Charles re-entered the arena. 'Thank you James and the lovely Princess of the Night' Another ripple of applause followed then he went on, 'As I explained, there is not time to do a full event justice so we are going to show just some of the highlights this evening. A full pony event lasts most of a day or even a weekend usually with some additional evening, er, diversions. More of this later.' He called out, 'Please lead on the ponies!' Seven more ponies trotted out onto the floor with Princess bringing up the rear. They all wore some variation upon the harness/bridle combination that had been explained before but there the similarity stopped. At one end was a petite, elfin-like brunette with short razor cut hair and a boyish figure. The next pair looked like show girls out of a circus. They both had a cascade of blonde curls and wore flared, wrap-around, micro-mini skirts in rich burgundy velvet, trimmed with white piping. Their long blonde tails appeared through a split in the rear. Their harnesses looked like bra tops made of white leather but with the cups missing and a sort of lace-up tie at the top. Ruby coloured studs were spaced along the leather straps. Their cowboy-style boots and bridles were in matching white leather, again with ruby studs. The girl to the left was quite plump and very well endowed. The lacing on her bra squeezed her large, pale breasts outwards and exaggerated her wide, rouged aureolae. Her partner was considerably slimmer and the bra and skirt helped to define some shape in her almost flat chest and slender hips. Both of them had pierced nipples, however, and a delicate chain and drops, again with the occasional ruby, hung between them. Matching chains decorated their navels and bridles. The end of a long chain appeared from under their skirts and dangled between their legs. It was only when Lucinda took a second look at the muscled legs of the second girl she realised that this must be the 'cross' that Charles mentioned earlier. They were immaculately made up and their bodies covered with glitter spray. Long white plumes rose from each side of their bridles and, unlike most of the ponies, their arms were free and they wore long white leather gloves with ruby studded gauntlets. They both giggled and nuzzled each other.

The 'female stallion' was less well disguised. She looked as though she could bend iron bars with her teeth whilst captaining a Russian trawler and still find time to eat an entire women's hockey team for breakfast. She wore a black Lycra one-piece with a studded weight-lifting belt and matching leather bands around her wrists, ankles and neck. The tight Lycra severely compressed her breasts and she stood, chest puffed up, with her fists resting on her wrists. The audience couldn't fail to notice the thick tufts of hair at her armpits. Her muscles were extremely well developed and could only have been achieved with the use of anabolic steroids and other hormones Lucinda surmised. Although she was some six feet tall and towered over the show ponies, the 'stallion' next to her diminished even her impressive bulk. He looked as though he had stepped from the pages of some bodybuilding magazine. He had long, straggly, dark hair, pecs like they'd been carved from stone and was baby oiled all over. It was like Antonio Banderas's head on Arnie Swarzenegger's body. Lucinda immediately wanted to place an order for one of those but suspected she'd have to remove the mirrors from her flat first if she were to get much service from him. Her mouth went dry at the thought of straddling a body like that and gripping those rock hard muscles with her thighs. Just one of his thighs looked the same size as her waist! If that was the case, then how big was his...? She pondered. He wore a sort of black leather pouch which, sadly, hid the part she was now most interested in but she still had the chance to ogle his tight, oh so tight, buttocks as they clenched at the tail that casually drifted down between his legs. Another male pony stood next to him but displayed his tackle for all to see, in fact his penis and scrotum seemed to be tied by a leather strap that ran from the belt in front to the rear. He was rigidly erect and seemed to be in seventh heaven already judging by the expression on his face and the droplets that glistened on his penis. Lucinda noticed an array of shining silver metalwork that pierced his genitals, nipples and face. The rest of his body was covered with various tattoos. A wicked refrain of 'Jingle Balls' ran through her head at the sight. 'Oh what fun it'd be to ride... The guy next to you!' she thought. The final new pony was a woman with a lovely figure further enhanced by a shiny, black leather or rubber cat suit. It was, unusually, split along the outside seams and had lacing that ran from her booted ankles to the mitt-like stumps on her hands. So, those are Pony Gloves Lucinda thought. The suit was hooded but cut away at her face, between her legs and around her breasts. The material squeezed them out like the famous Madonna bra. A very tightly laced corset in the same material provided further lift. Lucinda sucked in her own waist at the sight and guessed that her waist measurement must have been well below 20 inches. A long plaited rope of hair ran from a plume on the rear of the hood which even had little pointed ears; it was attached to her back and joined with her tail. Small tufts of her mane stood out from her back and had tiny black ribbons at the ends. All of the ponies wore one or more rosettes in red, blue, yellow and green. These were mostly pinned onto their bridles apart from Jingle Balls who had his pinned directly to his chest. Charles was running though a list of odd horsy-like names and the prizes they had won. The whole thing like the results of some previous meeting she presumed. It was probably fascinating to those in the know but instantly forgettable to Lucinda. She gathered that the ponies on display were the cumulative winners of various events over the past few months and were here as a sort of reward. Charles explained that points were awarded for overall grooming, fitness, tack, obedience and further points awarded for 'special' features that enhanced the human/pony concept. Madonna and Jingly had done particularly well here. For the 'working' ponies, points could be won by winning races, pulling weights, carrying rides and similar displays of strength. In addition, a stable, or collection of ponies, could enter team events and compete for marks that rewarded teamwork and combined strength. Like the more conventional equine events, trainers and owners could also win prizes. The limited space in the room prevented displays of most of this but Charles waved a piece of paper about that advertised the 'Berkshire Trials' three weeks hence. He pointed out that copies of this were available on the way out and contained an entry form. As Lucinda looked around the room and took in the positive audience response she noticed Peter looking at her in an odd and totally transparent way. 'On your bike!' she thought. It was time for some demonstrations.

