Rush is an Exmoor pony. An endangered species - indeed rarer than the giant panda, but to be fair Exmoor is somewhat smaller than China. However the snag is that all Exmoor ponies have to be registered and therefore pass an inspection. They have features unique to the most ancient of pony breeds and it is important they remain true to type. Rush failed his inspection. Rush failed his second inspection. Therefore this little pony was no good and destined for the canning factory. Remember I mentioned Joe? The pony my parents bought me for my birthday? Well he is also an Exmoor pony - but a registered one. A proper Exmoor pony. With a hot brand on his shoulder and his rump. Well there has to be a downside to being registered. His original owners also owned Rush, who was now 2 years old and living on Exmoor - a heinous crime for an unregistered pony. I had a phone call. “We have an unregistered pony who will end up as cat food if you don’t have him”. What can you do? Memories of Jill
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How it all started. Well, I had always from my earliest memories wanted a pony. It took 30 years for my parents to buy me one. In fact I had to buy my own horse a few years prior to Joe’s arrival ..... but I’m confusing you. It’s not Joe I’m telling you about. It’s Rush. Rush is the pony I got by chance. When I was a child I avidly read the Ruby Ferguson books about Jill and her ponies. Every horsey child’s dream. I imagined someone saying to me “here’s a pony nobody wants - do you?” Then this reject pony went on to win all the rosettes, beating the double barrelled named children’s ponies whose parents could afford the best, most beautiful ones available.