Real-life Drama: Would our amazing pony plan work?

Lucy writes…

Dreams really do come true, you just have to wait for the right moment – even if it takes a long time. I’ve been riding for eight years now. After experiencing disappointments at several riding schools, my friend told me she was having lessons with some people who lived in the village. My mum rang up and the next thing I knew, I was booked in for a lesson on the sweetest pony called Blue! The lady who taught me had a daughter, Hannah, who went to the same school as me. She had a sweet but naughty chestnut pony called Goldrush, and I remember thinking that I would never, ever have the guts to ride him.

Hannah writes…

Some time last year I began to realise that things were not working with my cheeky, but loveable 13.2hh chestnut pony, Goldrush (Rushy, for short). He was young and quite naughty, and the plan had been to train him as I improved. Unfortunately, it was taking a little more time for Rushy to progress than we had expected, and I was getting to a point where I was a more capable rider, and needed a pony that would be able to take me further. I had a choice: I could either grin and bear it with Rushy, or put Rushy out on loan and buy a more experienced competition pony. It was my mum who spotted the advert for Dougal, a Connemara. He seemed to tick all the boxes, so we set off to take a look. When I rode him, I thought he was fantastic! Perfect! The one for me! But then when we decided, to my total delight, that we would buy Dougal, I burst into tears! I was happy, but the reality of losing Rushy hit me.

Lucy writes…

One day, Heather said to me, “You’ll be riding Rushy soon, you’re getting too big for Blue. I was so scared. I didn’t want to ride Rushy! It was as though someone had kicked all the confidence out of me. When I did progress to Rushy, Heather knew I was nervous and took everything slowly until I got used to him. He was very cheeky, and could be very stubborn at times. Hannah and I became great friends and I could see that she loved jumping – and Rushy didn’t. I couldn’t believe it when, one day, Hannah and I hatched our amazing pony plan: we would ask our parents if I could have Rushy on loan! My heart beat against my chest – I had always wanted my own pony!

Hannah writes…

Lucy is my best friend. She rides at our stables and I just knew that Rushy was the perfect pony for her. She knew him really well, and Rushy wasn’t keen on competing, and neither was Lucy. Our amazing pony plan seemed the perfect
solution – Lucy could loan Rushy!

Lucy writes…

Our amazing pony plan wasn’t working – my parents said they couldn’t afford to loan Rushy, and I knew it was true. I thought that was the end of any chance of me having my own pony. What I didn’t know was that Heather and my parents were actually in discussion about it. One evening, we sat down at the dinner table and my dad said, “Lucy, you have a loan pony!” I burst into tears, I was so happy.

Hannah writes…

Lucy and I have so much fun on our beloved ponies! We’ve been to competitions together, and Lucy came second with a double-clear round in a jumping class with Rushy, something that I had always thought impossible! Our amazing pony plan worked out fantastically in the end!

Lucy writes…

Hannah is jumping over three feet on Dougal and one day, I decided to ask her to teach me to jump. It has been a huge success and I recently came second in a jumping class – I felt like crying with happiness! I love Rushy so much! So you see, I was right. Dreams really do come true – all thanks to our amazing pony plan!