Story and pictures by Pam Gamble
For most of us, New Year's Day 2011 brought quiet contemplation of things to come. Maybe we even slept in after a night of revelries. For the ladies at Rollingwoods Farm, rest was not an option. New Year's Day was time to break the three-year-old Welsh ponies for the upcoming season. The young ponies were worked in a round pen one at a time, simultaneously being desensitized to the tack and to the chaos of children's games being played in the indoor arena.
Joanna Wilburn and Sally Ross Davis are two of the four sisters of Rollingwoods Farm; the other two sisters are Ruth Wilburn DVM and Stacy West. Joanna Wilburn and Sally Ross Davis put in most of the time in the round pen. They took turns lungeing and sacking-out the ponies, working them both ways of the rail. Then they saddled the ponies and lunged them with the stirrups hanging to desensitize them to movement at their sides. The ladies went as far as putting their weight on the ponies, but Nora Land, Kelli West and Turner Davis took the all-important first rides on the three-year olds.
Meanwhile, friends and family's children played games that are normally played on foot, on the older ponies, such as Simon Says, Relay Race, Catalog Race, and Arena Race. The game Treasure Hunting was an excuse to get dirty and wet in the creek, so the children's parents were told ahead of time to bring extra warm clothes. Some of the younger children started riding lessons under the watchful eye of Joanna Wilburn and Beverly Hollingsworth.
Joanna Wilburn explained her philosophy with young ponies: "I start them no younger than three. After evaluating their maturity, I throw the mentally and/or physically younger ones out until the next year. I think they need to be mentally able to handle what you are asking of them. Like people, they learn at different levels, so you must look at them individually. I also think if it is a smaller, finer boned pony, the extra year of physical growth is needed. I figure that since my twenty-three year old is still out there competing, that pushing a young two-year old is not worth the mental or physical stress."
The twenty-three year old she referred to was a National Champion last year and has been Champion many years in the past with several different children. Rollingwoods Farm produces fine show ponies, but the goal is always to produce a good, broke pony that can be a children's companion.
The colt breaking and pony games were followed by good food and fellowship, and the fun continued throughout the weekend.
For most of us, New Year's Day 2011 brought quiet contemplation of things to come. Maybe we even slept in after a night of revelries. For the ladies at Rollingwoods Farm, rest was not an option. New Year's Day was time to break the three-year-old Welsh ponies for the upcoming season. The young ponies were worked in a round pen one at a time, simultaneously being desensitized to the tack and to the chaos of children's games being played in the indoor arena.
Joanna Wilburn and Sally Ross Davis are two of the four sisters of Rollingwoods Farm; the other two sisters are Ruth Wilburn DVM and Stacy West. Joanna Wilburn and Sally Ross Davis put in most of the time in the round pen. They took turns lungeing and sacking-out the ponies, working them both ways of the rail. Then they saddled the ponies and lunged them with the stirrups hanging to desensitize them to movement at their sides. The ladies went as far as putting their weight on the ponies, but Nora Land, Kelli West and Turner Davis took the all-important first rides on the three-year olds.
Meanwhile, friends and family's children played games that are normally played on foot, on the older ponies, such as Simon Says, Relay Race, Catalog Race, and Arena Race. The game Treasure Hunting was an excuse to get dirty and wet in the creek, so the children's parents were told ahead of time to bring extra warm clothes. Some of the younger children started riding lessons under the watchful eye of Joanna Wilburn and Beverly Hollingsworth.
Joanna Wilburn explained her philosophy with young ponies: "I start them no younger than three. After evaluating their maturity, I throw the mentally and/or physically younger ones out until the next year. I think they need to be mentally able to handle what you are asking of them. Like people, they learn at different levels, so you must look at them individually. I also think if it is a smaller, finer boned pony, the extra year of physical growth is needed. I figure that since my twenty-three year old is still out there competing, that pushing a young two-year old is not worth the mental or physical stress."
The twenty-three year old she referred to was a National Champion last year and has been Champion many years in the past with several different children. Rollingwoods Farm produces fine show ponies, but the goal is always to produce a good, broke pony that can be a children's companion.
The colt breaking and pony games were followed by good food and fellowship, and the fun continued throughout the weekend.
