!
3. They can live off fresh air
No expensive hard feeds required. If anything, you might have to restrict their intake rather than the other way round. Ponies are (almost) cheap as chips to look after.
4. There’s more cool kit for ponies
From brightly patterned rugs to glittery browbands, there’s loads of funky stuff you can get for ponies that just isn’t available in bigger sizes. This is clearly because retailers think ponies are mostly ridden by little girls. Quite a lot are actually ridden by adults but shhh! Don’t tell them that or they might stop doing the cool stuff!
5. They have that pony attitude
It’s like ‘Napoleon Syndrome’ in that ponies may be smaller, but they obviously firmly believe they’re way harder and cooler than horses. Unlike Napoleon, however, they’re not megalomaniac dictators (well, most of them) and really are way harder and cooler than horses.
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6. Like the Duracell bunny, they go on forever
Age ain’t nothin’ but a number — if you’re a pony. He may be technically classed as a veteran, but he still thinks he’s five — and he’ll speed round the clear round jumping or cross-country course to prove it.
7. You can get on from the ground
This is, of course, one of the biggest advantage of owning a pony — provided you’re not too stiff (and let’s face it, some of us older types aren’t as bendy as we used to be), then you can hop on from the ground. You’ll always be the one who has to open and close gates out hacking, but it’s a small price to pay…