The ponies were led to the end of the room apart from the elfin girl who wore only one rosette. 'Wood Spirit is one of our newest ponies and shows great promise.' Charles explained. 'In a moment James will use her to show how we use the long reins to train poise and rhythm but first we have to punish two of the ponies who misbehaved earlier.' This seemed to meet with universal approval from the spectators who cheered. The half-barrel was rolled to one end of the room and a similar podium placed at the other. A second groom, they were similarly attired and Lucinda had not realised there were two until now, inserted a long telescopic pole like a microphone stand into a hole in the centre of this barrel. The other groom approached Charles with a shallow wooden box and opened the lid as though offering cigars for Charles to select something from it. Charles mused and pointed in the box. The groom placed the box down and lifted a thick ribbed dildo-like object from the box. Lucinda noticed a sort of curved finger projecting from the base and a cable leading from the base to a small control box. The dildo was fitted to the top of the telescopic stand with the finger standing erect towards the front. Charles clicked his fingers at the cat suit clad pony who shook her head and started to back away, both grooms gripped her arms and led her to the podium. Their intention was obvious and Lucinda was both appalled and fascinated at the abuse the girl was about to receive. Her arms were pulled behind her and a sort of long tube laced up over her forearms and elbows until her shoulders were pulled right back and her breasts lifted. She still fought their attempts to force her to step onto the podium until one of the grooms gripped her left nipple in his fingers and viciously yanked her breast up. 'Shit!' thought Lucinda as she saw tears appear in the girl's eyes. She did place her foot on the podium however. The groom tapped her other knee and she stood astride the pole with its phallus jutting up between her legs. The grooms bent down and attached another telescopic bar between her ankles. They adjusted it so that it spread her legs apart to the extent that she was forced to turn her toes inwards to still remain balanced on the podium. Satisfied that she was now stable, one of the grooms untwisted the collar of the vertical post and lifted the upper section until the head of the phallus pressed into her vulva. With his other hand he spread her labia and eased the thing inside her by twisting it back and forth. Lucinda could hear her gasp as it entered and was worried she might topple as she swayed on the edge. Thankfully the second groom steadied her as his accomplice continued to drive the phallus upwards. Eventually it was fully seated and he aligned it such that the little finger device pressed directly onto her clitoris. They were still not done, however. The second groom gripped both of her nipples this time and lifted them until she stood high on tiptoe. The first groom pushed the newly exposed length of shaft into her and locked the tube. He picked up the control box and slid a switch. A number of sighs came from around the room as the audience saw the tip of the finger device slowly rotate and stroke her clitoris. Lucinda knew that she was sensitive there to the point of pain after she climaxed and felt for the poor girl as she wiggled vainly to escape the persistent massaging below. The grooms left her to her torture. Then one of them picked up some weights and placed them on the other podium. The other approached Jingle Bells.

His was a completely different story. He positively leapt onto the podium and appeared to pout as he looked longingly at his fellow sufferer's pole and the lack of a similar device on his stand. They did, however, spread his ankles apart but, rather than forcing him to stand on tiptoe, made him squat slightly. They then attached the massive weights to the rings in his penis and scrotum. The weights rested on the floor but the groom tightened the chords suspending them until they just began to lift. Lucinda turned to Peter who had a look of anguish on his face. He leant to Lucinda and whispered, 'As his legs start to cramp with the strain he will have to lift the weights to ease the pain.' Lucinda looked from one to the other not knowing which was the worst.

