Meet Atlas, a Red Roan 8-year-old Welsh Pony who has a reddish tint with some white on his belly. Atlas is owned and ridden by 12-year-old Francesa who trains at Cedar Haven Stables in Cedar Hill, TX with Kelsey Marcus.
Francesca has had Atlas for 1 year now. Her parents didn’t tell her that they had already purchased him, they told her that he was just a lease horse, but on her birthday they surprised her and told her that they had already purchased him for her! To say Francesca was excited was an understatement – the two are already so attached to one another.
Francesca’s mom, Laina, shares that she too loves this sweet pony of theirs. One of her favorite memories was when Francesca had woken up from a nightmare about Atlas and had her parents wake up early and go to the barn to check up on Atlas. “Once there, Atlas was still laying down so she went into his stall to hug and kiss him. At one point, while he was still laying down, he turned and put his face up to Francesca’s face and they both held it like that for a while. He’s very sweet and intuitive. She almost fell over a few times, but he leaned over and caught her.”, shared Laina.
Atlas LOVES grass…he always tries to eat any grass he’s walking on, which can be a pain to pull him away from. Other than that, he’s very sweet and calm-tempered. Some of his favorite treats consist of carrots and homemade horse treats that Francesca bakes.
Francesca has loved horses since she was a baby. “She went with us to the barn because her older sister wanted to ride and this is where the lessons began. Once there, she always wanted to ride… every vacation we go on, we have to find a horse riding place for our family so she can go— Jamaica, Cancun, California, South Padre Island….anywhere and everywhere. We thought it was just a phase, but she never got over wanting to ride! When we agreed to give her lessons, everywhere near us in Dallas was fully booked. Francesca found Cedar Haven Stables herself.”, shared Laina.
