This is Willow, she’s a Welsh Pony that lives in our backyard. Willow is about 19 years old, and we got her two years ago. My mom found Willow through her friend who owns a ranch in Santa Ynes, where Willow was staying. She used to be a show pony, but now she’s a family pony that cruises the backyard with all the other animals and kids. Sitting on Willow is my little brother Maddox, he’s four and loves riding her around the yard, always in his cowboy boots.

Whenever there are left over apple cores, just open the window, and Willow’s there to help. She’s always looking for a quick snack to grab from the window or the nearest person.

My mom used to be horse trainer so all four of us have grown up riding and being around horses. When I was little I would come up to Santa Yes with her and play with all of the horses while she was working. So naturally I grew fond of them. When my siblings, especially my younger sister Leila, started to really get into to horses and riding, coincidentally Willow needed a home. My mom couldn’t think of a better opportunity, so we adopted Willow, sense then we haven’t stopped adding animals to the Hawkes family, were at 15! There are just so many different animals in our yard, they run into each other all the time! The pig in the front of the picture is our mini pig Bodhi. Willow gets along great with him, when she’s not practically stepping on him.

Aside from being the main focus in the yard, Willow loves to come into the house too. Anytime we have the doors open, she just walks right in. Sometimes we will just be sitting in the living room and all of a sudden she walks right in like she owns the place.

Thanks for reading my blog, there will be a new one posted to Hawkes Tales weekly, so like and comment if you enjoyed it!

-Haley Hawkes