Pony News, Views and Attitudes -- Vol. 2 Number 5 -- August 11-17, 2008 PAGE 5

CLUB PONY PALS READER LETTERS

Hi WebMaster!
Thankyou so much for replying, and giving me those websites! I am going to look at them right now.
I looked at what name your going to call the kitten, Tinkerbell!
Tinkerbell is so cute! And its great name too :)
Thanks for everything,
Hannah

 

Dear Pony Pal Hannah
You're so welcome. Tinkerbell is very cute and is also a troublemaker. She's always running around really fast, almost flying, and pouncing on anything that moves. She is starting to recognize her name.
WebMaster

Hi,i would like to join ponypals club.could you please send me the information .
Thankyou
Melissa

Can I join the wiggins weekly? Thank you very much! Brittany P. S. I have a question. When is the game avaliable?

 

Dear Pony Pals Melissa and Brittany
Welcome to Club Pony Pals. The game will move into testing within the next week or two. Anyone can sign up to be a tester by writing WebMaster@clubponypals.com and saying "I want to be a tester." Full launch of the game will happen later this fall.
WebMaster

 

Hey I am Holly I am 8 years old and i really want a pony but my parents will not let me get one, they keep on saying no horses are to expensive and need lots of room. But I asked my mom and dad but they said Riding Lessons are too expensive. What should i do? Holly


Check out the letters to Pam in issue 51. Another Pony Pal had the same question and here’s what Pam wrote:


My Mom gives lessons in trade sometimes. Here's how it works. First, you need to find a stable near where you live. You can look in the phone book under "horse stables." Ask your Mom or Dad to help you figure out which one is close to you.
Usually the easiest way to meet a person who runs a stable is to call and ask to take take a first lesson. That way you can find out if that trainer is nice. You also need to see if you like being at that stable.
After your lesson you can ask whether the trainer takes working students. That means you work to help to care for ponies in trade for getting free or less expensive lessons.
Not every teacher does this, but many will like help cleaning up pony plops, changing water and caring for the ponies. If you work for an hour or two helping them, they will help you learn to ride.
Once you work at a stable, that's the first step toward getting your own pony to ride and care for.

Mrs. Crandal would also say you can sign up to be a tester for our new online game. That is the fastest way to get a pony, learn about pony care and its free! Webmaster

What happend to Picture It? I waited each Wiggins Weekly to read it. Did you remove it from the web site to make room for new letters?
Summer

Dear Pony Pal Summer
I miss Picture It, too. 8-(
That story is written by Club Pony Pals members. If you write some more for that story we will put it back in.
Or we could take a new picture and start again with a new story.
Pongo is still in that quicksand, though.
What do you think?
WebMaster
PS Picture it is back! Read Summer's installment below. What happens next?

 

 

Picture It

The story so far....

Ponigirl writes:
In the picture it looks like the horse is saying, "What's that? Is it edible?"

Pam Crandal writes:
Meredith tells her horse, "You silly, I'm learning to drive…."

NB Elementary writes:
"You'll hurt my feelings. Why are you riding that funny little machine instead of me?" whinnies Squirrel.

Pam Crandal writes:
Meredith laughs. Then she says, "You are too big for me, Squirrel. I want a pony. Then I would ride with the Pony Pals, and...."

Summer F. writes:
"I'm not too big!" neighs Squirrel. "I'm just the right size!"

Lulu Sanders writes:
Meredith thought Squirrel was funny. She looked very serious. Really she was trying not to laugh. Then she said, "Some little ponies want to be big horses. You're lucky to be so big. "

Summer F. writes:
"I am not too big!" yelled Squirrel. "See, I can lay down and you can just hop on!"

Anna Harley writes:
Squirrel sniffed the ground with his nose. He pawed the dirt and bent his front legs. Then he bent his back legs. Whump. He was on the ground. "Its nice down here," Squirrel thought. "While I'm down here I'll ...."

Isabelle M. writes:
"... just eat some of this clover. Hey when are you getting on?????!"

