Mid Suffolk Show

Our first show of 2009! It was all go this weekend - Rebecca, Ronan, myself, Tinker, Simon and Alex (our new recruit - glamourous assistant in training) set off on Saturday in our HUGE new lorry for Stonham Barns and the Mid Suffolk Show. When we arrived and found a show programme we were delighted to see we were the cover girls - but it made us quite nervous! Having arrived and set up it was time for Simon's intellectual challenge number one - setting up the new toilet tent! None of us knew how to do this, and Becca was the only one who knew what it should look like, but nonetheless Simon succeeded and the new toilet tent was revealed! It really suits the glamourous assistant role - it is white and green with a turreted roof (yes - it has a roof!!) and the best thing about it is - it's waterproof! (Have that British summertime...)

At bedtime it was time for intellectual challenge number two - changing the seating in the lorry into a bed for Alex and Simon. We did the base really easily and then spent ages trying to figure out how to arrange to cushions - there were so many possibilities! We finally settled on an arrangement, but the bed was still a bit short, a problem which Simon (dressed in his fantastic bright red Coca-Cola pantaloon style pyjamas!) solved by opening the microwave and putting his feet in it!!

Thankfully the weather on Sunday was glorious, just what we needed for the start of the season. The show ground was lovely with a beautiful, flat arena - just what we like. Our shows both went really well, even though we were both very nervous beforehand. Our new, improved, faster roman riding to Greased Lightning was the highlight of the shows and the crowd loved it! We've even got 'T Bird' style leather jackets with Jive Pony and diamantes on the back - and not forgetting the glamourous assistant's Pink Ladies version!!

After the shows we went around the showground and came across the most enormous rabbit. His name was Bruno and despite the fact that he was only nine months old he weighed an incredible eighteen pounds! He was just huge, and made the guinea pigs next to him look minute! I was lucky enough to hold one of the guinea pigs (they are my favourite - I always look forward to seeing them at shows), a beautiful silver agouti boy called Rayen. I was talking to the lady on the stand and it turned out not only did she own all twenty of the guinea pigs at the show, but that she had another eighty or so back at home! That's one hundred guinea pigs under one roof!! We also saw some of the other displays: dog agility with the dogs jumping through fire hoops; sheepdog herding, with both turkeys (very funny) and geese; and logging with our next door neighbour Jason and his little horse Moonie.

We also came across a Rodeo Pig. He was big and pink with an evil glint in his eye... but not being afraid of a challenge we all took it in turns to ride him and see how long we could stay on! It was quite difficult and neither Becca, myself nor Simon lasted very long. However, Alex rides racehorses and managed to stay on for ages and ages! We took lots of photos of this and everything else, just click here to have a look at them.

We've got a photoshoot planned for Tuesday next week with a very good photographer called Fiona Bridgeland - I'll put the photos up as soon as I can!

Lots of love

Rosie xx

Christys' Hat Factory

Rebecca and I had a very exciting morning last Thursday at Christys' Hat Factory, just the other side of Witney. We were there to have our heads measured for the gorgeous Christy top hats we're lucky enough to have being sponsored for us. The very generous Justin, of hornetshats.com, is providing Jive Pony with top hats for the 2009 season, and the time had finally come for us to be fitted!

We had both been looking forwards to the visit to the factory for a while, and weren't disappointed when we got there. I have never ever seen so many hats in one place, and so many different styles, shapes and sizes! Have a look at christys-hats.com to get an idea of the massive range we saw. There were also stacks and stacks of the beautiful big red Christys' hat boxes, embossed with the gold lettering and towering up to the ceiling. Whilst we were waiting to be fitted we were shown around the factory, which was amazing. The most modern piece of equipment in the factory dates back to the 1950s, with much of it being older - from the 1910s and 20s!! The people working there were so skilled, and showed us how a fur melusine top hat is steamed, waxed and polished up so it shines like glass - Dave we were impressed! We also tried on lots of the hats, which was great fun as each one gave us a different character - click here to have a look at the photo's and see if you can find my Sherlock Holmes and Rebecca's Miss Marple!

