... this year's Christmas cards (thanks Pani! 
)
What happens to Ponies at Christmas?
Do they get allowed in their owners homes as a once a year special treat for Christmas Dinner, or do they have to spend a cold lonely day without even a carrot to eat. 
Well I don't know about other ponies, but I heard Clyde was planning to have dinner with some old friends at xmas.
If not I am betting he gets a visit on xmas day and possibly a chocolate or two.
Desert Princess went to post in answer to 'what do ponies do on Xmas day' but she has forgotten her HF password 
But I can tell you Clyde gets a visit on Xmas morning, and is taken for a ride up the lane come rain or snow, frost or shine. Then he goes back to his stable for a special Xmas breakfast of apples and carrots. Being a very adored pony he also has an advent calender with a horse treat behind each door for every day in December!
Here he is in his reindeer garb at a one-day-event on Sunday. Second prize was a big plush cuddly toy reindeer which Jay coveted from the start. He was in first place after the first two rounds but managed to avoid the first prize of a ghastly plush Santa by going too fast in the Cross Country phase - so the reindeer was Jay's! Clever old Clyde eh 
>>by going too fast in the Cross Country phase
I know nearly but not quite nothing about eventing...... but how can you go too fast in a cross country event?
I thought the whole idea was to zoom round in the required time or less, leaping (or not) the gates and bales that someone has inconveniently put in your way?
WD to the DP & Clyde team for avoiding the plush Santa. I would have fallen off to avoid it, lucky those two are more sensible.
It took me ages to get my head round the X-country rules too but here goes:
The time given is an optimum time. If you take longer, you are penalised (generally .4 of a mark for every second over, though it varies).
If you are faster than the Optimum Time, your time is bracketed after your name, and this is not taken into account unless you are tied with someone else on your overall score. If there is such a tie, then the person closest to the optimum time wins.
Jay and Clyde went into the X-country phase tied after the first two phases with another competitor, let's call him Champion. Both Clyde and Champion finished under the optimum time and incurred no time penalties, so to separate their scores first place was given to Champion for finishing closer to the Optimum Time (i.e some seconds slower than Clyde.)
Naturally Clyde was pleased with himself for thus preserving his image - "I went too fastTils! It were just too 'ard to keep me speed down!"
I think the organisers were surprised at our joy to be given second place - they broke the news gently as if Jay would be disappointed - and I think the way she grabbed the reindeer with stars in her eyes, gibbering her thanks, was somewhat of a surprise. But it really is a very nice reindeer, and it was a very horrible Santa - you could imagine it coming to life in the night and stalking the household with its beady black eyes shining with demonic possession and an axe in its hand.
Rudolph, as won for Jay by Clyde
Well done Clyde and Jay - that reindeer looks the beez kneez I would say! 
AWW The reindeer is lovely!
And well done!