Training with the legendary Pony

Remarkable weather we are having for October, don't you think- So warm and sunny, and still in the 80s for some! Well, at least in most parts, although the word generally is that we could do with some much needed rain, but we didn't have that problem on our visit to Maine recently.

For almost the entire duration of our visit, the skies were gray and filled with a dull, drizzly mist which periodically turned into heavy rain — good for the land of course, but rather dampening to the spirits. Still, we didn't let it spoil our fun in New Hampshire.

Our thanks go to Kathy Wile who helped us with our arranged visit (this time well in advance for a change) to Boo McDaniel's almost legendary "Pony Farm" in Temple, N.H., where we were to meet the famous GaWaNi Pony Boy and attend one of his clinics.

For those of you not as savvy about these things, Pony Boy ("Pony" to his friends!) is one of the well-known clinicians in horse behaviour and training who travels the country teaching us mere mortals how best to handle our horses.

He is a Native American and has written several books on the subject, including one, "Horse Follow Closely," which was part of the inspiration for our trip across America (see ponyboy.com for more).

We couldn't miss the opportunity to meet the great man and have him sign our T-shirt! I should explain that we have one pristine white T-shirt which has our HorseQuest USA logo on it, and which we carry around with us to have signed by any equine-related "celebrity" we meet on our travels. Our intention is that once we had finished our trip, we would frame the T-shirt and then auction it off to the highest bidder for the benefit of one or more equine charities - there are some pretty fancy names on there already, I can tell you!

Anyway, suffice it to say that the more we discovered about Pony Farm, which has no relation to Pony Boy, and their associated organisation, Horse Power, the more amazed we were at Boo's incredible work there.

Pony Farm is essentially a therapeutic riding center and there is so much that goes on there that it would take me an entire column just to list it all. But it started some 30 years ago with Boo running "summer camps" for young girls interested in horses, and then slowly ventured into the field of therapeutic riding, carriage driving and even equine massage.

Boo even runs courses on how to set up, manage and profit from your own equine center and trains the specialist instructors who run the therapeutic riding classes!
These instructors don't just work at Pony Farm, but go on to work for other centers throughout the country, and of course in some instances open their own approved centers. Thus the impact of Boo's ideas and good works is gradually permeating throughout the equine world, to the betterment of horse and human alike.

We didn't get to see a great deal of Maine from our short time there, but saw enough to appreciate the beauty of the landscape and the surrounding countryside. On a short break in the weather, we took advantage of the sun and hopped on our horses to discover a local trail or two deep into the woods around the farm.

We had a lovely ride on smooth unpaved, winding roads through the deep and colourful woodland, passing by enchanting stone and log cabins, and crossing small stone bridges beneath which ran bubbling creeks filled with fast-flowing, crystal clear water.

The sun would pop through the trees every so often and light the canopy with brilliant reds, yellows and greens of the fall foliage, and the air smelled so fresh and clean with just a hint of winter in it that it was a sheer joy just to be able to experience it.

Indeed, there was even a slope or two along the way steep enough for us to be able to take our foot off of the brake, open the throttle, and let the horses canter up it until they reached the top. Breathless, sweating and full of adrenalin, the blood coursing through their veins with the vitality of life that only a sense of such freedom can bring, we brought the horses back down to a slow walk, and eased back into the saddle - we were pretty "hyped up" by the end too!

But back to the rain, and thankfully the big indoor arena at the farm where Pony Boy would hold his clinic. Our horses, Max and Roo, had been out in the field next to the arena so were not looking their best when we brought them inside, despite having had rain sheets on them. Nonetheless we met the other participants of the clinic and proceeded to follow our "leader" in the art of getting one's horse to "follow closely."

The morning was all basic groundwork, whilst after a break for lunch, we spent the afternoon on mounted exercises trying to get our horses to go in the same direction as we wanted to.
It was all good, clean, fun as they say and in the evening we had a glass of wine with Boo, Pony, his assistant Dawn and a few others around a lovely warm fire in Boo's house, before we headed out to eat at a highly recommended "English Inn" nearby, so called because it was based on the real thing in the U.K. and was owned and run by a couple of Englishmen. It was a rather fitting way to end the day we thought, being a couple of Brits in a part of New England called New Hampshire!

David and Anita Hasbury-Snogles are British residents riding across the United States on horseback to raise money for charity. Visit HorseQuestUSA .org for more information. David can be reached at david_hasbury@ yahoo.com.