Mr. Banderas, the 46″ Hackney pony, has what the art world would call ’unknown provenance’. He came to me with no papers and just some highlights of his past. He is as my cousin so aptly described, a Pony School Drop Out. My trimmer owned him for 3 years, intending him originally to be a project horse for her teenage daughter. Prior to that he had at some point been a show pony for very young rider. I’m sure he looked gorgeous. He however also bucked his little rider off his back; antics which had him headed to the sale ring until my trimmer gave him a new home. It would not have been a promising outcome for a pony who couldn’t be advertised as child safe, no matter how fancy.
We’ve been working on ground training to give him a job as a cart pony (Banderas Walks the Line), but today I woke up with the thought of trying him in the indoor arena for a bareback ride. Both my trimmer and her daughter had both ridden him a couple times so I knew he was at least trained well enough to know whats what.
So, DH and I set out with a mission in mind. Query: How Broke is the Pony? Answer: Not Broke Enough. In this picture you can see me heading in one direction with the pony body clearly headed in another. You know the end of the story: dirt. I have to say, it’s rather fun to have a horse from which a ‘dump’ is nothing more catastrophic than some dirt on my jeans. Heck, it’s practically fun to bail off from that height.
In the end, after 2 false starts (Remember how slippery little pony backs are without a saddle?), decided it would be in everyone’s best interest to have Banderas haltered and led around the arena by DH while I rode. (Kudos for pony wrangling to DH). Yes, ok, I looked like a 3 year old in a lead line class but I wanted to ensure we had a smooth, confidence building trip around the arena and bareback is not how I wanted to ride out any serious bucks.
Next time, I’m bringing the saddle. He’s going to be a fun little ride.
Tags: hackney, horse, horseback ride, Mr. Banderas, pony
May 27, 2008 at 3:37 pm
LOL, sassy little pony! Good luck with him!
May 27, 2008 at 9:14 pm
He looks like a regular little twister! Kudos to the husband for being a good leadline helper. I’m happy about this cute pony getting a new job - it’s great to be able to watch and see how he comes along! Jobs for horses are great.
May 28, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Want me to UPS you Megan for a couple of weeks? She loves training ponies and if she ever saw this one, he would probably disappear from your barn-LOL.
May 29, 2008 at 12:50 am
Callie: S-assy is right! He’s a good boy, but lots of high spirited SASS.
Flying Lilies: I couldn’t believe what a fast little tornado he was. Next time, I’m ready for the quick little devil.
BEC: Yes, please, punch some air holes in a shipping container and send the pony trainer out! No smuggling Banderas off the Ranchette though…he’s such a doll! Does she have better luck staying on the ponies bareback?