Stolen Shetland pony returned to owner
A Shetland pony who was stolen from Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire on 19 October has been reunited with her owner.
The nine-year-old mare was one of eight stolen from properties in Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire between 11 and 21 October. The Northamptonshire pony was also found after local enquiries.
In a bid to find her pony — Helawi Cotton Candy — Shelley Coates called all her contacts in the horse world and found one of them had been offered the pony.
A call from an anonymous man followed and he returned the pony to her in a lay-by near Borehamwood on Friday.
Garry Porter, chairman of the UK Horsewatch Alliance said: “Sadly the owner had to pay to recover the mare, the full details are not clear at the moment.
“The amount paid was many times the cost of a freeze brand, something that would have probably prevented the theft in the first place.
“It’s a simple choice really, mark the horse or risk losing it, together with all the heartache and panic a theft will bring you.”
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.