It was finally time to choose our very own hats, but we couldn't decide whether we preferred the black top hats or the red ones, both were absolutely gorgeous and looked amazing - the black being more classic but the red being so striking and different - when Justin solved the argument by suggesting we both have one of each! Before we knew it we were having them fitted, which the lovely Steve (Managing Director of the company no less!) did fantastically, steaming and stretching them in no time at all. Having had our hats fitted and told how to look after them properly we were just getting ready to leave when Steve presented us with four of the gorgeous red and gold hat boxes we had admired earlier - one for each of our new hats!

We both had a fantastic day, and were completely overwhelmed by everyone's generosity, especially Justin and Steve. We currently talking about doing a promotional photoshoot with the horses for both Christys' Hats and Hornetshats.com, as neither Tinker nor Ronan want to miss out on any of the action! I'll let you know how we get on.

In the meantime preparations are in full flow for the first show of the season - now less than three weeks away. Hope to see you there!

Lots of love

Rosie xx

Prince Charming and the Highway Women

It was a while ago now but I spent my time between Christmas and New Year appearing in the Devil's Horsemen pantomime Cinderella on Horseback. I used to work for them full time but as Jive Pony takes up most of my time now I only manage to work for them ocasionally. It was great fun, especially seeing lots of my friends who I hadn't seen for quite a long time. Although I was in the panto last year it was only playing a sugar mouse, and I didn't realise until the very last minute I was going to be Prince Charming this year - with lots of lines to learn! Our first show was on boxing day evening, and as I had only had the daytime to practise all my lines and learn all the routines I was very very nervous. However, I managed to remember most of it and only had to be prompted a couple of times! We did seven shows over four days and I can honestly say I cannot remember the last time my body felt (and looked) so battered! Click here to see some photos from our shows over the Christmas week.

Meanwhile.....Stand and deliver! On Sunday 28th of December Ronan and Tinker did their bit for charity - by recreating a highway raid! Unfortunately it clashed with the last day of Cinderella so I was unable to join in, but here's Becca's account of the day...


Jive Pony supporter Babara Keen and I donned guns, swords, capes and thigh high boots to ride around our local Cotswold villages holding up cars, tractors, bikes and anything that moved really for their money! It was all in aid of the Brooke Hospital for animals in Cairo and developing countries. Jive Pony is an avid supporter of the Brooke as we understand just how important it is to have healthy and happy animals when you depend on them for your day to day work. The Brooke don't just treat sick and injured horses, ponies, mules and donkeys - they also educate the owners how to take the best possible care of them - something Jive Pony believe in strongly. The day was a great success and Ronan and Tinker had a fantastic day. We stopped at all the village pubs and Ronan performed tricks for the customers which went down nearly as well as all the mulled wine we got through!! We couldn't have done it alone though and massive thanks goes to our brilliant foot soldiers Leanne King, Allie Mills and the fantastic Purdy Nicholson who shot everyone whether they gave money or not!!! We raised over £200 for the Brooke which was gratefully received and we even ended up in several papers! Click here to see some of the photos of our adventurous day!

So there you have it - Prince Charming and the Highway Women - just another week in the life of Jive Pony!!

Lots of love

Rosie xx

Lots to talk about!!

Well - it's been AGES since I wrote on here so I've got lots and lots to tell you!

In a nutshell - I've played Prince Charming in Cinderella on Horseback; Becca has played a highwaywoman in a charity event; I am now a qualified massage therapist; Becca has been to Disneyland Paris auditioning for Annie Oakley, and meeting the owner of Cirque d'Hiver about some possible work; I've filmed Warwick Castle's new advert; and Becca has bought two new horses - Navvy and Folly! On top of all this we've been developing aspects of our shows ready for the 2009 season, so as you can tell, we've been very very busy! I'll explain everything in more detail soon.

Our first show is less than six weeks away, so we'll be out and about before you know it! We're off up to Stonham Barns on Easter Sunday for the Mid Suffolk Show - let's hope the sun shines and we look forward to seeing you there!

Lots of love,

Rosie xx

Showman's Show

Well it was a couple of weeks ago now but Rebecca and I had great fun at the Showman's Show. We set ourselves up a little stand in Peter Johnson's big top tent and covered it with lots of costumes, posters and photos, set up our laptops playing our show reel and website - and then realised the whole thing closely resembled both our bedrooms!

