I learned to drive as a kid at a Shetland pony farm in upstate New York. Everett Candage, the owner, allowed a pack of teenagers to hang out at his farm. He kept us safe and taught about horses, ponies and life in general under the guise of “work”.

After riding as an adult I decided to look into driving again. My last driving pony, In The Stars, was in her 30s so I needed to find a new partner. I was intrigued with the idea of driving a pair but concerned that two ponies would be hard to hold. An article in the now defunct Hoof Prints newspaper interested me in miniature horses.

We still had riding horses when I purchased What-Knott’s Prince Charming (a.k.a. Chappie), a 4-year-old stallion measuring 32”. He has such character that he wins the affection of anyone who meets him. After that I was hooked on minis.

Now the large horses are gone. All the stalls have been revamped to mini-sized. We have quite a group of characters lodged in our barn. There’s some ebb and flow of horses but Chappie will always remain.