Read our wonderful poetry competition winners and finalists!

 

11 years and under winner:

Jasmine Massey

The Neigh Of An Arabian Colt’

I walk to a field nearby,

And there, the horses lie,

As I stand there i hear,

The neigh of an Arabian bay colt,

He  runs then stops to a halt.

 

The flying steed ran to his dam,

He curved his neck and cantered in style,

Oh did it make me smile,

He stood proud, head held high.

 

His dam snorted,

Oh how i love my horses,

There hoof-beats placed on my heart,

This mystical beast.

 

We are one,

They are me,

And I am them.

 

12 years and over winner:

Hannah Cameron

A Girl and Her Horse

Every day I look up to the sky
and find myself asking why.

Like why didn’t you take me with you? 
What else is there for me to do?

You leave me down here
in a world made up of fear
where there is just so much pain
which is driving me insane.

How am I supposed to keep living on
when you are now gone?

People tell me the pain goes away,
but I think it will always stay.

No one understands what I’m going through,
except for a few.

I don’t know how I am supposed to make it.
You wouldn’t have left me if I didn’t seem fit.

You always knew what was best,
that’s why I didn’t  really argue with you
when you wanted to lay down for your final rest.

One day when I’m ready, 
we will meet again.

And  I will go back to being 
the little girl whose horse was her best friend.

 

Special Commendation:

Jaimee Lee Wordsworth

Trail Ride Poem

Bird songs floating in the warm summer breeze

And the small wind blowing through the trees

The things I see and hear

With the new jodhpurs I wear

While on my very first trail ride

As the horses tails swish from side to side

 

The clip-clopping of their hooves in the air

The smell of the pine trees seems fair

When our group comes up to a skinny river

I feel nervous and I feel a sudden shiver

But I continue onwards across the water

As the trail has only been a quarter

 

The leader brings the line up to a hill

And the path is lined with yellow gorse

But with a bit of confusion and less of a will

The horse I ride turns backward and needs a little force

It is a little scary but we are soon put right

So our line moves onwards while enjoying the warm sunlight

It is time to head back to the stable for the day

So our leader takes us another way

We trot for a little while and I find it a bit bumpy

With the rhythm of the horse feeling quite jumpy!

The sun is still high as we walk back down

As not many riders are making a sound

 

When we get back we slide off our saddles

Minding the stirrups which are shaped rather like paddles

I go with my cousins back to the car

And thank my grandpa for the best day by far

For when I get back home I will be happy recalling

The very first trail ride that I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying

 

Finalists

Grace Spokes

Horses and ponies are creatures you adore.

Care for them gentily and they will love you more.

Change them, swap them, have a clean sheet.

They are an animal had to beet.

Build a friendship that will always last.

Stay with them whenever you can.

 

Rubie Morrison

blackened hooves, a matching mane.

through the fields, he will reign.

over the pasture’s, floors of green.

look closely. only then, he will be seen.

a warm and quiet, night of june.

eyes that twinkle, under a full moon.

the young stallion will dash,

at the stroke of midnight.

rearing, bucking, running.

soon the night will be winding down.

the colt will retire, upon the ground.

but, the sun, will rise, yet again.

and our little black colt,will have a new day to begin.

 

Ava Brady

The Grey Thoroughbred

The clang of metal the clash of gates

the grey thoroughbred breaks out quite late

with thundering hooves the grey does fly

he passes one horse two three and four

his jockey urges him just one more

They cross the finish line the other horse outrun

the jockey pats his shoulder for they have won.

 

Ella Shepherd

Robbed of Summer

The young horse kicks up his heels in protest of the leaving, bringing a cold frost in their wake.

The rivers would start dribbling over the banks, turning previously dusty patches on the quilt of his home into slop comparable to a pigs sty.

Days would curl at the edges, shortening time spent in the soft autumn sunlight.

The cold whip of the wind would whisk away any traces of leaves that might provide shelter while the miserable weather enveloped the world.

But in the darkening days with the spreading chill the tale of a young robin will be warbled to the horse as the heels he previously kicked up slid on the muddy ground.

 

Laoise McMahon

My Protector

You are trotting along cool as a breeze

When suddenly too, quickly you freeze

You are searching for something in the long tall grass

When suddenly I too see it pass

A tiny rabbit small so small and frail

It worried you because you care

You know I am the only Heir

And it is your job to mind my life

If you do not there will be a strife

 

Gemma Longville

Cowgirl, cowgirl going up the track

Cowgirl, cowgirl look at that

Cowgirl, cowgirl she ain’t going slow

Cowgirl, cowgirl look at her go!