Anna Harley writes:
Meredith looked at Squirrel decided maybe jumping on without a saddle or bridle could mean problems.

Isabelle M. writes:
"Ok Squirrel I will go home and see if I can find someone to ride you."

Anna Harley writes:
Meredith drove off to the barn. When she got there she was really surprised because she found...

Summer F. writes:
...A girl sitting in a stool. She had dark blonde hair, and was petting a dapple gray pony with a black mane and tail. "Who are you?" Meredith asked.

Lulu Sanders writes:
She quiet and seemed to be thinking, but....

Summer F. continues:
The girl didn't stop petting the pony. "Wait a minute," said  Meredith to herself, "she isn't petting, she is writing a note."

When the girl was done, she clipped on her helmet, and tacked up her pony. "He ya!" shouted the girl. The gray pony galloped. Meredith saw when the girl was away from the light, her hair was brown. When she was in the light, her hair was very dark blond.
   
When the girl and the pony left,  Meredith read the note. It said;

DEAR ALL PONY PALS: Pongo, the Appaloosa foal is missing. He's in the Darkwood Forest, (I found tracks). If you want to help, grab a pony and go. P.S. Sorry if I'm scared about Darkwood Forest; I had nightmares about it. SUMMER

Meredith was scared. "I have to help," she said.

She ran to find Squirrel. He was hiding behind a bush. "Squirrel! shouted Meredith.

Squirrel came out from hiding. "A foal has gone missing," Meredith said, we have to help them find it."

Meredith tacked up Squirrel.

"But, I thought I was too big for you," said Squirrel. "Your size isn't what matters," said Meredith, "the foal is what matters now."  

Meredith swung herself on the saddle and chipped her helmet on. "Hy-ho, Squirrel! Away"

With an angry blow, Squirrel galloped. "To Darkwood Forest!" Squirrel slowed to a canter, then back to a gallop. No matter how scared they were, they had to help the girl find the foal. "This could be he greatest adventure in all of Pony Pals History," Meredith said to herself, "We could be heroes. Just wait till the Pony Pals read this!"

Ginny S. writes:
Meredith and Squirrel rode carefully through Darkwood Forest so that they could hear any sounds that would help them find Pongo. Meredith had tracked deer with her father so she knew the signs to look for, that would tell her if an animal had come this way.

Rider and trusted pony moved slowly along the leaf-covered trail. When he came to a tree that had fallen across the trail, Squirrel refused to go any further.

Photo by Jeanne Betancourt

In this strange situation, Meredith thought about what her parents had said about horse behavior: "Mer-Mer, your pony has a special sense that tells it when something is wrong. Trust your pony when it stops and find out why it won't listen when you tell it to go on." Using caution, Mer-Mer slid off of Squirrel and approached the ground that was hidden under the fallen tree. Something was trapped...

 Summer F. writes:

Meredith looked at the fallen tree. She was about to, till a sound if hoof beats made Meredith look up.

She saw two girls on ponyback. One was the girl she saw in the barn riding her dapple gray pony, the other was a blond haired girl on a Piebald pony. Meredith rode to them. The girl slowed their ponies to stop.

"Are you Summer?" Meredith asked to dark haired girl. The girl looked at her in surprise.

"yes," she said, "yes I'm Summer."

"And my name is Sunshine," said the blond girl, "and my pony is Piddles."

More girls came on ponyback. One was a dark skinned girl with short, curly, black hair. Her pony was a sleek chestnut with a upside-down heart for a star.

Another was a pale skinned girl with thick, blond, wavy hair. Her pony was a dark colored, cute looking, dun Shetland pony.

The last girl was a pale skin colored girl with short, smooth, black hair. Her pony was a pure white one.

"We're here," said the white pony's rider.

"Are you the Pony Pals?!" Meredith asked is amazement.

"Yes," said the dark skinned girl, "I'm Pam, this is Anna, and Lulu."

"And our ponies are Lightning, Acorn, and Snow White," said Lulu.

"Wow!" said Meredith in amazement, "may I have you autograph?"

