Hidden talent

Yesterday I got Sophie, who has been helping out here for over a year,to tack up Cefn for driving in single harness.

Cefn has been doing more this autumn driving in pairs with a friends pony Sooty, and now he is going to the second indoor competition of the season with Julia driving him.

Sophie rides but recently I have been teaching her to drive horses and ponies. So when we had put Cefn in the carriage I just said to Sophie get on you can have a go at driving him. Knowing that she might or might not get on with him, as he is a very forward going pony.

She was very cautious to start off and had difficulty keeping him in walk as he tends to jog, but with reassurance from me that she was doing the right thing,she got him to relax and after a while was able to ask for trot and achieved a relaxed trot with him as well. By the end of the session she had him walking on a long rein looking very happy, both driver and pony!

So when I asked her to drive him again today she was very happy to do so, and progressed to schooling arround the cones at a very steady trot.

This is such an improvement for Cefn as in the past everything with him has been fast forward. But doing more with him with Sooty and in single is at last paying off.