Nickolas Nickelby

Horses have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My family has always had several ponies at a time, which we buy fairly cheaply, train, show and sell on.

Some people ask me if it’s hard to keep selling ponies, just after I’ve gotten to know them. But I guess I’m used to it, because it doesn’t bother me much. The only time I’ve been really sad at having to sell a pony was when Nicky was sold last season.

Nicky was one of my all-time favourite ponies. He was a stunning chestnut gelding, full of character and life. He was a stunning looking pony and a very polished jumper. Anyone could ride Nicky. He had lovely smooth paces, beautiful conformation and a stylish, honest jump.

We bought Nicky as an unbroken five-year-old. Gradually we broke him in, and in his first season schooling him and showed him in flat classes. He was very successful, and won a great many prizes.

We trained him to jump over winter, and took him hunting. My dad is the local hunt master, so my family has been hunting since way back when. Nicky was a lovely hunter, bold and fast. He kept up with the front of the pack and loved to ride right up with the whips.

The next showing season began, and Nicky went to his first jumping show. He won his first ever showhunter class, and placed in all of his other jumping starts, beginning the season with a bang.

He qualified for Pony of the Year, and I put in a lot of time training him. Unfortunately, in the week before, he came down with a bad cold, which put him right out of the show.

Not long after that, Nicky was sold to some people down south. I was reluctant to have to part with him, but I knew that it was inevitable, and knowing that he was going to a good home made it easier.

Shortly after arriving in Dunedin, Nicky contracted shipping fever, and died only a few days later. This was a shock to our entire family, most of all to me. I never got to say goodbye to Nicky. He left on a truck while I was at school. The last time I saw him was from the bus window, grazing happily in the paddock.

I tell myself that he is in a great place, with endless clover and heaps of friends. I know that the Lord will take care of him, but that doesn’t stop me from missing him. I only wish I’d been able to say goodbye.

 Pippa Harrison, 15
 NEW ZEALAND

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