As the name suggests, Pie is a black and white piebald pony and she joined us at the beginning of 2019 as a nine year old. She is 12.2hh and a hairy little pony who gets quite itchy in the summer so she wears a special rug to keep the mosquitoes away. She can be completely trusted with our most nervous riders and is a great confidence giver. Out on the roads nothing bothers her. At home, she lives very happily with the other Chalkdown mares and she has a cheeky nature and can be very comical.

Chase was born in Wales in May 2010. He belongs to Kay's daughter and he comes along to help us out if we need an extra pony for our younger riders. Kay has owned him since 2014. He is very cheeky, has a lovely nature with little children and loves hacking out and sponsored rides. He is a rather pretty 11.2hh palomino Welsh Section A Pony with a very fancy full name - Waithwind Wind Chaser. Chase loves being groomed and fussed over and he loves food, especially bananas! He doesn't like large men.

Buttercup (aka Bee) joined Chalkdown in July 2021, aged 6. We weren’t too sure we liked her name but as it is unlucky to change a horse’s name we just shortened it to Bee. She is a 15.1 middleweight cob and a beautiful dark liver chestnut colour. She has a kind nature and loves lots of fuss and people's attention. She lives with the other Chalkdown girls and is quickly learning her RDA role and becoming a valuable member of the team.

Daisy is a 16.1hh, 15 year old, Irish Sports Horse who, in her younger days, used to be a hunter and show jumper but needed a change to a slightly slower pace of life. She has a fantastic friendly nature and tries her best to please her riders, so is adapting really well to her new career as an RDA horse. She loves nothing more than a good groom, especially on the ticklish spot on the underside of her neck and chest, although her 2nd favourite thing is to roll in the field (even better if it's muddy) preferably straight after that good grooming session.

Barravalley Beauty is the newest member of the Chalkdown herd.    She is a truly golden girl – a striking blue-eyed cream Connemara who loves people and enjoys being with the other horses.    She is quickly learning her new RDA role and is not fazed by anything that is asked of her.    We are all looking forward to working with her over the coming years.

Joey, a 14 hand piebald cob, joined the Chalkdown herd permanently in December 2024, having already spent a year helping us out in sessions. With a been-there, done- that attitude, nothing seems to upset him and he is totally adored by us all. He has even taken some of our riders to Hickstead! What a Super Star he is.

Lara, our beautiful black Fell Pony has now semi retired, aged 28, after 13 years of service to RDA.  She is the most exceptional pony in every way, gentle, intelligent, brave and strong and she has always had the most extraordinary ability to judge her rider’s needs.  We have been able to trust her at all times to be calm and quiet with our most nervous riders.  Although she is no longer being used for ridden work, she visits local nursing homes for Tea with a Pony therapy with residents and she is also being used for grooming and close contact.  She has now been rehomed with our Coach Louise and is living the most wonderful life with Louise’s retired horse William.     

Fenella was a beautiful example of a Highland Pony with classic long flowing mane and thick bushy tail. She was donated to Chalkdown as a 4 year old and spent the next 18 years loyally carrying out her RDA duties. In that time, she stole the hearts of so many riders and volunteers. Always dependable, she was able to carry the heaviest riders but equally we knew we could trust her to keep even the smallest children perfectly safe. Her trot was incredibly steady, balanced and smooth which made her feel safe enough for even the most nervous, or wobbly, or physically disabled riders to have a go – giving them the opportunity to discover the joy and freedom of sitting trot.

On the yard she was one of the easiest horses to look after too. She was kind, gentle and patient, and loved nothing more than a good groom with a nice stiff brush.

All RDA ponies are special but our BALLEROY FENELLA was exceptional in so many ways, not least because she had a disability of her own. Back in 2015 after much suffering she had to have her left eye removed. This was not an easy decision for Chalkdown as we were concerned that her quality of life would be seriously impaired, but she made a remarkable recovery and after a short spell of rehabilitation was back working again with the Group. In more recent years she had been plagued by extensive melanomas which lead to a couple of serious operations but as usual she was the perfect patient and to everyone’s relief she recovered well and was back in work after a couple of months.

Over the last 8 years, Emma has loved and cared for Fenella, and a few years ago she also took on all her costs. Understandably Emma is heartbroken.