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88 SIDELINES JUNE 2011 FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE P O L O

Kathy Linfoot bought Ribbet for her girls, but the little pony went on to teach half of Southern California how to ride (or so it seemed)

By Danika Rice

To a parent, the value of a good horse or pony can never be measured in money. You simply cannot put a price tag on the one that babysits without worry, that teaches more than we ever could as an adult, that inspires confdence and will just as quickly cure cockiness. Many horse families can trace their greatest childhood memories to a single animal, and for the Linfoots in California, their greatest link was a pony named Ribbet.

Corky and Kathy Linfoot purchased Ribbet for their daughters Jennifer and Laura, but she became a mentor and friend to kids all over southern California, including Mia and Jesse Bray and Hope Kerley, just to name a few. She began with Jennifer, and was then handed down to younger sister Laura. And so the tradition of riding with Ribbet began, and has traveled full circle to include Jennifer’s daughter Ansley before Ribbet regretfully succumbed to age-related issues at 35 years old.

Ribbet is fondly regarded by Laura Linfoot as “a credit to Shetland Ponies everywhere, by being just about as naughty as possible.” Full of character and regarded as a staple at Eldorado Polo Club, Ribbet spent much of her 35 years with a child on her back, polo mallet in hand. Well, perhaps more accurately, Ribbet spent much of her time teaching aspiring polo players and kids roaming around the club. With a smile, Laura says “I am thankful that I wasn’t given a sweet old polo horse to start with, but rather a crafty pony. I learned plenty of lessons while being rolled

on, bitten, kicked and generally made a fool of.”

Ribbet was gladly a pony who “did it all.” From polo to showmanship to 4-H shows and gymkhanas, Ribbet strutted around any available audience to show that she, indeed, always knew what she was doing, even if the rider on her back didn’t. Laura says “she wore blue ribbons like the color suited her, showing that she was all sugar and no spice. She knew the drill, and loved it.” The fashy paint pony with the pricked ears never ceased to make parents, and her riders, smile. She taught humility and confdence, all in one little 10 hand package. She knew when to be careful and when someone got “too big for their britches.” She knew just the right pace to pick, when a lesson needed to be taught, and when she needed to just listen. She was more of a teacher than most trainers could ever hope to be, and a priceless addition to each family’s life she touched. She was a pony worthy of recognition and tribute, far more than words written in a magazine. She is a representation, an icon of every person’s favorite childhood steed, a relatable link for each of you as readers to the animal who made you love horses in general, to the mark the special ones have left on your heart.

“More than anything she taught me to love riding,” Laura says, “to enjoy each moment in the saddle, and to appreciate the view of the world from the back of a horse.” This is the lesson the great ones leave us with, no matter how many or few years we had with them. And this, is why we remember Ribbet. Mia Bray with Ribbet

Hope and Kerry Kerley with Ribbet

The Truest Polo Pony

Remembering Ribbe t