Jocelyn
and her Eight Shetland Beauties
By Shannon Finkel - 08/08
NEIRAD enilno edition | printer friendly
When a person moves into a new house there are often a few scattered items to discard. There may be some renovation work to be completed. The Alfieris took it a whole step further when they relocated to Mansfield Avenue in 1990. The owners left several Shetland ponies creating a life-changing proposition for the new Darien residents.
The previous owners and their staff would still come over and take care of the animals despite the fact they no longer lived on the property. But soon the Alfieris got bitten by the equine bug and things quickly changed.
"I love my horses and my ponies!" Jocelyn said. "Raising horses has been fun and easy for my family and me. It only takes about an hour to clean, hay, feed, and water, so it doesn't consume my life. It is a daily job, like having dogs."
The Shetland ponies have changed this DHS junior's life. She started taking lessons and got so good she now competes in Connecticut, Vermont, and New York. Jocelyn is fortunate to actually have the ponies on her property for her training. The Alfieris are one of few Darien horse owners who actually keep ponies at their home.
The ponies left by the previous owners were not enough for the Alfieris. They soon received their own Shetland from a man named Mr. Barrett.
"Once Mr. Barrett gave us our first pony, we had to take care of it. That was how raising our own ponies began for us," Jocelyn said. "We have to feed and clean them, give them water, and give them hay every day. We take care of them ourselves with no staff, unless we go on vacation. Then, we usually have the groom from my barn take care of them." This first pony named, Jake, has since passed away, due to old age, but the legacy of the Alfieris raising horses remains strong.
The Shetland ponies’ name comes from their native land in the Shetland Isles in Scotland. They have heavy coats, short legs and are considered amiable and intelligent.
“Of all the ponies they are the most agreeable,” Dr Vicki June of Schulhof Animal Hospital in Westport said. “Shetlands are the Labrador retrievers of the horse world. They are easy keepers and good with kids: everything you would think about a Labrador retriever,” Dr June said.
A few months after Jake’s passing, Jocelyn and her family were yet again given a Shetland pony from Mr. Barrett named Bippity. The pony was small and more child- friendly for Jocelyn and her brother Michael, a DHS senior.
“Shetlands are the Labrador retrievers of the horse world."
The Shetland Isles in Scotland
Shetland ponies have changed Jocelyn’s life. She started taking lessons and she now competes in Connecticut, New York and Vermont.
Bippity was momentarily taken away to be bred and came back after 11 months, having her first foal. Jocelyn and her family’s new pony was named Barrett, in respect to Mr. Barrett for giving the family their first horse.
After Barrett, the Alfieris' next foal was born. “We named him ‘A Little Bit of Magic,” Jocelyn said. “We realized that having ponies was a privilege, but we had no idea how amazing it would be to walk out into the barn one day and find a new baby in the stall, standing next to its mother.” The pony’s name was later shortened to Magic.
Less than two years later, it was Magic’s turn to be bred; she had a foal named Itsy Bitsy, who was recently sold to a trainer and family-friend. “We had to sell a pony once we got up to our limit of eight, which is the limit set by zoning regulations for horses,” Jocelyn said.
Magic’s brother, Star, was born to Itsy Bitsy and Barrett. “Star’s full name, Barrett’s Star, comes from his father.” After Star came Tawny, but she sadly died two weeks after birth. Cooper was the next foal born. Cooper’s mother is Magic, and his father is Barrett. “He got his name from one of our favorite baseball places to visit: The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York,” Jocelyn said.
Another foal was born shortly thereafter. “When he was born, he didn’t have a name for a few days. When we needed to call him, we could just say, Come here, Bud!’” Eventually the name stuck, and now call him Buddy,” Jocelyn said.
Bippity had a foal named Joy next; she was Bippity’s last baby and the Alfieris second to last. The Alfieris' final foal is named Jackie, again for baseball, named after Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major league baseball player.
Once again the zoning department limit of eight forced the Alfieris to sell a pony. “We decided to sell Itsy,” Jocelyn said. “She used to do many pony rides and seemed to be the best choice as one of the ponies to go back into work. I often see the trainer who bought her at shows, and she will be coming to a few of my shows soon with the little boys that now ride her.”
Even Jocelyn's friends notice how enthusiastic she is about her horses and ponies. "Jocelyn is really dedicated and devoted to horses, and she is one of the strongest riders I know," said Brooke Knetzger, one of Jocelyn’s riding buddies.
“She is always up for a challenge and likes pushing herself to excel in the sport," Knetzger added. "She is also a really good communicator with horses and definitely has a way with them. Jocelyn and her horse, Cole, have a really special bond."
It's a bond that happened unexpectedly when the former owners left some Shetland ponies behind sparking a whole new way of life for Jocelyn Alfieri.