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MOLLY’S PONY STORY
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When I was young we had only a couple of ponies. My first
two Welsh were Brighty and her daughter, Sparkle. They put up with
endless hours of wearing rope and lunge line harnesses and giving “Mrs.
Beasley” rides around the pasture. My first show pony, a registered
Welsh gelding named Spring Valleys Runner (Guy), came when I was ten
years old. We did everything together from riding bridleless to winning
national championships in pleasure driving. We also learned to jump
together. I would ride him three miles down the road, across a four lane
highway and over Interstate 90 to my riding lessons with Lyle McKinney
at the Ledges Stables. I even rode him with my leg in a cast! But in
1986 my mother purchased the stallion, GlanNant Epic, and from then on
we always had at least 20+ ponies on the property. Most of them were
ours but then there were all the visiting mares. |
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Molly, Mrs Beasley
& Sparkle |
Epic & Illinois Icicles |
Spring Valley's Runner
trots to victory |
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My mother, sister, and I did all of the chores ourselves. All the ponies
lived outside with run-in sheds. The worst was in the winter when we
would have to carry warm water from our house to the pastures. The hose
was always thawing in the kitchen. It seems like a five gallon bucket
weighs several hundred pounds when you’re ten years old. Trekking
through the snowdrifts in subzero Illinois weather was never much fun!
Putting hay in the mow was never much fun either. It was always so hot
and the hay would stick to you. Also, it never failed that you would
walk into school or some public place and have hay in your hair - and
you’d have manure on your shoes no matter what the season. |
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I really enjoy doing the
ponies. I rode a lot of green ponies and had a few ‘training’ ponies. I
don’t think they were naughty, just ‘misunderstood’. They have gotten a
bad reputation over the years but I think it developed because they are
much smarter than a lot of horses. They do things to entertain
themselves. Their brains are always a few steps ahead. If you think
about it, they do put up with a lot of stuff. Horses don’t have to put
up with so much. |
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I originally started riding
saddle seat because my parents stood the Morgan stallion, Cajun Pepper.
I rode with Dick Leadley of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. When I was eight I
won the Walk Trot class at the Morgan Regionals in Springfield,
Illinois. I started riding hunt seat when I was ten with Lyle at the
Ledges Stables in Roscoe, Illinois. Lyle gave me the opportunity to ride
many different horses and ponies. When I graduated from the junior ranks
I did the Amateur Owners for a couple of years on my rather infamous
Pass the Buck. Eventually I ended up working for Alex and Linda Jayne of
Our Day Farm in Elgin, Illinois. Alex gave me a lot of different
opportunities. We traveled all over and were on the road more than we
were at home showing in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky,
Michigan, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and of course Illinois. |
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Pass the Buck
at the Ledges Stables
Molly's favorite show
Quentin Pennsylvania |
5 year old Maggie Jayne and 20 year old
Spring Valley's Runner at Wellington FL 1990 |
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My favorite pony show was the
Eastern National Welsh Pony Show held at the Quentin Riding Club in
Quentin, Pennsylvania. Hershey Park (Hershey candy bars) was just down
the road and all the kids would get together to go to the amusement
park. It was a lot of fun because kids from all over the USA and Canada
would come to show. My favorite hunter show was the Bloomfield Hunt Show
in Michigan. The Grand Prix each week were the greatest because all the
big name riders would come to show. |
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I knew I wanted to be in the
horse industry but wasn’t quite sure how. I had always groomed, braided,
and ridden for different people but it wasn’t until I went to CSU and
started teaching a lot that I realized that I wanted to be a trainer. |
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My favorite thing is getting to
be with the horses. They all have such different personalities. I really
like to spend my quiet time grooming them before riding. You get to know
so much about them – you know what lumps or bumps they might have or
what mood they are in. You get to figure out what they like and dislike
even before you get on. Of course, they are always willing to lend an
ear when you’re having a bad day and are always eager to see you. The
horses are always a fun part of the business. |
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Guy as tandem wheeler
Midwest Horse Fair
Madison, WI c1991 |
Ledges Stables
1978 |
3'9" at Carl Bessette Clinic
Royal Primrose Farm 1979 |
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