Stolen Pony Saga
Friday, October 21, 2005
The saga of stolen pony Maverick has happy ending
A miniature Shetland pony colt that was stolen from the Scottish Borders on August 5 has been reunited with his mother this week - thanks to the combined effort of a clutch of organisations and people. Horse Watch UK, BHS Scotland, the SSPCA, several veterinary practices, police forces in Scotland and England, vigilant horse lover Cheryl Ryan, and the pony's determined owner Hazel Warwick all helped to recover Maverick.
The extraordinary return started in early August after a BHS Scotland statement announced: "Maverick - a jet black, 10-week-old, miniature Shetland Colt has gone missing from his field outside Biggar. His owner, the police and the SSPCA have every reason to believe he has been stolen."
The pony disappeared the previous Friday afternoon. Yet it turned out that, by the time the BHS released this information, Maverick had been found by a boy in Elsmere Port, Cheshire, having allegedly been taken from his field by travellers three day earlier.
It is unclear as to how he came into the possession of the boy who had apparently befriended the pony by a canal. One account says he found the pony, abandoned and soaking wet, in the canal. Another version says that the travellers saw the boy pet the pony and offered to give it to him.
Maverick, renamed Rambo, was then taken by the boy to live in the house of a local livery yard. Local horse lover Cheryl Ryan became suspicious after someone offered to sell her daughter a "toy horse". Cheryl had the sense to look on the Horse Watch UK website where BHS Scotland had posted the pony missing, and felt sure it was the same pony because of his age and description.
Cheryl alerted BHSS that she thought she had recovered the pony and texted pictures of him up to his owner, who was relieved that Maverick was apparently alive and well.
But the livery owner refused to release the pony to owner Hazel, querying his age and appearance. Luckily, Hazel who breeds miniature Shetlands and was able to get her vet to take DNA from Maverick's mum 'Chivas Toffee'
and his dad 'Resmay', and persuaded the woman who was keeping Maverick to release a DNA sample to her vet.
In a further twist to the tale, the sample went missing which necessitated a second sample to be sent to Ireland and, eventually, 17 days later, good news confirmed that the pony living as Rambo in Cheshire was actually Maverick, of Biggar.
Hazel's troubles were not yet totally over for she needed the assistance of the Elsmere Port police to pick her pony up!
Rambo is now reunited with Toffee, none the worse for his adventures 10 weeks and four days after being taken in the middle of the night.
Hazel said: "It has been a terrible experience but I would go through it again if it meant I got my pony back. I have so many people to thank:
Cheryl, who was so quick-witted and has a heart of gold; the BHS for reporting the pony missing and helping source him; Anna Brown who runs the vital Horse Watch UK website with the stolen pony register; and Doreen Graham, from SSPCA, who negotiated persuasively with police; the RSPCA; and others support throughout the affair."
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