It has become apparent to me that people rarely have just one Shetland pony. I call this The Shetland Pony Effect.
My first encounter with the breed was when my sister decided she wanted a black Standard Shetland pony as a companion for her racehorse. After scouring the For Sale adverts, we found a three-year-old gelding for sale and, long story short, Melland Jackson Jive came home with us!
A herd of Shetlands from the Melland Stud
The following year we decided to show him, and the results were amazing: Best Gelding at Lincolnshire County and the winner of the gelding class at Great Yorkshire. Since I’m shorter than my sister and more into showing, I handled him in the ring and had so much fun. I was hooked!
I resisted getting my own Shetland pony for several years until the Melland Stud offered me Melland Queen of Scots, aka Diva, who arrived as mentioned in my first blog.
Since then I have become a little obsessed with all things Shetland. I have been watching any TV show with the Shetland Isles in them. I have discovered the detective show, Shetland, based on the books by Ann Cleeves, and I’m busily catching up by watching the box sets.
But perhaps the greatest sign that I am suffering from The Shetland Pony Effect is that in July I will be heading up to spend a week on the Shetland Isles to view some of the studs and to watch the Shetland Pony Studbook Society annual breed show, which is back on Shetland for the first time in years.
We’re hoping to see some wildlife—puffins and otters in particular—but the real draw for me is to see Shetland ponies in their natural environment.
How the tables have turned! A few weeks back it was the horses on restricted turnout and now its us! It’s a very odd and scary time at the minute for everyone and I hope everyone is staying safe and well. We would also just like to take the opportunity to save a massive thank you to all frontline workers
This blog marks my first full year of sharing stories based around Diva and her stablemates, and it marks a very surreal and increasingly alarming time in the history of the world. Covid-19 has spread across the continents at alarming speed and the consequences of this are changing every day.
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Unfortunately being on lock down again due to the weather, then on being let out for the odd day they show their gratitude by trashing as much of the electric fence as possible!