Charles thanked the grooms and turned to James who went over to Wood Spirit and attached the end of a coiled up rein to a ring at her rear of her waist. He unwound the rein as he walked to the centre of the room then held the remaining coils high in his left hand as he brandished a long handled whip in his right. Charles moved to one side and James clicked his tongue. Wood Spirit started to skip around in a circle letting the rein keep her path. Occasionally James would flick the whip lightly behind her and she would speed up. 'Notice how the skipping forces a rhythm similar to a horse's canter' James shouted, 'But her knees should be higher.' The whip caught the girl on the back of her thighs as James shouted 'Up!' at her and she immediately lifted her knees higher and completed two more circuits. A couple of tugs on the rein slowed her down until she marched in an enforced exaggerated manner like the royal guard of some obscure European state. 'Turn!' commanded James with another crack of the whip and she pivoted on her toe and started skipping in the reverse direction. Despite the strange spectacle, Lucinda could appreciate the therapeutic effect of the constant rhythm and was surprised how elegant it actually looked. She imagined how impressive two or four similarly clad ponies in a team trotting like this would look. James and Wood Spirit went on to perform further trots, canters, gallops and other equine walks that left Lucinda lost in the detail. She couldn't help glancing at the two ponies receiving their punishments. At one point the girl shuddered and nearly fell as Lucinda presumed she could no longer hold off her orgasm. Sweat poured off both of the sufferers, the girl's breasts were flushed and wet and Jingle Bells seemed to enjoy the pain of lifting the weights. At the end of Wood Spirit's exercises, almost to rub in the point, a groom appeared with a bucket of water and a sponge and wiped the thin sheen of perspiration off her. He constantly praised and stroked her as he did so, grinned and nuzzled against him as Lucinda had noticed Princess do earlier. Then came the turn of the working ponies. A sort of sledge some two metres in length was brought in and laid on the ground at the far end of the arena, James led Wood Spirit onto the sledge and tapped her leg just below the knee. She knelt down on her heels. Next Trawler Captain and Antonio/Arnie appeared. They both had on much sturdier harnesses than before with thick chains hanging from the back. Lucinda noticed they both wore hiking boots. Charles said, 'With the limited space here we can only have a static dragging heat but it will still give you an idea of the sort of events we run.' 'The principle is very simple. Each pony takes it in turns to drag a fixed weight, in this case one of the prettiest weights I've seen' he smiled at Wood Spirit who blushed and also couldn't help smiling, 'over a fixed distance and their time is recorded. The winner is the one with the shortest time out of three attempts. 'A handicap system is used based upon previous form. In this case El Caballo Padre de Castell n has a two second penalty and goes last He was pointing to Antonio/Arnie - so he was Spanish? Lucinda could envisage him Flamenco dancing or bull fighting but she couldn't decipher his name and settled on 'El' for short. A groom, riding crop in hand, timidly approached the Trawler Captain who snorted at him and stamped her feet. He grabbed her reins and dealt her a sharp blow on the buttocks with the crop. This enraged her further and she pulled at the reins until three more blows subdued her sufficiently for the groom to lead her to a point in front of the sledge. The other groom attached the chains on her harness to two ropes attached to the sledge. The pony bucked and twisted until more blows reduced her to hissing through her bit as she glowered at the grooms. Peter whispered to Lucinda. 'She's working up her adrenalin, this sort of thing can get quite out of control at times, they get a sort of high on it.' Lucinda, firstly, wondered how he knew all this and, secondly, was bemused how he talked about the big woman as though she genuinely was a horse. She shrugged and added them to her list of paranoia points to clear up later. James had a stopwatch poised... 'Pull!!' he commanded. The groom delivered a resounding blow and the woman leapt forwards to overcome the inertia of the sledge. She grunted and stomped her feet forwards step by step and, slowly, the sledge picked up speed. The audience clapped in time with her stomping and cheered when the front of the sledge crossed a chalk line drawn on the floor. '27 seconds' James announced. The woman was unhitched and stood panting as the sledge was returned and El hitched to it. He was perfectly calm as they did this. The only sign of any reaction was his slow, deep breathing. Like my Yoga, Lucinda thought as she unconciously ran through one of her pranayama breathing cycles. 'Pull!' El's time was 25 seconds including the handicap. They both took another turn going in the return direction across the room. This gave Lucinda a chance to rest her chin in her hands and ogle El's straining gluteus muscles. Peter raised an eyebrow at her. 'I'm being attentive' she grinned, 'Like you were with Wood Spirit!' This time the woman managed it in 24 seconds and El was still 25. She strutted around to the cheers of the crowd. He remained impassive. As the woman's final attempt commenced one of the audience started to shout out the seconds... '...3...4...5...' The crowd cheered and joined in as it neared 23, then 24 and finally 26. 'She's tired' noted Peter. 'I'm not surprised!' said Lucinda, 'Look at her'. The woman was walking around gasping for breath and pouring with sweat. Lucinda was rapidly coming to the opinion that either sweatiness was a pre-requisite for being a pony or there was a great market for pony deodorants. It was now El's final turn. Lucinda, like most of the women in the room, wanted him to win and, before she realised it, she was on her feet shouting out the times with the crowd like a partygoer at a Hen Night baying for the male stripper's jock strap. '...20...21...22!' James confirmed. 22 seconds. El had won. Charles patted him on the shoulder and he grinned at the crowd. Perfect teeth, naturally. The two contestants and Wood Spirit were led to the back of the room.