A year has passed since Polly, an 11.2hh grey part-bred Dartmoor pony, was stolen from her field near Grove but her owners haven’t given up their quest to find her.
Ron and Hazel Culley, of Stockham Park, Wantage, bought the pony when she was just eighteen months old. The Culleys grandchildren learned to ride with Polly, who “was loved by everyone in the family,” according to Ron. “Losing her is like losing a person”.
The 13-year-old pony, who suffered from laminitis and had to have special medication that came from America, was stolen from her field near the main A338 Wantage to Oxford road towards the end of August last year.
“My daughter Jill checked Polly on Saturday night and all was well,” says Ron. “Early on Sunday morning, she went down to the field and the pony had gone. Her muzzle was on the floor and her tack had disappeared too. The wires on the fence had been cut, the rails kicked out and branches sawn off. She was obviously led out of the field across the forecourt of the garage next door.”
Ron believes Polly was taken away in an ordinary transit van, because they found a makeshift ramp made of plywood and straw.
“She would have walked up a scaffolding plank if the children had asked her, she was so trusting,” he explains. “When the children were small, they used to ride their tricycles under her tummy and Jill’s older daughter, Claire, started riding her when she was in nappies.”
The family continue looking for Polly in fields and at shows, and have made a couple of trips to Stowe Fair but they have not been able to find even a whisper about the pony.
“My granddaughter Sophie has now got a Shetland pony but we would love to have Polly back, even if we had to pay to get her. We are still hopeful,” says Ron.
Polly had the freezemark code R97R on her coat. Anyone who thinks they may have seen Polly should call Wantage police (tel: 01235 776050) or Ron and Hazel Culley (tel: 01235 765680).
