How to mount a Welsh cob .......
“He’s the once in a lifetime pony that every little girl should have” said Alysum Doak of her daughter Victoria’s pony Brego
I caught sight of the Welsh cob pony standing quietly but alertly as his young rider mounted him from a quad bike. His long rippling tail attracted my attention then his friendly but inquisitive eye drew me to find out more as I ‘stalked’ the combination at Canberra Horse Trials
"Dressage isn't his favourite phase" says Victoria but it seemed pretty good and they were 9th after dressage
I was certainly surprised to discover that he was 22 years old (you won’t believe it either if you watch his cross country round here - you'll see what Victoria means about the starter box too in our interview below) and that Victoria didn’t like him when she first sat on him a few years ago.
“We were approached by a family we knew who rang and said ‘We think Victoria should ride Brego’” Alysum told me “Eventually we said we’d take a look but the first time she rode him, Victoria got bucked off! I asked my older daughters to hop on and they both said that there was no way we should let him go, he’s perfect and he’s been with us ever since”
15 year old Victoria now says that she too absolutely adores Brego who she rides almost all of the time without a saddle at home. The pair has done everything together and now compete at EvA95 level, having dropped down from EvA105 due to Brego’s age and Victoria is bringing on a five year old horse in competition ‘with the help of Brego’
Brego and Victoria finished fourth in the EvA95B while Victoria’s young horse Blackall Park Rap was fifth in the EvA80 Junior. We found out more about Brego in our interview with Victoria below
Victoria Doake