We were very lucky in that our stand was situated between a Terrier racing man who had three gorgeous (if slightly smelly) Jack Russell puppies with him, and Dingle Fingle's fire engine - both of which served as brilliant attractions and allowed us to accost lots of unsuspecting would be passersby!

It was a lovely couple of days - we made lots of new friends, and caught up with some old ones we haven't seen for a while. We even learnt a new skill - riding a penny farthing! This isn't as easy as you might think and we have Felix and Felix (or Kim and Nik - sorry guys!) to thank for letting us persuade them to teach us!

We also met some brilliant balloon modelists who could literally make anything from balloons. My favourite was when they made a little boy into a helicopter - who then spent the whole afternoon 'flying' around the tent! They also made us a really sweet little Jive Pony balloon model!

There were lots of things to see and do at the show, including brilliant tribute acts to Madonna, Amy Winehouse and Kylie on the stage right next to our tent. There was also a spider web tower to try and climb, It's a Knockout with Keith Chegwin, fighting giants, some farm animals and a pink plane piloted by pirates to name a few! Click here to see the photos of everything.

In amongst all this Rebecca and I did manage to schmooze quite a few show organisers - so hopefully we'll be getting some work for next year. Having said that the bookings are already coming in, we've even got a few lined up for 2010!

So even though the shows have finished Becca and I have plenty to keep us busy over the winter. I've just completed a massage course so I'll be spending the next couple of months doing case studies before my exams in January, and Becca is looking to do a personal trainer course, so we're definitely keeping busy!

We'll also be working really hard on all our shows over the winter - we've got lots and lots of new ideas so it's going to be fun trying them all out and finding out what does and doesn't work! I'll keep you posted on our progress!

It just leaves me to say thankyou to everyone who has supported us this season - it's been our best one yet and we couldn't have done it on our own so THANKYOU! And we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2009!

Lots of love

Rosie xx

Avon Riding Centre Autumn Gala

Jive Pony's 2008 season is over! We finished it with a lovely show at the Avon Riding Centre for the Disabled in Bristol. Rebecca, Ronan, Tim and I went down for the day yesterday for a solo show. As it was just the one show we left Tinker at home to have a day off - I think he was just pleased he didn't have to have a bath!

The show went really well - the audience were definitely the most receptive we've had all year! They clapped and cheered and booed in all the right places - I felt really guilty when I had to call them rubbish (it's in the script - I couldn't avoid it!) and they booed me for it!!

They had some other interesting displays throughout the day including a police dog demonstration and a display by the paralympic dressage gold medal winner, both of which were really impressive. However, the highlight of the day was the finale, where everyone involved with the centre took part in a musical ride with 'Grease' for the theme. I counted twenty horses and riders taking part - all dressed up as either a T Bird or a Pink Lady! You can click here to read a full account of the day and here to see some of our photos.

Both Tinker and Ronan are going to have a well earned rest for a while now. They really have both been absolutely amazing this year, Rebecca and I owe absolutely everything to them. They have coped with everything from blistering heat to knee deep mud and flooding, on top of spending endless hours on the lorry being trekked around the country - whilst always being calm, patient and willing, and looking after us as best they could. We really couldn't ask for more. Boys - we love you.

Although the shows with the horses are now over Rebecca and I are spending Wednesday and Thursday at Newbury Showground for the Showman's Show. We're there with our new agent Peter Johnson, and we'll be setting up a little stand and spending the days trying to promote ourselves and sell our shows! I'll let you know how we get on...

Love Rosie xx

New Website!

Look at our lovely new website! The whole website has undergone a complete transformation and is now completely up to date, with loads of information about every aspect of Jive Pony - and lots of photos of course! It's all thanks to the wonderful Scott, who has built the entire site in his spare time after seeing us at a show back in May, and both Rebecca and I are eternally grateful to him! If anyone out there needs any sort of work like this doing I can't recommend him highly enough - just contact us through our website and we'll put you in touch with him. To have a look at the website just click on the link to the right of this post and it'll take you straight there - happy surfing!

Rosie x