Growing my fan base

Hello to all my new friends at Sparsholt College, I loved meeting you all.  I was very happy to stand and chat to all my new friends and posed for selfies too!

It was a great trip.  I didn't realise when Mum took me home to Wales I would be making lots of new friends and showing everyone how fantastic us Dales ponies are.

Mum spent a couple of days helping D clean everybody up so we were all sparkling shiny.  June was chosen to be the confirmation pony, so she got all dressed up in her white show halter and pretty pink ribbons, she looked beautiful.  Though Katy did try and steal the limelight.  D had brought June out and was surrounded by 20 odd students, and she was being all serious telling the students all about our fabulous confirmation, while Katy stood at the back pulling faces and distracting the students by demanding rubs and trying to eat their handbags if they did not oblige.  Naughty Katy.

My new friends then went on a tour of the stud and got to visit both my Dad and my friend Eric's Dad, Laddie.  He's pictured below having cuddles with the students too!

Before the students had arrived I had been turned out into the big caravan field, so I thought I had better put in some practice of doing a REAL dales trot, rather than Mum's fancy posing dressage trots.  My secret practice got caught on camera, well not too bad I think.

My first job was to show my new friends how good Dales ponies can be at dressage.  So Mum asked me to do one of my Prelim dressage tests.  I can do that.  Mum and I warmed up while the students finished their tour of the stud.  They then stood at the bottom of the arena and it was time for me to strut my stuff.  So I headed of down the centre line in trot - errrr emergency stop required - Mum there are twenty faces peering over the end of the arena - that's quite scary, normally there is just a random car, not loads of people.  Ok Mum says move on, so I did, around the arena on the right rein - wait Mum, another emergency stop required, they are still there and they are ALL watching ME.  Nerves were starting to kick in and I was getting a bit anxious so when Mum asked for canter, I kind of over reacted and put in a big buck, which made the students giggle.  I'm sure Mum didn't do the test right because I seemed to be doing a lot of circles down by all my new friends.

Then Katy and Nondus came to join me and Mum and we were allowed into the big field, yiphee. I started by showing off my jumping skills while Katy practiced her Dales trot - shes good at that.

Katy and I were then allowed to do a trotting race and then to the amusement of the students we showed them how fast we could gallop across the fields too.  We loved that, its not often we are allowed to charge around.  It took Katy a little while to calm down after racing around, but we both enjoyed the cuddles of the students and stood very still while they all took selfies.

I'm hoping some of my new friends might send me some more photos to add to my blog.  Loved meeting you all, thank you for taking the time out to meet us.  I wonder whether I can become a professional demo horse, telling the world about how amazing us Dales ponies are?