Once upon a time, there was a small, but spunky, little pony named, ironically, Pokey. Pokey was a fuzzy little pinto pony with the creamiest, bushiest mane and tail. Pokey was living a happy pony life at his current farm in the heart of Summerville, SC. There were many, many horses and children to fill his days with lessons, trail rides and grooming sessions.
Unfortunately one day his owner and barn manager got into an irreconcilable argument, and Pokey was moved to a new farm on a road off Highway 61 in Summerville (a very busy road!). This farm was not as much to his liking as it was not as well maintained, some boards were falling apart, and there were no children to spoil him with treats. (Pokey did not realize that his owner was making other plans to move him yet again to her own property – as she was in the process of fencing in her land.)
So Pokey devised a great plan. He would manage to escape and travel the long distance back to his other pony friends and the children who loved him so much. On a cool Wednesday evening Pokey decided it was time to go through with his great escape plans. Finding a board already in the process of collapsing, he threw his entire little pony body weight against it and managed to free himself and the other horses in his field. Freedom never smelled so good – like fresh clover on a sunny day.
So Pokey began his great adventure. His freedom aroused much jealousy from nieghboring horses. Many came running up to the ends of their fields to prance around and whinny to convey their excitement for him. Something like this never happened before. Pokey felt like a movie star.
So onward Pokey trekked and trekked and trekked and trekked. He felt there was almost nothing he couldn’t do.
Meanwhile, the new barn manager convinced he would return to where he was being fed, did not worry. In fact she didn’t even alert his owner of his absence until noon the next day.
Frantic upon hearing of the missing status of her pony, Pokey’s owner began calling everyone she knew that could help. Before long many, many people had hopped on ponies, ATV’s, and helicopters to search through the woods and swamps along Highway 61 for Pokey.
The search continued for two straight days and nights with no avail. Fliers were posted, police were notified, and yet there was still no sign of the pony Pokey. Sorrow and despair began to fill everyone as they came to the notion that perhaps Pokey would never be found. Maybe he was stuck in the swamp; maybe someone had picked him up and decided to keep him. There was just simply no sign of him.
By Saturday evening Pokey’s distressed owner was ready to call off the search. And then…there was a glimmer of hope.
Walking into a gas station to buy a bottle of water, one of the pony searchers was listening to a man at the counter ask about the pony on the posted flyer. He was telling the story of how his elderly father had called him about a pony that had just shown up in his front yard that morning to socialize with his ponies.
Could it be? It was over 15 miles away from the farm that Pokey had left, but how many missing ponies could there be?
Phone numbers were swapped, and a horse trailer was expedited for Pokey's potential retrieval. Excitement began to mount as Pokey’s owner gleefully made the haul to the elderly man’s home. Sure enough, that spunky pony had made it. Over fifteen miles he had traveled, and he was absolutely no worse for the wear. Relieved, she threw her arms around the pony, choking back tears of relief.
Pokey is now temporarily stabled at Traveler’s Crossing where we have determined he shall have a GPS monitor inserted into his halter should he try any of his antics again. However, reacquainted with another family pony and treats, Pokey seems content to stay.
I guess Pokey wasn’t so Pokey after all.
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