Pony Rides and Friendships

A few months ago my daughter was invited to go horse riding with her best friend, it was a rainy and muddy day but that didn't put them off. My daughter was all covered up in her Helly gear, which is perfect for such occasions as this.

The first task when we got to the stables was to find a suitable helmet, it took a while as my daughter has a rather tiny head but eventually we found one befitting of her petit size and off we went to find her a horse. A rather beautiful specimen named Smudge, a very proud little lady took him down to the training paddock.

For someone so little, it was hard for her hold the reigns and keep her feet in the stirrups but she worked hard and got the horse moving around the paddock. Her little face lit up as the horse trotted round the paddock, as her confidence built up and with the help of the riding school staff the trotting turned to galloping.

As she turned the horse through the cones, her new found confidence grew and the look of joy on her face was just fantastic. Isn't it just amazing what children can do and what they can learn in such a short space of time.

As they trotted off into the muddy forest, I was amazed at the spirit of both girls, they didn't even look back, just off they went into almost knee high mud, doing something they'd never even attempted before. Not afraid and just happy to be on a horse, getting to play real life horse riding Barbie.

These two little friends are just inseparable anyway and for them to be able to have this first lesson together was just fantastic, so big thanks to her lovely mum for inviting us.

Life is full of adventures and this was just one of them, I can't wait to see what life holds for my little lady, to see where life takes her and what else she gets to try.

Happy Ponies Book Review

We were recently sent some of a wonderful new series of books called Happy Ponies, this series of 20 books are based on real life ponies that live on a farm on the Isle of Wight. Gail, the author taught the ponies owner Nicola how to drive carriages pulled by the ponies and whilst out on their trips, Gail would imagine different characters and scenarios for the ponies.

The bright and colourful book colours are appealing to the eye and the playful ponies on the front were an instant hit for my daughter who coincidentally, is going on her first horse ride this weekend as a birthday treat from her best friend.

The stories themselves are well written and feature real life situations that children can not only enjoy but relate to as well. Our favourite being the story of Malt Loaf and the Tooth Fairy, my son lost his tooth a few months back so this was something we definitely understood.

We have been reading these as bedtime stories and they make the perfect lighthearted story for the end of the day, if I could change one thing it would be the layout. To have the text split over the pages with a few more pictures would have made them more engaging. However I more than made up for this with my silly voices, which it states are more than appropriate in the front of the book, very good.

At the end of each book is a picture of one of the real life ponies and a bit about them, their character and likes and dislikes, this is a really great addition and brings the ponies to life. My daughter has loved looking at these and then looking for them on the front of the book.

These books would make perfect gift for a pony loving child, whether they love to ride them or just have an interest in these wonderful and majestic creatures. 

The first 3 instalments of the Happy Ponies series are available to buy from Amazon, for just £6.99 each. These stories are sure to be a staple on our reading list and have definitely been a bedtime favourite for us these past few weeks. We can't wait to see what other adventures the ponies get up to in the future.

NB: We were sent these books for the purpose of this review, all opinions and pictures are my own.