Pony Power
Our aim is to build and maintain a squad of competitive, reliable ponies.
As part of this we will look to purchase further equine superstars for our project, as and when they come on the market. Equally, if there are existing owners who would like to support our project by offering their own ponies, while retaining ownership, we would be delighted to hear from them.
We are hopeful that the fact we already have Noble Superman and Little Indian Feather, both previous European Championship gold medal winning ponies, in the Project Pony line up demonstrates our intent to put together a squad of the highest quality.
Finding the right young riders
We hope to build up a network of contacts in the equestrian community who will be on the lookout for young riders who might fit our criteria to join and benefit from Project Pony.
Our two absolute requirements for any Project Pony rider is that they have the potential to compete at the top level in pony eventing and that they are able to offer a pony the home it needs. Pony welfare is not something we will compromise on in any way. Different ponies have different requirements so this is something we will consider on a case by case basis.
Similarly the assistance riders need from us may vary from individual to individual. There will be no charge for the loan of one of our ponies, with further support to be considered taking into account the specific situation of a particular rider and the best use of Project Pony resources generally.
Why are we doing this?
The simple answer is that having been part of the pony world ourselves, it is a fantastic experience for anyone who is lucky enough to be involved.
So, if we can give a little bit back by opening the door to others, then that is what we would like to do. It is also worth noting that we are certainly not the first to go down the route of helping talented riders get to the top, there are already success stories out there of owners who have generously purchased ponies for young aspiring riders to go on and showcase their abilities on the national and European stage.
Project in progress
Project Pony is an initiative which is very much in its infancy and will evolve over time.
We may well make mistakes along the way and certainly don’t claim to have all the answers. However, if we only help one young, talented jockey to fulfil their dream and give them an opportunity they otherwise would not have had, that will be one more person to have benefited than if we did nothing.
