In the Saddle: Pony to the rescue

It's always sad to hear the plight of any rescue animals, but for me the saddest of all is the amount of horses and ponies left abandoned at the moment. I love to hear success stories though on how some of these unlucky ponies are rehabilitated and find a happy ending.

Local girl Victoria Beck, age 19, is one of the loveliest girls I’ve met through horses. I saw Dallas advertised by the sanctuary on Facebook and tagged her mum on the pony advert.

Vicky was having a few issues with her pony ‘Merlyn’ and knew she was looking for a confidence giver in addition to Merlyn.

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They are an equine charity founded in 1968 and are now one of the UK’s largest equine welfare charities dedicated to rescue, rehabilitation, rehoming and education. Dallas is a lovely black and white (called ‘piebald’ colour) cob who stands at 14:1hh. Vicky was able to try him out to ensure they were a good match, before adopting him.

This little pony is brave, trusting and has a beautiful kind nature and it wasn’t long before Vicky fell in love.

It’s been wonderful watching them both progress and Vicky’s confidence has soared in the process, helping her in turn deal more confidently with Merlyn. Together they have been out competing locally in dressage, showing and more recently they were invited to ride at the prestigious Belton international Horse Trials in a wonderful celebration and parade of the rescue ponies as the sanctuary has been chosen as their charity for 2018.

It’s lovely to see such a happy ending for Dallas and although he is a rescue pony, I bet Vicky agrees when I say he rescued Vicky. He’s a wonderful pony who has met a wonderful girl to love him.

You can find out about open days and events at Bransby from their website on www.bransbyhorses.co.uk.

In the meantime, good luck for this season Vicky.