Two ponies have tied the knot last week, after their owners arranged a wedding ceremony complete with bridesmaids, pageboys, tea and a “first dance”.
The Welsh section A bride Daisy, 15, and 22-year-old groom Raffie are owned by 10-year-old Lucy Wells and her best friend Georgie Orgill, who had been planning the elaborate ceremony since the start of the summer holidays.
Lucy, Georgie and Lucy’s sister Daisy, seven, organised every detail of the two-hour nuptials including the vows, a musical ride in the sand school as a first dance and a wedding tea with cake for both the human guests and the ponies.
“Lucy and Georgie have matching ponies who get along very well, and Raffie is nearly outgrown and will soon be retired or rehomed, so they wanted them to get married to confirm their love before it was too late!” explained Lucy’s mum Chrissy, who runs South Brockwells Farm and livery yard in Sussex.
“We had a bit of an in-house Pony Club camp this year, as for many reasons we couldn’t go to camp, and I was feeling a bit guilty so I said we’d do something at home,” she said.
“They planned it all and wrote the speeches and there were about ten children as bridesmaids, page boys, a maid of honour and ushers — everyone had a job. Hearing the vows was hilarious, they involved sharing bales of hay.”
Outfits were acquired from a charity shop, with Daisy also sporting make-up and a much-treasured veil which belonged to Chrissy’s late mother.
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“We lost my mum about nine years ago and she would have loved nothing more than seeing the veil put to good use like this,” she said. “Daisy was kitted out in net curtains and a tutu and — as mother of the bride — my friend even managed to find me a hat for 50p.”
Both 11.2hh Daisy and 12hh Raffie are usually kept busy with Pony Club activities and hunting.
“They are both really good old Pony Club ponies that have been there and done it. They look very similar and the girls like to do pairs and things with them — they’re the type of schoolmasters that are hard to find,” Chrissy added.
The wedding of a mounted policeman in Turkey was disrupted earlier this week when the man officiating the ceremony fell
South Brockwells Farm has been in the family for 40 years and is involved in many Pony Club and hunt activities, including hosting the annual children’s meet.
“Two years ago we were shortlisted for the Countryside Alliance rural Oscars and there’s always a lot going on but we’ve never had a wedding before!” Chrissy said. “It was all good summertime fun with the kids and ponies.”
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