It's not a holiday - I'm being swapped!

I should explain that Mum originally went to my old home www.akehurst-dalesponies.com for a break, but when she got there she fell in love with Katy, a dapple grey 5 year Dales who was ready for backing - she was a late starter because she had a baby before she decided she wanted to be a riding pony.

So Mum started helping Delia to back Katy last year (Picture above). I really really really liked the look of my now Mum and spent the whole of that weekend and the next time she visited convincing her she actually wanted to buy me instead. Well my charm and cheekiness paid of and she changed her mind and took me home instead - and the rest you could say is history - or it was until we went back home to visit.

Mum on Katy on Saturday

To start with it was all ok but then Mum started helping Delia again with Katy. In fact she rode Katy every day we were on holiday, now this was getting very worrying. By Sunday afternoon I was starting to get in a real panic, maybe I had done something wrong and we were in fact not on holiday but had been sent back to stay FOREVER!

Even worse I was going to be swapped for Katy!

Mum on Katy again!

Maybe Mum has changed her mind and coming back on holiday has reminded her how pretty Katy is and maybe she doesn't want a cheeky handsome black Dales boy any more. Tony really liked Katy too, he was always cuddling her and making a fuss, but all I did was get told off for trying to eat him and for kicking the stable doors. All I was trying to do was remind them I was there and not to forget about me.

We both started to compete to see who could be the best behaved and I excelled myself on our last mountain ride, we went miles, we hacked up and up and up the mountains, I led the way, followed behind, passed the van on the forest tracks, and bounced along for two whole hours showing how brilliant I was but then it was all looking very disastrous and bleak, especially when Mum took Katy out for her first ever hack and Katy behaved brilliantly, Mum came back smiling and was very impressed with her. It was all going very wrong, Katy & I have one thing in common we both have only ever been ridden by my Mum, but maybe she wasn't going to be my Mum any more.

Mum hacking out with Katy on Monday

It was only on late Monday afternoon when I was loaded back into the trailer with Zippy next to me could I sigh with relief knowing we were going home and Mum still loved me the best.