If ponies could fist-bump...

Finding a new home for a pony sets Tessa Waugh reminiscing about her first hunting pony - and the realisation that the mother is just as important as the child in this human-equine relationship

SPEAK to anyone who rode as a child and they will tell you about the ponies that made them, or in some cases broke them. On my first morning's hunting off the lead-rein, hounds started to run and my pony, a Thelwellian bay called Ollie, left my mother's side and took flight across the rich, grassy pasture of the vale.

Hunting was his first love and there was no way he was going to spend the day mincing about on the periphery. For my mum, there was nothing for it but to kick on and follow, wondering what kind of blubbering mess (I was never the bravest) she would find when she finally caught up.