Meet our cover star, twelve year old Sia Reiss with her eighteen-year old pony Frankie!
Here are a few favourite pics from the photo shoot Sia won, taken by the talented photographer Katie Amos. In Sia's own words here is her winning entry, "My pony Frankie is 18 years old and has arthritis. His glory days are over. He is a one in a million pony and I love him so much. To me, the best way I can think of celebrating Frankie is having him on the cover of a wonderful book."
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Read our interview, with Tabby's Big Year cover star, Sia Reiss
What age did you begin riding? 7 years old
What is your dream horse like? My dream horse would be either an Arab or an Akhal-Teke for breed and a sweet temperament with a cheeky, lively attitude.
What’s your favourite thing about your pony Frankie? My favourite thing about Frankie is his lovable, cheeky character and the fact that he can always make me smile, whether he’s escaped from his head collar (one of his favourite tricks) and is munching away at the hay pile with that pleased expression on his face or has heard me coming with his breakfast and tells the whole world about it with his squeals.
What is your favourite horse memory? Ooh, that’s a hard one! There are so many good ones! It’s probably between my first canter and when Frankie came to live with us.
How often do you ride each week? Depends. I work on Fridays at a local stable which comes with a riding lesson but that’s the only constant. Normally about 3 or 4 times a week.
Do you get lessons with your pony or go to pony club? I have one lesson a week on Friday at the riding school on their horses and I go to pony club there.
How do you juggle school, friends and riding? I normally come back from school and spend time with the horses before doing any homework later on. I really only see my friends at school as they live quite far away. However, when they do come around, they’re normally forced to help out. I have tried to get them into horses but with no success!
What motivates you to ride? The main reason I ride is because I love horses and developing a bond with them. It’s such an amazing feeling when the horse responds to your lightest touch and you find yourself dancing across the arena. My ambition is to have complete harmony between me and the horse with nothing to control it with apart from my voice.
What are you most proud of in regard to riding? The thing I’m most proud of is how far I’ve come with regards to riding different types of horses. When I first started I was on the lunge on a handsome cob called Richard who was the calmest, good willed horse you could think of. Now I can ride all the cobs from schoolmaster Indie, who is currently teaching me how to have a strong leg yield to the newest member, Lady, who is teaching me to not give in when it gets hard. A few years ago I couldn’t have ridden any of them and the fact I can is due to my great instructor, Janice.
What is the hardest thing you have experienced in regard to riding / or horses? The hardest part in riding for me is getting back on after a bad experience and getting my confidence back. I’m getting better at it but it can still be a challenge.
What might other young riders be surprised to learn about you? When I started riding on Richard the cob, everyone used to call me Richard’s little pea as I was way too small for him and could hardly reach his tummy to kick him on. Nevertheless, he took good care of me and I have now grown into him.
What is your favourite part of the new Sweetbriars book, Tabby’s Big Year? My favourite part was when Tabby rescued Nancy from the meat yard. I was cheering her on all the way!
Who is your favourite character? My favourite character is definitely Tabby, although I like Violet’s funny quirks.
What are your hopes and aspirations for the next 5 years in regard to riding?
We have recently acquired two new mares {funnily enough, both are palominos}. Both have had little handling and were only broken in last Christmas. Although it will take a lot of work, I’m hoping to train up my mare, Massenet, to become a nice ride and build up a bond. As with Frankie, my main aim is to be able to hack out without him having a breakdown when a rabbit crosses his path. Yes, it has happened!
What is your dream horse like? My dream horse would be either an Arab or an Akhal-Teke for breed and a sweet temperament with a cheeky, lively attitude.
What’s your favourite thing about your pony Frankie? My favourite thing about Frankie is his lovable, cheeky character and the fact that he can always make me smile, whether he’s escaped from his head collar (one of his favourite tricks) and is munching away at the hay pile with that pleased expression on his face or has heard me coming with his breakfast and tells the whole world about it with his squeals.
What is your favourite horse memory? Ooh, that’s a hard one! There are so many good ones! It’s probably between my first canter and when Frankie came to live with us.
How often do you ride each week? Depends. I work on Fridays at a local stable which comes with a riding lesson but that’s the only constant. Normally about 3 or 4 times a week.
Do you get lessons with your pony or go to pony club? I have one lesson a week on Friday at the riding school on their horses and I go to pony club there.
How do you juggle school, friends and riding? I normally come back from school and spend time with the horses before doing any homework later on. I really only see my friends at school as they live quite far away. However, when they do come around, they’re normally forced to help out. I have tried to get them into horses but with no success!
What motivates you to ride? The main reason I ride is because I love horses and developing a bond with them. It’s such an amazing feeling when the horse responds to your lightest touch and you find yourself dancing across the arena. My ambition is to have complete harmony between me and the horse with nothing to control it with apart from my voice.
What are you most proud of in regard to riding? The thing I’m most proud of is how far I’ve come with regards to riding different types of horses. When I first started I was on the lunge on a handsome cob called Richard who was the calmest, good willed horse you could think of. Now I can ride all the cobs from schoolmaster Indie, who is currently teaching me how to have a strong leg yield to the newest member, Lady, who is teaching me to not give in when it gets hard. A few years ago I couldn’t have ridden any of them and the fact I can is due to my great instructor, Janice.
What is the hardest thing you have experienced in regard to riding / or horses? The hardest part in riding for me is getting back on after a bad experience and getting my confidence back. I’m getting better at it but it can still be a challenge.
What might other young riders be surprised to learn about you? When I started riding on Richard the cob, everyone used to call me Richard’s little pea as I was way too small for him and could hardly reach his tummy to kick him on. Nevertheless, he took good care of me and I have now grown into him.
What is your favourite part of the new Sweetbriars book, Tabby’s Big Year? My favourite part was when Tabby rescued Nancy from the meat yard. I was cheering her on all the way!
Who is your favourite character? My favourite character is definitely Tabby, although I like Violet’s funny quirks.
What are your hopes and aspirations for the next 5 years in regard to riding?
We have recently acquired two new mares {funnily enough, both are palominos}. Both have had little handling and were only broken in last Christmas. Although it will take a lot of work, I’m hoping to train up my mare, Massenet, to become a nice ride and build up a bond. As with Frankie, my main aim is to be able to hack out without him having a breakdown when a rabbit crosses his path. Yes, it has happened!
