Foxglove November 5 2008

No saddle fits her without a crupper to balance it behind, and indeed she has taught many children to ride without a saddle at all. She has borne basket saddles, felt pads, and that luxury, the sheepskin pad, to my mind the best of seats for a young child, for the wool offers the tiny rider security and comfort, as well as a good place to curl little fingers.

I remember her dam, bought for ten shillings out of Beaulieu Road, aged, barely handled, and in foal with this pony mare in front of us. It seems as if it was only yesterday, but many years and countless riders have passed since then. Small, narrow ponies with kind natures are the ones to teach children their riding, and this pony is beyond price, even if her head is on the large side and her quarters rather short.

For sure, she could buck well enough when she was young, yes, and jump too, for a good bucker is generally an athletic animal over fences. Led from another horse, a bicycle, or (always her preference) someone on foot, this pony has given many a child their first view of hounds from between her well-fluffed ears.

She has won rosettes by the hundred for minimus jumping and gymkhana games, though nowadays Fancy Dress is her forte, standing long-sufferingly under any amount of cloth and glitter, not batting an eyelid at trailing material or strange objects in her mane.

Hunting was always her best subject, though. Off the leading-rein, she would scramble and climb where she was too small to jump, and gallop her little legs off to keep with the big horses. On it, she was demure and patient, though alert and missing nothing.

If a fox crept out of covert, she would see it, if a hound ran into her legs she would remain rooted to the ground, but if the hand holding the lead-rein unbuckled it to allow a gallop across the greensward, she would go eagerly at her best pace, and then wait to be recaptured at the other end - usually.

This pony has never been sold. Instead, she is loaned out to carefully-checked homes for the duration of teaching a child or several children to ride, and there has always been a waiting-list for her. Light work keeps her bright and fit, and she loves a busy life of hunting and shows and Pony Club.

No, not the prettiest pony you'll ever see, but one of the best-loved, with many a smart rider on a well-bred horse grateful for the start she gave them.

Today she has a new child on board, beautifully turned-out in tiny jodhpurs, boots, and a large velvet cap. Hounds move off to a brief note on the horn, and she stands as tall as she can, ears pricked as far forward as they go. Her child is excited and nervous, despite the firm parental hand on the leading-rein, but Polly knows her job and will be exactly the pony that is wanted for the occasion.