Was it the Christmas issue of Carriage Driving?
If so the "Thelwells" are all my lot
I live in Shetland and have one or two of the Island original types. This is Andy and Charlie at a show in August. Andy is 41.5 inches and Charlie is about 40 inches.
This is Freddie the Frog (Foula Fred) who is about 38 inches. A very dear boy.
This is Nemo and Rinky Dink, very safe easy pair to drive.
And our little stallion under saddle and in harness
Whiffy and Andy doing Tandem Whiffy in the wheel is only small, she's about 36 inches and the smallest one we have.
And a bit of cone driving to finish
By the way England is not the home of the Shetland pony, neither is Scotland, It is a very thorny subject over here. Folk are often seen showing Shetlands wearing a tartan skirt or in parades they wear Tartan sashes. Plaid, or tartan is not worn in Shetland, Galic is not spoken, Bagpipes are not played,( there is a pipe band but that's run by a Scotsman).Nobody would be seen in a kilt.
Shetlanders have a tradition and heritage all their own, nothing to do with Scotland at all. We might be governed from Edinburgh, but that's their problem!
The Shetland dialect which is a language all its own is Norse. When I go to Norway or Iceland I can understand what they are speaking about.
This is one of Whiffy again with her owner, sadly out grown, but she learned to drive and is carrying on as a junior whip, with some success.
I agree with Rabbit'sFizz. They can make the most wonderful kid's ponies, but you need to ride shotgun on them, because they are too clever for the average kiddie who is small enough to ride them.
The pair, Andy and Charlie are not in any way a novice drive. They are a handful, but nevertheless a great team and great fun.
If you want a solid, driving pony, who can keep up with 16hh horses on a 20 mile drive. beat the socks off them in the cones and hazards, but are loving and affectionate, when they know who the boss is then the Island Shetland is you man.
Andy wouldn't scrape a kid off, neither would Norseman Froggie or Whiffy....there are no trees to scrape them off on! :lol: :lol:
Island Shetlands need work lots of it, a jockey small enough and experienced enough to ride them or a driver who wants a pony who is up for more than show drives. Showing to a Shetland is boring. Give them a X country drive, cones and Hazards and you will get them interested.
If you tell them to wait you somtimes get an opinion. Andy, on this occasion, with Charlie produced enough force to snap the pin on the pole! Nearly lost my backstepper and thank goodness for backrests on carts!
...having said all that Andy is 110% as an RDA driving pony. Never puts a foot wrong and allows all kinds of mistakes with drivers with additional support needs.