Tony the Pony: A Short Story by Ohio Author John Williams

 

Tony the Pony

A Short Story by Ohio Author John Williams 

Most people who write about horses have a love affair with the animal that they say gives their lives fulfillment. Mine is not about a horse but a pony and he did not fulfill the life of this individual. I was a young boy when Tony came to my home. We were a family of little wealth but my father must have thought a working animal could make any farming chores easier. So one gloomy day he led Tony from, who knows where, into our driveway. It wasn’t delivered by truck or trailer but by foot. History seems to indicate it was many miles they walked. Tony was a coal mine pony that pulled coal cars and his age indicated he was not a colt. He also seemed neglected as it’s hooves hadn’t been taken care of and turned up really bad.

An incident with Tony happened shortly after his arrival. This story wasn’t yesterday but over seventy years ago. Our family was sucked into the latest rage; Television. Sunday mornings I watched the Golden West Theater movies and saw cowboys and Indians leap onto the backs of horses and ride away. This new pony was put in a small pen that had a shed with an opening just high enough to get out of the rain or sun. I knew zero about what makes a pony do anything you would like it to do but I saw Indians ride bareback so I knew I could too.

The day Tony came into our lives I noticed him walking into and out of the shed checking out his new surroundings. I saw my chance. I climbed on top the shed roof and took up my spot just over the opening. As Tony walked out of the shed I leaped onto his back. Three quick loops around the lot and I was still on top. I was thinking this cowboy stuff was easy when Tony headed for the shed. I realized then that there was a slight misjudgment on my part. I was soon dangling from the roof of the shed. Tony was also a biter. His quickness caught me off guard a few weeks later as he got my hand between his teeth. He never clamped down really hard but he wasn’t about to let go either. We stood face to face for the longest time. We development an agreement but Tony did nothing to fulfill my life or make it “Worth going back.”  

John Williams is the author of Worth Going Back: A Memoir of Alaska.