Horses and a heatwave 50 years ago.
As we melted in last week’s heatwave, memories of 1976 - the year of the drought, standpipes in the streets and temperatures in the 90s (30s) – popped up everywhere.
For me [Liz Benwell] and my pony-mad friends, it was a glorious, seemingly endless summer of carefree fun. Off we went on our ponies for the day, a sandwich in our pockets. No mobile phones; you just had to be “back in time for tea.”
Show jumping was our ‘thing’ and I was excited to qualify for the Pony Wine final at Arena North. Yes, the alcoholic drink brand was sponsoring junior jumping - and everyone said cheers to that!
The ground (we only jumped on grass) was rock hard all summer. But my pony loved it. We wrapped her legs in felt brushing boots and gave them a good hosing when she got home.
Riding without one’s jacket – and a tweed one at that – was not an option. I found myself in the back of the St John’s Ambulance at one show having ‘flaked out’ from the heat trapped inside my nylon shirt and jacket.
Of course, so much about the feed, equipment, clothing and care we give our horses nowadays has improved. But anyone who remembers that summer of ‘76 will recall how we cracked on with what we had…
- What are your memories of horses in a heatwave from back in the day? Let us know at editor@equestriantradenews.com
