Wearing your poppy with pride: unusually marked cob is a hit in the show ring
Dennis The Menace has a marking in the shape of a remembrance poppy
(Image credit: credits-unknown)
A mini cob colt has been wearing his poppy with pride this season — because it forms part of his unusual markings.
Thirteen-month-old Dennis the Menace, who appears to have both a remembrance poppy and kneeling soldier in the pattern on his back, has been a hit in the show ring, winning every class he is eligible for at riding club level.
“Quite a few people notice his markings, especially when I show him in hand, where plenty of people comment on it. Obviously it catches the judges’ attention as well,” his owner Sean Witham told H&H.
“I have had people asking for photos with him as the markings look like the war memorial. Lest we forget.”
He will also be able to show off his poppy to a bigger audience later this month when he appears at the STARS Champion of Champions event at Aintree (19-21 November).
Sean bought the colt from a friend who had acquired him as a job lot with another horse.
“I spotted the poppy as soon as I laid eyes on him, it just stands out,” he said. “She couldn’t keep them both, one had to get sold, and once I saw him that was it, I had to have him.”
Sean added that Dennis had grown into a young pony with “a really good nature”.
“I think it’s because he’s been handled from a young age, I could walk him down the A6 and he wouldn’t be bothered,” he said. “He’s the apple of my eye.”
You might also be interested in:
Lest we forget: remembrance rug raises funds for Poppy Appeal
Remembrance Day: how were horses transported during World War One?
We will not forget: remembering the horses who gave their lives in war
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