Gallop

Last year, when Sabina first joined pony club, at her first pony club rally she went on a mock fox hunt. Tornado's belly got stuck on one of the jumps. On the way home, she said that she enjoyed the rally, but needed a bigger pony. Well, I promised that I would buy her a bigger pony, when she learnt to canter.

Recently, she has been having a few problems getting Tornado to go forward. Finally, when even spurs didn't seem to work, I convinced her to try my whip. Sure, it doesn't glitter, and it's not a fancy colour, but it works.

She ventured into the arena, riding Tornado, whip in hand, and put it to the test. She was cantering around in seconds. In fact she got so enthusiastic, that the canter became a gallop. The gallop elicited a magic smile, and squeals of excitement from the little girl. She even seemed oblivious to the little pigroot he managed to add at the beginning.

It might just be time for a pony upgrade.