WHEN Paula Pearson’s parents planned to buy her a pony for Christmas, they hoped it would be the most magical of mornings. And it was – until the pony threw her into a brick wall. That Christmas Day, also Paula’s fifth birthday, was 61 years ago but Paula remembers every minute, and not just because she was taken straight to hospital.
Paula explains that she had been “born horse-crazy”, to non-horsey parents. And when her grandfather worked for a local man who bred Welsh ponies, his pay was a stallion.
“My great-uncle, who would have known better, wasn’t aware,” she said. “A neighbour had delivered the pony in a pick-up truck and by 5.30am, I couldn’t wait any longer.
“It was dark outside but they put me on the pony and he was fine. Then they wanted a picture. So they took one, with one of those 1950s cameras, which had a flash that would blind you, and as it went off, he threw me into the wall.
“So at 5.45am on Christmas morning, I was on my way to hospital, and all I could say was, ‘I love my pony; it wasn’t his fault’.”
Having escaped with bruising, for the next 18 years Paula enjoyed a great relationship with her Christmas present.
“He was a tough cookie, always pitching me into things; bushes, fences and trees,” she says. “And every time it was the same: ‘He didn’t mean it, Mama!’ But I never looked back, horses were everything to me.”
Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin December 24, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Horse & Hound dergisinin December 24, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
'He's barely out of the county...'
Minutes into a trip abroad, Adam’s superstitions are realised when things go awry on the farm. It’s all hands to the grindstone, proving that there's never a dull moment for Tessa Waugh
The last Edwardian sportsman
Sporting paintings by Raoul Millais, whose life spanned the 20th century, are hanging in hunting homes all over the country. Liam Clancytells us about the artist and his life well travelled
Gangster steals the show
The area trial is won by a combination on their first attempt at this level anda daughter of clone Murka’s Gem shines bright
Charlotte's clean sweep
Olympic hopefuls in action while Natasha Baker makes a winning return and Carl debuts his latest superstar
Woodward is a class act
A complex character rewards his rider’s patience with a third international win, while a 17-year-old makes her mark
Student has the Upper hand
A former showjumper and an osteopath take top spots, while a corner question causes cross-country problems
All change
The leaderboard tips upside down, as the top two plummet and Caroline Powell rises to triumph
A super day
Eric Winter’s track provides a brilliant cross-country day, with Irish first-timer Lucy Latta delivering the outstanding performance
Spooky 'Isaac' holds it together
The defending champion pilots a rising star to lead the first phase
'We all hate doing anything badly'
As part of H€SH’s 140th anniversary this year, we are celebrating Britain’s great horsey families with a series of interviews. In our third instalment, we speak to the multi-garlanded showing dynasty of David Tatlow, his daughter Loraine Homer and her daughter Alice