’What Buster’s done this year is amazing’

Back in the summer of 2002 I had no idea that I was about to fall in love, but after my dad told me about a gorgeous mare and foal he had seen in a field, I made it my mission to find out more. They belonged to a woman called Clare McKenzie who took me to see them. It was
love at first sight – I was immediately attracted to the piebald colt foal’s markings and temperament and I set my heart on owning him. I asked Clare if Buster was for sale. He was; so I bought him. He was to arrive in October, but the summer seemed to drag on. I was like a
little boy waiting for Christmas. The day he came home was very special. I’ve spent my whole life around
Shetlands, so he’s my first big horse, but I don’t think I’ll ever have another
like him. Coloureds are my favourites and there’s something about them you can’t
describe. After renaming him Intelligent Buster, I thought about what to do with him in
the future. I’d already set my heart on breaking him to drive, but what could I
do until he was old enough? I’d seen a Kelly Marks demon-stration at Greenlands I began to follow her
methods and I joined Parelli Natural Horsemanship to fill in the time. I’ve seen
how nicely a horse can go being trained that way. Since then I’ve been able to
do anything with Buster without him batting an eyelid.I also decided to have a go at inhand showing, and after our first show at
Crosby Ravensworth where we won both his class and the coloured championship I
was hooked. I’ve shown him in inhand classes ever since, and we’ve always been
in the lineup for the rosettes. I’ve shown Shetlands for my parents all my life, so when I got Buster I decided
I wanted some of the glory for myself. One of the things that attracted me to Buster was that he was so quiet as a
foal, and nothing seemed to faze him, which has stood him in good stead for his
driving career. This year he turned four, so we could finally enter the driving
classes at shows. Our first driven show was at Appleby, where we competed in the marathon and the
obstacle course. The obstacle course was great fun, very exhilarating, and we
came in a mere six seconds behind the winning turnout. More success followed –
we came second at Skelton Show and won both our class and the reserve champion
in the driving section at Keswick.We do displays too. He’s a born entertainer, and one of his party pieces is
standing on a box. People are amazed when he just steps up on to it, but he’s so
versatile and can turn his hoof to anything. This year he was the star attraction at Workington Carnival, although he did
have to share the limelight with the carnival queen who he took through the
procession. He loves showing off and he’s starting to get a bit of a following. One of his
quirks is when people feed him Polos. He was never given treats as a youngster
so he doesn’t know what to do with them and spits them out.

What Buster’s done this year is amazing. I’m hoping to do some of the bigger
events in a few years when he’s got even more experience – the sky’s the limit.