I was just two years old when Lable came into my life - or rather, I toddled into his. At 33 years of age, he didnt have much to look forward to, having seen generation upon generation of youngsters up through the lower ranks of Pony Club
and beyond; when we were offered the chance to have him, he had been turned out alone in a small paddock for two years. We went to see him for the first time....and nobody, not my aunt, my dad or my mum, could get near him! Whilst they all traipsed dejectedly back to the fence, their attempts at catching Lable thwarted yet again, I snuck under the rails and shuffled towards him, a Polo in my outstretched palm. And sure enough, Lable walked up to me (or permitted me to get closer to him, I cannot remember which!) and that was that! He came home with us that day.
He may have been in the twilight of his life, but Lable showed us that we would be foolish to write off an old pony. He, my dad and myself became undisputed champions on the local Lead Rein Jumping circuit; our only defeat occurred during a competition when my dad got a little carried away, and forgot to hold me on board...I slipped out of the saddle whilst going round a sharp corner, yet he and Lable carried on regardless, oblivious to the fact that I was bawling on the floor at Fence Seven! We would have won the class by three seconds...
Lable and I's other major successes occurred in the magical world of Fancy Dress. We began our campaign dressed as a mermaid/seascape, and graduated to a butterfly/tree. Most successful of all, however, was our most long-lived and spectacular attire - the bumblebee and flower. We made the front pages of several newspapers, and even managed to beat Prince Harry on more than one occasion!Lable and I had three wonderful years together. In the October of 1993, we had just finished our weekly riding lesson when Mum noticed that Lable was not his normal, happy self. He started to go downhill over the next week or so, and we made the decision that his time had come. My last memory of him is of us standing together in our old yellow Rice trailer - I was feeding him Cool Mix, and he was whuffling in my ear the way he always did. At five years old, perhaps I was too young to truly understand the concept of death and dying - but I did know that Lable was going on his last journey, and would not be coming back.
