My name is Skylar-Mae and I am 2 years old, I was born in March 2019! I live in the South of England with my Mummy and Daddy along with our pony Woody who is kept a short drive away. When I'm not at the stables I can be found in the dance studio where I learn Ballet and Freestyle. I also enjoy baking cakes with Mummy (mainly because I get to lick the spoon) and playing with my toys. When I grow up I want to be Queen Elsa however I'm a bit of a wuss and don't like the cold so I may have to re think the whole ice palace thing. I'm sure a regular queen or princess will do. I love helping people so maybe I'll be a nurse like my Auntie Jessie? I'm only 2 so I've got a while to decide. Whatever I do, as long as there are ponies somewhere, I'll be happy.
Let me tell you about Woody... Woody is the best pony ever. He is a 13.2hh New Forest pony who my mummy has had for 11 years, a long time before I came along! He is 23 years old and is the cutest, cuddliest and most patient pony ever. I first met Woody when I was just 5 days old and started riding properly just after my 1st Birthday!
When I was 1, my mummy and daddy would hold me on Woody while I was riding so I didn't slide off but I soon got fed up with this and wanted to be more independent, but I wasn't really balanced enough to go solo just yet so they needed to look for another solution. Just before my 2nd birthday, they discovered Inky Dinky Saddles and knew straight away it would be perfect for me and Woody! I had been missing out on riding loads as Daddy works full time so wasn't always available to come to the stables with me and mummy as taking me out on Woody was a 2 person job (one to lead and one to hold me steady). Thanks to our Inky Dinky mummy can take me out by herself now and it means I get to spend so much more time with Woody. He's basically my pony now, sorry mummy...he loves me more...
My favourite thing to do with Woody is going out for rides down our local bridleway where there is no traffic and we can ride safely for miles. I also love getting stuck in with all the yard jobs and love to help make feeds, fill haynets, clean water buckets and help to groom Woody. My favourite part currently is helping Mummy spray the mane and tail detangler and getting to sit on him while I brush his mane. I'm also learning how to pick out Woody's feet with some help from Mummy of course as his feet are very heavy!
My favourite thing about my Inky Dinky Saddle is how safe I feel. At 13.2hh, Woody is a little bigger than your traditional lead rein pony but the Inky Dinky fits him perfect and he always seems very comfortable and so am I. Mummy and Daddy say the saddle is amazing because its so lightweight and easy to clean too (mummy hates cleaning tack so the synthetic one has been a winner, quick wipe over and good to go. I'm sure mummy will teach me how to clean tack as I get older so she doesn't have to do it herself.
It's not just me who gets all the fun out of our Inky Dinky Saddle though! My 3 year old cousin has ridden in it as well and she felt super safe in it and had never ridden before but did so well! I don't mind sharing sometimes.
Woody really is my best friend. Our Inky Dinky Saddle has helped our bond grow so much as I can be more independent with him and can go on longer rides without Mummy constantly worrying that I'm going to fall off every time the ground is a bit uneven or if Woody stumbles.
We love sharing our adventures on Instagram (Lifewithskylar30) and hope you will enjoy reading about what we get up to. Of course our Inky Dinky features in a lot of our photos, it's like a part of the family now and we wouldn't be without it!!!