Rebecca Penny on her non-horsey begginings

We know her today as one of the leading native pony riders in the country, but Rebecca Penny actually hails from a non-horsey family and started her showing career on plaited ponies.

From the very beginning of her journey in the saddle, H&H columnist “Becki” has displayed a winning mindset which has helped her garner opportunities and take leaps to ensure she’s always furthering her career.

“I actually fell into horses,” said Becki, as she chatted to H&H’s showing editor Alex Robinsons on episode 88 of the Horse & Hound podcast. “My mum, who works in fashion, used to go to meetings in Halifax every week and it transpired that the gentleman who owned a factory owned some show horses and kept them with Janet Ambler. Mum took me over to see the horses and I had a couple of lessons with Adam Kemp, before Janet persuaded Mum to buy me a pony.”

“I’ve always been a bit of a wheeler-dealer and I’ve always looked out for situations which can eventually create an opportunity,” she said. “One year while at Royal Lancs, I’d done my show pony class and one of the owners had a Dartmoor who had been naughty earlier that day. One thing led to another and I arrived home with a 12hh Dartmoor called Rossway George, who was my first native. I bought him myself with my pocket money — it was a sum in the 100s — and he went on to fund the others.”

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Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.

‘I’ve always been a bit of a wheeler-dealer’: Top show rider on how she created opportunities as a young jockey

During her childhood, Becki spent a lot of time riding show ponies at the yard of the late Bob Templeton. She started her love affair with M&M ponies when she was 15 years old after attending the Royal Lancashire Show.

Becki’s commitment to furthering her showing career continued. She qualified George for the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) at the Scottish Horse Show before selling him with the ride and buying her Fell stallion Hesket Willow, who reigned in breed classes throughout his career under saddle.

“I’d been to HOYS on plaited ponies before but George was the first one of my own I qualified,” Becki said.

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