"I promise we'll give you our autograph when we find Pongo," said Anna. Meredith put the paper in her saddlebag. Meredith looked under the tree. Nothing. So the gang galloped on.

"Meredith!"Summer shouted, "look out!" Meredith halted Squirrel just in time before his hoof sunk into a puddle of quick-sand.

"That was close!" he said.

"Tell me about it!" said Hugo. He tossed his flowing black mane.

"Let's keep looking," said Pam.

"Let's go!" said all the ponies at the same time. As the gang of girls and ponies went deeper into the forest, a screeching sound came from the canopy. Lightning gulped.

"I don't like the sounds of this," said Snow White.

Suddenly, frightened whinnying came from deeper in the forest. The sound frightened everybody.

Hugo reared and neighed loudly. Piddles pranced in place. Squirrel jogged in circles. Lightning tried to run away. Acorn tried to buck Anna off. Snow White blew her nostrils.

"Wait!" said Lightning. She pricked up her ears. "I'd know that cry anywhere!'

"Pongo!" everybody said at once. They galloped farther. The sound was so loud, the girls felt like they were deaf.

"Look!" said Sunshine, pointing her finger to a Appaloosa foal. "It's Pongo!"

Yes it was Pongo, but he was stuck in a big puddle of quick-sand. The girls dismounted. They had to think of something, and fast!

Kayla writes a note to the rescue party:
Take a bunch of Wooden Boards and put then on top of the quicksand.

Walk slowly and carefully across to Pongo.

Then take shovels and carefully remove the quicksand away from Pongo's legs and hoofs.

Then you take Pongo's halter and put it on him. Then you take Pongo's lead rope and clip it to Pongo's halter and tie some rope to the lead rope and you and the pony's pull until Pongo is free.

Then you can walk back on the boards and walk home. Then you can wash and groom Pongo and feed and water him.

Pam Crandal writes:
Sunshine looked at Kayla's suggestion.

"That might work but we are in the middle of the woods and Pongo is sinking now! Does anybody else have a Pony Pal Plan?" she yelled.

Bobby writes:
Pongo is so afraid and so tired and he can’t pick up his legs.

The Pony Pals, Summer and Meredith start to make a plan. Pam has a spare halter and a long lead rope in her saddlebag.

If they could only put that halter on Pongo, they could lead him and help him pull free of the quicksand.

Summer got off her pony and poked down into the quicksand with a stick. It was not really deep where she could reach.

The Pony Pals decide to try and get to Pongo by tying lead ropes on to their waists. The third Pony Pal can wrap a rope around her saddle tie down.

A pony is much heavier than a foal. If the Pony Pal backs up her pony after the halter is on, it can pull both everyone out all at once.

Pam is the tallest girl there, so she...

THIS WEEK'S INSTALLMENT

Summer F writes

Pam had another idea. She tied herself with rope and tied the other end to a tree. Lightning nuzzled her. "Please, be careful."

"Don't worry, sweet girl," Pam said, "I'll be all right." She petted Lightning and walked into the quicksand. Pongo was shocked.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" he said.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you. I'm here to get you out of here."

Deep screeches echoed into the forest. Loud booming sound like a heart came from the canopy. Snow White gulped. Acorn was shivering.

"Shh. Easy boy," said Anna, "we'll be out of here soon." Pam held Pongo with one arm, and pulled on the rope with the other. Lighting was so worried she trotted back and forth. Pam tugged as hard as she could. But then the rope broke!

Lightning cried, "Pam! Pam!" she whinnied and reared with great fear. If fact, all of the ponies were scared.

'Wait! I have an idea!" said Summer, "A Pony Pal Idea!" She reached into her saddlebag, and pulled out...

What happens next? Write in and tell us -- you can help write this Club Pony Pals e-story! Send your e-story chapter to WebMaster@clubponypals.com

 

Pony Pals Thought for the Day

by Gladiola Montana

If you get all wrapped up in yourself, you'll find you make a pretty small package.

 

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