Team #694 Jayne Baker and Peter

Team #694: Jayne Baker and Peter
From: Avon, New York
Ages: 74 & 33
Combined Age: 107
Test: Introductory Level Test A
Date: August 15, 2023

I found Kim Sanford's Leg Up Stables through a friend. Initially, the riding lessons were for my daughter's eighth birthday, but it looked like so much fun that it didn't take long before I joined in and rode once a week, too. Before that, I had not ridden anything beyond sitting on a friend's pony when I was a child. I have done a little dressage as well as jumping, but I have not competed.

Of course, it was only a few years before I had two horses of my own: a Quarter Horse named Molly, who has since died of old age, and a New Forest Pony named Fame from Manoravon Farms in Guelph, Canada. I love New Forest Ponies as I saw many of them when I visited the New Forest in England, and I wanted to have one of my own. Fame is 25 now but wasn't quite old enough to do the Century Club ride this year—perhaps next year!  

When Fame became lame, I was given the opportunity to ride Pete. Pete was given to Kim a few years after I started riding at Leg Up. He was named Pepper, but he's always been called Pete. He's a half-brother to Erin Go Bragh—"The Little Horse That Could"—and this might explain his athleticism. He was well-known in the Genesee Valley and even had a book written about him called Pete The Pony, which is sadly out of print.

Pete has had a lengthy and varied career. He has foxhunted with the Genesee Valley Hunt. He has evented. He has also gone to Nationals for Pony Club Games Rallies. Kim, who is also the coach of the Geneseo College Equestrian Team, frequently used him in the intercollegiate horse shows. He was a favorite with many riders who scored well riding him.

At the ripe age of 33, Pete is still being ridden lightly and he is just as athletic in his old age. He jumps, he goes on long trail rides, and he is always game to participate.