The History of Ponygirl

Ok, hello guys.  I am hoping this blog may be of some use to somebody.  It may just be a journal for me to look back on when I,m older and greyer!
Anyway to give you some background information about myself, a life filled with horses compressed into a few words.
I started riding at the age of 3, and until i reached 44, i owned numerous ponies, worked all my best years with horses, in riding centres, driving yards and spent 12 years managing an RDA centre.  
I spent a good deal of time riding for other people, schooling, sorting out problems and competing in showing, dressage, show-jumping, x country, and endurance.
And lets not forget a short dabble with Horseball.

This is Skittles.  I owned her for 10 years.  She taught me so much about competing. She had been there,done that.
We show-jumped, showed and did dressage.  She could be very hormonal but we had a very understanding relationship as long as I did what I was told!
Sadly she was put to sleep after a bout of colic which would just not stop, at the age of 24

This is Harry.  Harry came from a stunt yard.  He was only 5 when I got him, but had already had a chequered career, and several owners. Apparently he was dangerous, but as you can see here, he was actually a real sweetheart and I loved him to bits. 
Eventually I got to the bottom of his bad behaviour, a broken vertebrae in his spine, right under where the saddle (or rider) would sit.  No wonder he bucked for England!! After 2 years, he had deteriorated to the point where i felt it was kinder to have him put to sleep at the tender age of 7.

And this is Paddy, the love of my life. I first got him as 4 year old.  A wild little thing.  A real character!!  Full of intelligence and cheekiness.  We shared 12 years together.  In that time, we attempted showing (but his sense of humour mostly got the better of him). We did better at x-country, show-jumping and endurance though.
Our greatest adventure was driving down to Wiltshire, and riding 120 miles back up the Ridgeway, With my friend Tess and my arab Ryscheyed.  Tess and I wore silly ball dresses....just in case people didn't notice us, and raised £2000 for the Rda. But that's another blog. Seriously check out http://ridgewayromp.blogspot.co.uk/

Then I got ill and struggled to look after Paddy. So he went out on loan to a lovely family in Norfolk, and had 2 fantastic years, before he got a twisted gut. The only time in his life he was ever ill!!!   And how!  He was put to sleep at the age of 18.

Anyway to touch on that illness, without dwelling on it, I have something called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.  As I put it .....dodgy lungs and a dicky ticker.  At first I was really ill, and thought my life with horses was over.  I felt like my right arm was missing.  The condition isn't curable, but i am better than I was on a cocktail of drugs.
And then......
I met a lady called Jo who has a glut of rescued ponies, and started helping her. And then.......
4 weeks ago I got Charlie from a rescue centre. Very sensibly I have got a 3 year old !!!  As you do at the age of 49 with dodgy lungs and a dicky ticker.
So this blog is about my life with horses Part Two.
Happy reading.....