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‘He took us past Big Ben’: family’s driving pony off to HOYS and London International under-saddle

Alex Robinson Alex Robinson

    • A family’s much-loved driving pony has flourished in his new career under-saddle, qualifying for both the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) and London International Horse Show (LIHS) during his first season.

    Staffordshire-based Eve Meer’s traditional stallion Puzzel, who stands at 14hh, qualified for the traditional, native and cob pony of the year final at HOYS at Denbigh and Flint County last month with his rider, Eve’s friend and neighbour Ellena Thomas.

    “It was Ellena who said he was far too good not to be doing the ridden job,” says Eve, who bought Puzzel solely for driving.

    Puzzel was bought out of a field in Wales. He’d done very little and Eve and her family introduced him to being driven.

    “He is a true Gypsy driving cob; he’d usually drive between seven and eight miles per day, regularly taking us to the pub on a Thursday night for dinner,” Eve says. “We also took him on the London Drive where we drove around the city with 130 other outfits. He was perfect and didn’t bat an eyelid, driving us down Oxford Street, and past Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.”

    Puzzel, who has also covered a handful of mares, had done very little ridden work prior to eight months ago, as Eve explains: “He couldn’t even canter earlier this year. Ellena is just up the road from us and she regularly came to ride him. They’ve had some big wins together, though we can’t believe he’s going to both major finals in his first year.

    “We’re just a family who aren’t majorly competitive,” Eve adds. “Puzzel is our family driving cob, our pet really. I hope this proves that it is achievable to anyone. He’s a true Gypsy cob who has made our dreams in the show ring come true.”

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    Alex Robinson
    Alex Robinson

    H&H showing editor
    Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 since when she has cemented its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK.
    Alex Robinson

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