My Amazing Flower Pony
October 4th, 2008 is a date that holds much significance for me. Not only is it the anniversary of my wedding to my high school sweetheart, but it is also the anniversary of when I became the official owner of Minnow, so I planned a good celebration, with food and great decoration using a party supply tablecloth for this event.
Minnow had been living with me since 2003, when his then owners had decided to lease him out to me to use as a riding mount. In those 5 years I got to know an amazing pony that has since changed the entire course of my life. I knew he was one of those “once in a lifetime” ponies – and in the back of my mind I always feared that someday he would leave me.
When he was diagnosed with Ringbone in March of 2008 and his competition career came to an abrupt end, it became evident that the “backyard tricks” I had taught him were now more important than ever. Not only were they a way for us to continue to interact with each other, but they became something even more special that we shared together.
I knew that Minnow HAD to be at my wedding, he was such an important part of my life, and when my mom jokingly suggested he should be the flower girl, I set out to train him how to toss petals out of a basket. Tossing the petals proved to be the easy part, it was performing in front of a crowd of wedding guests that couldn’t be practiced.
Until today, I have yet to share the “real” wedding video of Minnow wowing my guests (and me). To FINALLY get it up for viewing I had to film it off of my computer and onto my iphone – so granted the quality isn’t the best. But, I’m proud to share with everyone, the greatest FLOWER GIRL PONY there ever was!
Not only was Minnow simply amazing, but he performed for my sister (and not me). Minnow has always been quite sensitive, and most times will only perform tricks for me – after we built a relationship of trust over many years. So for him to perform for my sister (who never works with him) and in front of a large crowd of people, it was an amazing accomplishment for him.
When I returned home from my honeymoon in Nicaragua I opened a very special card from Minnow’s owners. Their gift to me on my wedding day was Minnow! To know that he would be mine forever was one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me. I know that I’m truly blessed to have him in my life and I’m so thankful that we were able to find eachother.
So Happy Anniversary Minnow! I look forward to many more adventures with you, as I know we are just getting started!
And Happy 3 year Anniversary to my wonderful husband :), thanks for accepting my love for the ponies (and Ammo).
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OMG that is sooooooooooooo super! How did you teach him to spit them out? My horse would have eaten them(he even eats rocks, LOL). Anyway, I love it! And the best picture, is you kissing Minnow and your husband looking away. Sooooooooo cute!!! Thanks for sharing!! And I learned more of you today!
Thanks. It was all done with clicker training. He got rewarded for first putting his head in the basket, then picking them up, and then tossing them to the ground. He’s a very smart pony, so it only took him a few session to learn what I wanted. We practiced for about 6 months in various locations though ( he did it down in Chincoteague during pony penning in 2008), and then we practiced in the actual wedding location twice before the big day. So needless to say when the big day arrived I knew he would perform the trick – but the iffy question was would he perform for my sister (who he doesn’t have a strong relationship with) and would he perform infront of my crowd of guests.
I was never more proud of him when I saw him walk down the isle (I hid in the bushes because I HAD to see my pony walk down the isle). haha
I had my pony and horse in my wedding too. I loved it! They just walked with me. My dog was my flower girl and she was in the receiving line at the end.
Yes, I did have friends and family at the wedding, but……these were my very specials.
I love what you do with your family of animals and people. It is so very neat….