When Ben Maher met Pedro the Shetland

Remember Pedro the Shetland, the pint-sized pony who couldn’t see over his stable door? Well, he now has a specially-made door to suit his miniature stature – and his new-look stable was officially unveiled by Olympic showjumper Ben Maher.

Headlines

The story of Pedro made headlines around the world, after a group of children from the Ebony Horse Club in Brixton, London, devised a special periscope to allow the pony to see out of his stable.

“The response to the ‘Pedroscope’ has been quite remarkable. We received donations from as far as America and New Zealand,” said Sue Collins, Chair of Trustees at the Ebony Horse Club.

While the ‘pedroscope’ did show the ingenuity of the children, a more obvious solution to Pedro’s problem was to give him a smaller stable door. Step forward stabling experts Monarch Equestrian, who donated a new low door to the charity.

“The original plan was to get Pedro a mini stable but with Monarch’s very generous offer of providing a split-level door, we found an even better solution and we’re dividing a large stable into two,” added Sue. “One hundred percent of the donations will now go towards a bespoke partition so that Archie, our little Welsh pony and Pedro can be room-mates. They’ve become firm friends in the paddock so they’ll love it and we’ve freed up a stable for another, bigger horse.”

Visit

Ben Maher visited the yard on Thursday (23 July) to officially open Pedro’s new stable. The Olympic and European gold medallist also gave a showjumping lesson to five of the most experience riders at Ebony Horse Club.

“It was great to meet Pedro today – a very happy little chap,” said Ben. “The kids really adore him. I’m delighted he’s now able to see his friends out on the yard.”

Ebony

The Ebony Horse Clubis a community riding centre, which aims to improve the education and aspirations of young people through horses.

Many young people from predominantly black and minority ethnic backgrounds have learned to ride at the centre, which is situated in the middle of Brixton.

“I have met some wonderful young people today, some of which have great riding skills and horsemanship. You can’t underestimate the effect that horses can have on people and so for these kids to be able to regularly partake in this sport right in the heart of their inner city community is brilliant,” added Ben Maher.