Guest of honour: Shetland walks up the aisle
An equestrian bride was given an unusual horsey surprise on her wedding day.
Nottingham-based Paul Gribby arranged for Shetland pony Bobby to make his partner Faye’s special day even more memorable.
The skewbald gelding was walked up the aisle during the ceremony at Colwick Hall and presented rings to the happy couple.
Led by owner Debbie Priest, Bobby was turned out immaculately, freshly washed and complete with a diamante-braided mane.
The diminutive pony carried a special cushion on his back that held the wedding rings.
“The best man pretended he didn’t have the rings and then we walked Bobby in,” Mrs Priest of Clip Clop Pony Rides told H&H.
“Everyone was really surprised and Bobby was so good, he never batted an eyelid.”
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A video capturing the romantic act has since delighted viewers.
“It was Paul’s idea, he rang me and said: ‘Have you ever done anything like this before?’ I hadn’t, but we gave it a go,” said Mrs Priest.
“I wanted to use my grey pony Megan, who has done lots of work in care homes, but Faye used to have a coloured pony when she was a girl so Paul thought Bobby would be ideal.”
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Bobby is one of Mrs Priest’s 14 ponies, who are taken on therapy visits to care homes and provide pony rides for children’s parties.
The nine-year-old gelding has since has a field accident that meant one of his eyes had to be removed.
He is now enjoying a quieter life at grass.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.