Young rider who excelled in dressage on RSPCA rescue takes on pony saved from shipping container – and wins

A young rider who has been excelling in dressage with a rescue pony rehomed from the RSPCA has a second mount – who was rescued from a shipping container, and has already won at his first show.

H&H has reported on Theo Charnley, who started riding in lockdown and within three years was a multiple national dressage champion with RSPCA George, whom the family rehomed as a “scruffy” three-year-old.

The pair have since won a host of dressage titles, but Theo’s time in George’s saddle was limited as he is now 12, and growing. His father Paul put the decision on his next mount to his son.

“We were looking at buying or loaning him one with a bit more experience, but Theo didn’t want to do that,” Paul told H&H. “The dressage world is full of amazing riders but you can get a bit caught up in getting the next horse. But Theo was given that option; we asked if he’d like a pony to take him to the next level, or to start again, and he chose the rescue.”

Paul spotted Jerry on the RSPCA website, contacted the charity and took him home in April

“Jerry’s was a weird case,” he said. “There was a complaint about dogs barking in a field and the inspectors found two shipping containers. They opened the first one and found about 20 dogs, then in the other one, they found two ponies. It was pretty awful.”

Jerry was in “pretty poor condition” when he was rescued, Paul said.

“The other pony, called Tom, sadly didn’t make it,” Paul said. “We adopted Jerry after some fabulous work by the RSPCA rehabilitating him, and he looked pretty good when we got him.”

Jerry’s passport puts him as a four-year-old but Paul suspects he is younger, and as he was not chipped when he was found, his age has to be estimated. He has done some long-reining and Theo has sat on him but the family thought it best to let him mature a bit before he is backed.

But he has been out in hand, showing at Reaseheath Equestrian Centre a few weeks after his arrival with the Charnleys.

“We thought we’d do that to get him out and about; we’ve never done showing but we thought we’d give it a bash,” Paul said. “We asked some friends who show what to do and they said we’d need all these lotions and potions so we bought them all – I realised that lot cost us more than the pony did!”

The family put in some work on the ground with Jerry, who Paul said took to it with alacrity, then went to the show, where Jerry won the newcomers’ and the cob class, then stood reserve champion.

“I didn’t have a clue what was going on!” Paul said. “When we got pulled in, I thought it was another part of showing, I didn’t realise he’d won. But the judge said afterwards we need to do some bigger qualifiers. Whoever bred him knew what they were doing. And now he’s in the field, growing up a bit.”

The plan is for Theo to move on to Jerry once he outgrows George. The Charnleys then plan to drive George, and see where Jerry takes them.

“Theo’s riding for England in the home nations in a couple of weeks, then we’ve got Area Festivals, regionals, Trailblazers – it’s incredible but we’re looking forward to coming away from it a bit next year, retraining George, and Jerry,” Paul said. “And Theo’s happy whatever happens; if he achieves anything, great, but his motto is that every day he wants to help them be better than the day before, that’s what he loves.”

Paul added that Theo paid Jerry’s adoption fee himself.

“We said he could put his Area Festivals championship prize money towards buying a new pony or a rescue, and that’s what he did with it,” he said. “It’s lovely that that one competition’s prize paid for Jerry.”

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