Pineapple has been enjoying his layover! Since his 12-year-old rider Lexi Miller had to fly back home to Wisconsin after the Pennsylvania National and go to school, Pineapple has been chilling out. Since Lexi trains Pineapple as her project pony, he isn’t being ridden by anyone else in between. To keep him exercised and sharp, his paddock buddy Dressed N Dapper, or “Danny,” made the trek out from Wisconsin to play with him.
Pineapple and Danny.
The two of them run and play and roughhouse—they go out together at home and love time on the road out together in the field. Danny is quite the escape artist; this summer, he figured out how to open the paddock gate at HITS Balmoral and the two went on a scenic midnight stroll around the showgrounds.
Trainer Emily Elek came over from the hotel when she received a call from night check that the pair was missing and they came right up to her truck looking for treats as she pulled in. Pineapple was pretty tuckered out showing the next day—it took a lot to get him out of bed the next morning. From Wisconsin to Illinois to Kentucky and now on to Pennsylvania, Maryland, and—coming up next—D.C., Pineapple has always has more fun with a friend to go on adventures with.
As the Pineapple is a tropical fruit, he has been less than pleased that winter has seemed to appear since he showed at the Pennsylvania National. Even worse, Emily has been putting on his hood over his neck to keep fuzzies from growing, which totally embarrasses him to his friends.
A bundled Pineapple.
Emily has been working with him every day in the round pen and keeping his fitness up while allowing his body to recover from all the travel and recent horse showing. Pineapple is excited for Lexi to fly back in tomorrow and get back to work with a few lessons at Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, before he heads into the big city on Friday to prepare for the Small Pony Hunters on Saturday and Sunday.
