Early March of 2005 was the start of many hours spent volunteering and eventually working at our local Humane Society, Lollypop Farm (see www.lollypop.org).  I started out spending a few hours a week there and soon I seemed to live there!  Not long after I began volunteering 3 horses were admitted very thin.  One caught my eye;  Gypsy was the biggest of the three and the most colorful.   As time went on they began to gain weight and we started to train them.  All three wound up being wonderful on the ground and superb undersaddle.  It wasn't long until Gypsy was adopted out to a therapeutic riding program.  

That left us two horses from this group.  One, Chicklet, was believed to be about 30 years old so we didn't put much time into her.  She proved to be rideable and fine with pulling a cart.  The third was Bridget.  Somehow I was voted to spend some time with her and get her undersaddle-- she was a bit sassy at times! 

 

Through our ground work we found that she had a passion for jumping and this only made me more excited to ride her.  When I finally got on we noticed that she seemed to gait at times-- how cool!  I walked and trotted her and her paces were very quick, but I loved that!

 It wasn't long before I was popping her over some jumps up to two feet high, and usually bareback.  This pony that hadn't caught my eye at first was now my favorite to ride.  Beth and I would take Gypsy and Bridget (I'd always ride Bridget and always bareback) out on the trails and have some really great rides.  We'd go out and all of a sudden Beth would quick turn 180 degrees the other way and then watch because every time she did that Bridget would sit on her hind end and spin around!  This pony just seemed to offer more and more every time I rode her!

 Several people came to try her out that summer, one in particular I remember was a young girl.  Her mom rode first and thought Bridget was ok but they were looking to adopt the pony for her daughter.  The daughter got on and Bridget did her usual really quick trot around and I could see the girl was getting uncomfortable.  She got off and looked scared!  Needless to say they didn't adopt her.   

A few other people came to look at her as well and then I decided I wanted her; I just couldn't bear the thought of her going to someone else when she was so cool.  But I had one problem, no money and no where to keep her so she remained for adoption at the Humane Society. 

December, 2005 I got the bad news:  someone had adopted her.  It was an older lady but I was told that it probably wasn't the best match and not to fret as the chances of her being returned were pretty good.  A few weeks after that she was indeed returned.  That was it!  I couldn't pass up a second chance!  A short while before that I was hired by the Humane Society so I had enough money to keep her and a barn to board her at as well.  The deal was done.  I adopted her on March 18th, 2006 just 1 day before her one year anniversary of being admitted to the Humane Society.

When I brought her home her name immediately changed to Ginger because of her neat color.  Bridget always reminded me of snotty rich girls' names so i HAD to change her name.  

Everyone at our barn loved her and she was so eager to please.  We could let her run in to the barn from the pasture, every stall open and with food in each and she'd go into hers every time.  She was so fun to ride and jump and take out on the trails.

 

 July 2006 there was a benefit horseshow for our Humane Society across the street and we took her over there to show her and prove to the public that Lollypop Farm has some fantastic horses, not just the stereotypical rundown, skinny, companion horses.  I showed her in a 2'3 jump class and we hadn't ever really done a course of jumps before.  We walked in to that ring and it was as if she knew- all I did was sit and enjoy the ride and boy was it great!  There were atleast twenty people in the class and we got 6th place--in our Parelli halter might I add.  Also, we competed in a beginner trail class and got third place (Sweet Potatoe was second).  On top of my ride two kids rode her as well and had fun too!

I went away to Colorado and came back to see her and, through what I had learned, realized the pony I thought I had wasn't  the one I actually had!  I now noticed how unconfident she was with me, her environment and everything I asked her to do.  Based on what we learned in Colorado I didn't do much with her and made the little bits of time we spent together count for a lot.   I spent lots of undemanding time with her.  The more I observe her the more I realize there's a LOT to learn from this pony.  Sometimes she can be really unconfident and sometimes she can get a bit dominant and I think she really enjoys it when we work her brain!

In early December 2006 she was retired for the time being and was a companion to the neighbor's 26 year old pony.  The two of them resided in a 50 acre pasture which they had all to themselves and happened to be my back yard :)  She got reallly plump!

 

When summer rolled around my living and working situations changed and Ginger once again became the pony that so many people could learn from.  She enjoyed her job of teaching many kids how to ride, jump and handle horses all summer long.  We look forward to all the lives she can touch in the future.

 

She is currently teaching a young girl to ride and all about Parelli!