This is me with my horse Ash. Ash is a Dutch Warmblood. In summer his coat is deep mahogany bay but I winter he turns dark brown as his coat get shaggy and thick to keep out the cold. He’s 16 hands high, he has a very cuddly nature and he is a total superstar! Ash loves showjumping and dressage and his funny antics inspire lots of stories for the Pony Club Secrets and Pony Club Rivals books. My favourite thing to do is take Ash for a ride in the forest, trotting through the pines with my dog Alfie tagging along at our heels.
When I was a kid I had to beg my parents for years before they let me have a pony. I was ten years old when I got my first horse and her name was Bonnie. She was dark brown and she had a beautiful white heart on her forehead. My second pony was also a mare - her name was Black Jill and she had a white star on her forehead. I must really like mares because most of the horses I’ve ridden have been mares. I had a chesnut Thoroughbred mare called Maddie and a bay Warmblood mare called Luka as well. Before I got Ash I rode two other geldings (boy horses) called Dougal and Jasper and both of them were chestnuts too. Jasper was a handful! He would try to bite and kick me at the same time when I put his saddle on!
Ash never bites or kicks. He’s such a sweetie! He gets very well looked after and is groomed, fed, ridden regularly and given snuggles. But some horses aren’t so lucky. In the first Pony Club Secrets book Blaze, a beautiful chestnut Anglo-Arab, is rescued by the International League for the Protection of Horses. The ILPH ask Issie to look after Blaze and be her guardian.The International League for the Protection of Horses is a real organisation - they recently changed their name to horse welfare (and you’ll notice I’ve changed their name in the books too!).
Horse Welfare does an amazing job around the world helping horses in need. Pony Club Secrets is a supporter of Horse Welfare here in New Zealand. You can help your own local branch by getting involved - see their website link on the right for details.
Me with my previous horse Luka.
