Riding Jane Paterson

We offer our thanks and farewell to Rachel Thompson who has supported us for several years and welcome Jane Paterson. By her own admission Jane has no claim to fame or even expertise in the horse world, but has held a lifelong love of horses, an interest in equestrian sports and pursuits, and is mother and grandmother to horse and pony-mad offspring.

It’s in the genes

YOU can usually tell very early in a child’s life whether or not they are going to like horses. I don’t mean just like horses, but be seriously hooked on everything to do with them. The pleading and cries of “Please can I have a pony?” will be familiar to many parents of young children, but owning a pony is not for the faint hearted, and of course for a variety of different reasons, it is not always going to be possible but that doesn’t have to be the end of it.

There are other options which can enable children to bond with ponies and enjoy riding. My own daughter showed signs early on that she was going to be keen. My great grandfather was a Quarter Master Sergeant in the Royal Horse Artillery, my great uncle had a riding school and lived in a house called The Loosebox, so riding was filtered down and I can’t remember it not being in my life.

My sister and I, sometimes with our reluctant brother, used to go up to Worlebury Riding School which was owned and run by Shelagh and Sherry Tonkin, two sisters who will be remembered by many people in the Mendip area and beyond.

They not only ran the school, but also bred and showed Shetland ponies. As long as we children behaved ourselves, we could stay at the stables all day long, grooming, helping, and riding through the woods. Then we would catch the last bus home from Worlebury. Many a night I would fall asleep on my bedroom floor and wake to find my jodhpurs being pulled off before I was carried to bed by my dad. I don’t remember ever hearing the words Health and Safety, but there were unwritten rules and an early awareness that we did as we were told “or else”’. Both Shelagh and Sherry passed away

With JANE PATERSON

last year within months of each other. They had run the riding school for 50 years but went on keeping horses there for much longer, providing a home for many happy ponies and a sanctuary for countless lucky children. I took a trip down memory lane recently and visited the stables to find the amazing and dedicated Clare, who was with them for what seems like ever, still caring for the remaining Shetlands, one or two other ponies, and numerous stable cats, all living in the lap of animal luxury. It was like stepping back in time. Everything seemed just the same as it was when I was a child and, as I drove away, the tears rolled as my emotions got the better of me. Respect for those two wonderful women who are sadly missed. My children were all given the opportunity to start riding, but the middle daughter was the one who became addicted to the sport. When we visited a toyshop in Bath one Christmas, looking for little gifts to put in stockings, I was eyeing yo-yos, bendy snakes, wax crayons and the like, and the daughter was standing beside a full size Shetland pony, complete with beautiful soft English leather tack, saying, “Mummy, if you buy me this, I’ll be your friend!” Thereafter if there was any tack cleaning going on, she would breathe in the smell of saddle soap and let out a sigh of pure contentment. The passion had taken a firm hold, and the spell had been cast. We heard about a pony for loan, then she worked at stables to earn rides, and eventually we managed to buy one, and so began the road to financial ruin! Some decades later, the grandson is taking after his mother, and history is repeating itself. I once saw a sweatshirt which had William Falango on Bumble a logo on the front which read, “Poverty is owning a horse”.

The team who came 2nd at Kings Sedgemoor Equestrian

That’s about right, but it’s worth every penny (well I would say that, wouldn’t I?)

The Mendip area offers some good opportunities for children and adults to learn to ride, or to just hack out occasionally, or even to compete in all the three disciplines of dressage, showjumping and cross country.

Despite the closure of some establishments in recent times, partly due to the increased burdens imposed on them in terms of bureaucracy, paperwork and business rates, it is possible to get out and see the countryside from the saddle without owning your own horse, and during the next month I will be visiting some yards to find out more about what is currently available around the Mendip area.

There’s no stopping the Mendip Minis! Following on from their success in the mounted games championships reported last month, the Mendip Farmers branch of the Pony Club qualified for and was represented at the Area 15 Mini Showjumping Championships held at Bicton, Devon in August.

Bicton Arena is recognised as a leading equestrian venue in

Izzy Penfold on Lucy

A current resident of Worlebury

the South West. The atmosphere and sense of occasion was not lost on the children, who were proud to represent Mendip at this event. Izzy Penfold won the 40cm class on Lucy, and William Falango was 5th out of a staggering 109 entries, riding Bumblebee in the 60cm class.

The team for the 40cm class finished fourth overall. Well done to Izzy Penfold, Matilda Holyoak, Charlotte Smith, and Tilly Batten. The training will continue with autumn and winter rallies, lots of practice and hard work, interspersed with local hunter trials, indoor dressage and show jumping when time allows.

Local rider to tackle the Three Peaks Challenge

IN early October, Pippa Skelton from Bishop Sutton, is tackling the Three Peaks in 24 hours, to raise money for Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity. The Three Peaks Challenge is a tough trek requiring a high level of fitness.

It involves a whistle-stop journey from Ben Nevis in Scotland having made it to the top and back down, then on to Scafell Pike in the Lake District for another hard ascent, and on to Snowdonia in Wales for the final challenge. Trekking time is estimated to be around 15 hours and it is reckoned to be extremely tough.

Hannah Francis was an inspirational Event rider from the Mendip area, who died from bone cancer in 2016 at the age of just 18. Her legacy is her charity which funds research into bone cancer, as well as granting wishes to people affected by the disease.

Pippa has been helping a young cancer patient this summer, by facilitating riding lessons and happy horsey experiences for her, thanks to Willberry’s Wishes helping out with funds. Now Pippa is hoping to give the charity’s funds a boost, so if anyone would like to help, Pippa’s page can be found on the Just Giving website, which is https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/pippa-skelton

To find out more about Willberry the Wonder Pony and Hannah’s story, visit www.willberrywonderpony.org Pippa has been training hard and is ready to go. Good Luck.

STOP PRESS . . .

A Mendip Farmers’ team has just qualified for the 70cm. area show jumping championships for 2022, having come team second at Kings Sedgemoor Equestrian qualifiers on September 12th. Congratulations once again to all concerned. They are all looking forward to another trip to Bicton, slightly influenced by the fact that the ice cream is excellent and the camping overnight was fun.