A Pony's Letter From Summer Camp...

If you didn't know I was crazy as a loon from earlier posts, this one will leave no doubt in your mind.  Let me give you some background on this:  My dear friend (who happens to be my very first riding instructor) lent my kids her daughter's first pony, Cookie, for the summer two years ago.  We joked that she was sending Cookie away to Summer Camp. To keep my friend and her daughter up to date on the pony's life, I began writing (in Cookie persona) letters home to Cookie's stablemates, as if she were writing home from camp. 

Sonny, John, Santos and Scooter are Cookie's barn buddies from back home.  The Dammit is my daughter, Sophie.  Let's just say I do not have the patience of a saint.  What I DO have is the mouth of a sailor, and in the first few weeks of getting the kids to take proper care of the pony we had many of what is referred to around our house as "Mother of the Year" moments where my sentences often started with, "Dammit (insert child's name here), what in the name of heaven are you doing?!?"  Or something similar.  You get the drift. 

So now you are up to speed.  This is Cookie's letter home after doing the Garden State Horse Show.  As you can tell, Cookie is a smart little pony, with quite a personality and very high self-esteem.

Dear Sonny, John, Santos, and Scooter,


Greetings from Camp Altea. Things are going well down here.

Me With My Entourage

The big news is that I was in a show last weekend! And not just some local yokel kind of thing, it was a big show! It was so much fun to get all gussied up and go show the world how good I am. I got a really nice bath, and then the braider came and did my mane. I love how I look when I’m braided but hate how they itch. Thankfully the Mommy likes to scratch the itches for me. I even got to wear a really nice fuzzy halter on the trailer and a very pretty Altea cooler and an Altea Baker sheet. I love horse show high fashion!

We did the Short Stirrup Division, which is, as you know, a walk in the park for me. There were some cute ponies there, but none as cute as me, of course! It was good to be back in the show ring, and I certainly let them know I was there to compete – I did my snake dance/head shake move any time one of those other ponies came past me and said something. Nobody gets to trash talk the Cookie Monster! Annabel thought I was funny, and one time when I went by I could hear her say, “Look at that pony. You know she’s saying, “I’m back, bitches!’ “ I like Annabel; she knows a girl’s gotta have a little attitude.

The Dammit rode pretty well. A kid cut us off once and we had a slight steering issue. I had to break into a trot and swerve to avoid a jump standard. I was really mad about that, because we were having a beautiful ride, and I thought about biting that little so-and-so that cut us off. The Dammit must have read my mind because she tightened up on my reins and turned me in a circle so I couldn’t, but you can bet I kept my eye open for another opportunity.





The Dammit and Annabel Discussing Course Strategy;
 I'm Checking Out the Competition!



I got a little excited and fast during some of the fence classes.  It feels so good to be jumping again!  Annabel told the Dammit to ride me out into the corners to slow me down.  I didn’t think the Dammit was listening (sometimes she doesn’t) but apparently she was because the next round she rode me into every corner of that ring and by gosh, a pony does have to slow down around tight turns.  Who knew? 

We did pretty well. We got a 2nd, a 4th, 2 6ths, and an 8th. I guess it’s not bad for our first time out and for doing an “A” show, but you know I prefer the higher placings. Blue and red look so much better against my shiny bay coat than yellow, white or pink.

Anyway, that’s all the news for now. I’ll write again soon. Miss you guys!


Love,

Cookie