The newspaper team would like to thank everyone for the huge response we have had regarding true-life rescues. This week we have chosen players 'Dressage and driver' and 'Rabbits rock' as our true-life rescue heroes. Congratulations!

Here are their stories:

In August 2005, my sister drove to Vermont to see a woman about buying a horse. The lady had loads of miniatures for sale, which she informed us was due to financial reasons.

When my sister got out of the car, she saw Jasmine tied to a tree in a foal’s halter that was so small that it had caused her skin to peel. In the field with her where three stallions. Jasmine was heavily pregnant.

My sister went to untie her and to everyone’s surprise she walked straight into our trailer. The lady had no papers for her, nor did she know her age. She thought she was about seven.

After my sister had paid for her she drove her home, where a vet checked her over. The lady had tried to tell us that Jasmine was not pregnant; the vet placed her at around five months. Her skin was peeling off her face from the halter and she was a very ill little pony!

We nearly lost Jasmine due to complications at birth. The vet spent hours trying to save them. Sadly, the foal died and she will never again be able to have a foal due to the neglect she suffered from her previous owner.

A month after the foal was born, the vet came back to look at Jasmine. He found that three of her teeth were crooked and was the reason she was not eating well. He removed them and since then she has been fine. The vet also told us that he believed she was around 15 years of age. That's a long way from the seven years we were told!

Jasmine is now 16 and is the most adorable pony you could imagine, she whinnies and nickers whenever any one walks by, and has a fan club in a group of toddlers who come with their parents to see her everyday because she is so gentle.

At the present, I am learning to drive so I can drive her. She truly is an amazing pony. Jasmine is also teaching our other miniature that he does not need to flip himself over when we are ground driving him. She is the best and she knows it!

That’s the end of Jasmine's story, she is happy in her home with us and one thing that is for sure, she will never be sold again!

Written by: Dressage and driver

Edited by: Cherry of baviebabe

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My Dad's friend runs a racing yard that is home to five racehorses. When i was twelve i was allowed to ride these horses during their training sessions once around the gallops. One day a pony turned up called Gus. He had been saved from a stable that he had been locked in for five whole weeks. He had become highly strung and his old owners had been frightened of him. When he came to our yard, he was really nervous, where the owners had not looked after him properly, his hooves had become overgrown.

My Dad is a horse behaviorist and was employed to try and make him less nervous. I would sit and watch my Dad train him, and soon learnt all of his habits good and bad!

I was still riding the racehorses once every two weeks and racing was becoming my favorite equine activity! Six months after Gus came to the yard I was able to help my Dad back him. My Dad was sure that he would buck me off, but to everyone’s surprise he didn't! We believe it was because I had been the one who had looked after him ever since he came to the yard.

Eventually he was allowed to be used as a riding pony, he was fine unless the rider asked for a canter in which case he would start to buck until the rider came off. The only two people who he would allow to ride him properly were Dad and I. Needless to say the owner of the riding school put him up for sale. Quite a lot of people came to see him but no one brought him.

It was three weeks before my thirteenth birthday and Mum and Dad had promised me i could have a pony. We looked at some really nice horses; most of them were show jumpers and ex- racers. Usually, I would have loved all of the ones we saw, but none of them seemed right. After seeing the fourth horse, i told my parents that i wanted to buy Gus.

I thought they would refuse and was surprised when they agreed.

Thanks to the bucking, we got Gus for a bargain of £1000! Gus is the best birthday present i could ever imagine.

About two months after we brought him, i read in a magazine that the pony club did pony racing. I thought Gus would be perfect as he has a lot of speed, stamina and energy. I decided that i would give it a go.

I took Gus to my Dad's friends racing stable to have a practice session with the stables trainer. After the first session my legs were killing me! For those who do not know a lot about racing, the saddles feel really strange the first time you use them, because they don't have any support unlike an english saddle. They are really small with extremely short stirrups!

I decided to do extra exercise to build up the strength on my legs, as in racing you have to have extremely strong legs.

When we finally got to our first race, I was extremely nervous and excited. Gus was ecstatic due to all the other ponies. I was in a six furlong against nine other riders. (I was number five). We went into the weighing room and were given our weight cloths before we entered the parade ring.

The race lasted for about four minutes, but it felt more like thirty seconds. Going down the straight to me is the best part, everyone is at their fastest and it can all change with the leaders. Gus and I came in first place!

I never would have thought that the nervous little pony with overgrown hooves, would eventually be carrying me in races and become my best friend.

Written by: Rabbits rock

Edited by: Cherry of baviebabe

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