Peppershaker came to Foxfield in the late nineties from Courtney Watkins, who had had him since she was about 9 years old. She said he was perfect for the first month, but eventually showed his true colors and bucked her off practically every time she rode him. The story was a little different during the summer when she would ride him two or three times every day. After awhile he was just too tired to buck anymore, so they had a better time together. All that riding and bucking made Courtney into a tough rider, so she ended up learning a lot from this naughty pony.
After her younger sister became a little timid in the saddle because of Pepper, the family decided to donate him to Foxfield. It didn’t take long for him to join the drill team because he was so cute and, amazingly enough, he took to the wire very nicely. Cameron Bradley did a great job on him during Equitana in Louisville, Kentucky in 2000. The crowd roared when they saw this darling little pony in the middle of all those full-size horses, always keeping up with the pace!
Sarah Tilley nominated Pepper for School Horse of the Month and had this to say about him:
Pepper is a sweet pony. I love him to death. Even though he has thrown me off he is still my favorite. Though he can be slow and stubborn, I think that he should be nominated because he is truly a great horse.
Camper Gigi Hadid described him as “very loving and cute...he is wise and knows what he is doing ALL THE TIME!” And Lauren Bell said “he has such a smooth canter and such a smooth jump! You can tell that he tries his best to please you. Even if he refuses, he’s not trying to hurt you. He’s trying to take care of you!”
It looks like he still has a little bit of an attitude, but Pepper is a special part of our school and Foxfield is very grateful to the Watkins family for their gift.
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