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Miniatures Sparking Joy
This article is from the August 2020 Horse Deals magazine.
The joy that Miniature Horses and Ponies spark for these next few owners is immeasurable and, in some cases, life-changing.
Mark Farrell
Mark, tell us a bit about yourself. I live in Hervey Bay, Queensland. I jumped into a swimming pool in 1995 at the age of 14, injuring my C4/C5 vertebra in my neck leaving myself a quadriplegic.
What was your history with horses prior to having Miniatures? My dad had Clydesdales, and when I ended up in a power chair they were too big for me, so when my late father and I saw Miniature ponies at a field day in 1998, we fell in love with them. We started with two, and after Dad passed away my little brother and I continued with showing and breeding them, and we are still going now, more than 20 years later. We breed and show many of our ponies at the top level in New South Wales and Queensland, including Sydney Royal and winning Supremes at Brisbane Royal Show.
What is it about the sport that you love? Number one is the ponies, but all the friends we have made over the years too.
What classes do you compete in and why? After many years of holding our ponies on the sideline while my brother showed them, a few ladies running one of the shows said to me why aren’t you showing them as you train them at home anyway. So I took the lead of our gelding in his classes that day, and I realised I did as well as my brother did with him. The last 15 years I have been leading our mares and geldings at every show we go to. I mainly do led classes, including the handler class, as I love competing against able-bodied handlers, including beating my brother.
What enjoyment do they bring to everyday life? They get me out of bed everyday, but just being around them brings joy. They are always loving. Over many years with a high-level disability, I am very satisfied to achieve at the highest level.
Geoff Ritter & Family
Geoff, tell us a bit about yourself and your family. Rachael and I started Divine Miniature Horses in 2010 when my team of three Miniature horses joined her team of nine Miniatures in Brooloo, on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
We have a family of three boys, Taylor (9), Cooper (7) and Nathan (5).
What was your family’s history with horses prior to having Miniatures? I grew up with horses all my life. My childhood consisted of pony club and then my family raced harness racing horses for 15 years at Redcliffe and then moved onto Miniature horses.
Rachael always wanted horses and had a big Thoroughbred she used to trail ride and compete at Wigee Pony Club, until the opportunity arrived to get her own Miniature horse.
How and when did you first get involved in Miniatures? I inherited my first three Miniature horses from my mother in 2003 when sadly she passed away from cancer.
Rachael and her family were always looking for Miniature horses and found Tiny Town Miniature Horse Stud at Cunangra, Queensland, where she got her first bred Miniature “LJ” Tiny Town Lightening Jack Flash who still shows today for the boys and Rachael.
Our show team grew and became even more successful with the influence of Melissa from Country Rose Miniature Horses.
What is it about the breed and the sport that you love? We love that you can do anything with a Miniature horse except ride them. Ranging from pets to competitive in-hand showing, harness and performance.
Miniature horses come in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, as the Miniature horse is not an actual breed but a height breed under 34”. The ideal horse is one that looks like a big horse, just in miniature.
Divine Miniatures have been showing since 2010 and we enjoy the competitive in hand showing, and watching our boys compete in youth classes at both State and National Level.
What classes does your family compete in and why? We love it when one of our Miniature horses compete against the big horses for Supreme of Show and even better when we win, which we have successfully done on a few occasions.
Taylor, Cooper and Nathan enjoy showing their own horses in Youth classes for showmanship, trail and hunter. They are very competitive, but also humble when they are beaten.
What are the benefits of sharing the passion with your family? Each boy has their own Miniature horse in which they practise at home, so when they get to a show they perform the best they can. So many people love watching the youth compete and see how they respond and act with their horses in different classes. From showing in hand, to the technicalities of a trail programme and the fitness of jumping events like hunter.
We also love the promotion side of Miniature horses, from fundraising at Bunnings BBQs, to displaying the breed at the Brisbane Ekka All Breeds Stand.
What enjoyment do they bring to everyday life? Having a horse makes you get out of bed in the morning because there is always something to do with feeding, cleaning and exercising them ready for your next competition.
We love breeding two to three Miniatures a year. We love seeing how something you created grows and how much love and joy they provide for other people. We have sold Divine Miniature Horses all across the east coast of Australia and are proud of all their achievements.
Malcolm Arthur
Malcolm, tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m nearly 80 years of age from South Australia and I’ve been tangled up with horses since I was about ten years old.
What was your history with horses prior to having Miniatures? My parents didn’t have horses, but my brother had a milk cart horse that I started riding when I was eight years old. I was going to try and be a jockey. I used to ride trackwork when I was 14, but then my weight got too heavy so I had to give that up. I then went into the trotting game for 21 years and then through a divorce I had to get rid of all my trotting gear. I got into showing Appaloosas and I became a judge and course builder for the AAA. I also competed in eventing but I hated the dressage — I used to get lost in that. When I was eventing, I had a fall and had to give up riding and that’s when I went into Miniature Ponies.
How and when did you first get involved in Miniatures? A friend put me onto Joy Johnson who runs a Palouse Stud out here at Windsor, SA. I purchased a six-month-old pony colt from her and I’ve now been showing ponies for the last 14 years.
What classes do you compete in and why? That first pony I bought, Toralea Kaptin Kontrol, is now the top Miniature in South Australia in harness and jumping. He absolutely loves and excels in performance classes, especially six bars. I try to run along with him but he’s usually up to the last jump when I’m still back at the fourth jump.
I obtained a little mare, Bundara Creek Lulabelle from a good friend and she does halter classes. She’s gone champion quite a few times and I’ve just broken her to harness. She’s also started trail classes.
Bundara Creek Lulabelle has also bred a little colt, Manidale Inspector Horatio, that has already taken out a few championships as a foal and yearling.
What is it about the breed and the sport that you love? They are so easy to handle and teach. When you teach them it just sinks into their mind. They can be a little about themselves at times, but they are such little darlings. Their temperament is beautiful. I’ve been able to put little kids on Toralea Kaptin Kontrol since he was two years old, he’s just that easy to get along with.
What enjoyment do they bring to everyday life? There’s so much to look forward to with the ponies — getting out, trimming and cleaning them up, cleaning all the harness — it just fulfils your day. Instead of sitting around and losing yourself, you are out doing something. All the time with them, the alterations, the training, it keeps you active. Because of my age, they are just so easy to handle and in the harness, I can get in and drive myself.
I also love helping other people, giving them advice on how to perform their horses. I break some into harness for other people, using my old knowledge from the trotting game too.
As the old saying goes ‘once you have sawdust in your nose, you can’t get rid of it’. Horses have been the love of my life ever since I was little and it’s been a life full of happiness.
Do the Miniatures keep you young? Between the ponies and belonging to three dance clubs and their committees, it keeps me fit and keeps me going. You can’t just lie down otherwise you’ll die, you gotta keep going.
For anyone interested in getting involved, Miniature Ponies can work for any budget, they are a comfort to have, easy to handle, they won’t cost you a mint to keep and are nothing but a joy to have around. If you’re interested, don’t hesitate, get one.
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