A Pit Ponys Story Ages 6 11 Although

A Pit Pony’s Story Ages 6 -11 Although this is an entirely fictional story, it was inspired by the accounts of miners who worked with pit ponies, many of whom said that the animals had a “sixth sense”. Pit ponies were an important part of the coal mining industry. They worked just as hard as the miners themselves and the miners mainly treated them kindly. In 1913, there were 70, 000 ponies working in mines across England Wales. The last pit ponies in the North East were retired in 1994. ______________________ “Come on Tom! I’ll race you to the pit!” Tom Harper sighed as his younger brother, Jimmy, raced ahead towards the mine. Looking up, he almost broke into a jog before resuming his usual reluctant shuffle. It was no surprise Jimmy was excited – his first day down the mine, a huge milestone for him. Mam had made an inordinate amount of fuss over it this morning, calling him one of the men of the family, ‘a proper grown up’ was how she put it. Tom didn’t mind this; he loved his brother to bits. But with three years’ experience behind him at Ellingbrough Colliery, he couldn’t muster up Jimmy’s level of enthusiasm; he knew what the work was like. “Come on! I don’t want to be late!” “Alright, I’m coming!” replied Tom grumpily, dragging his feet a little faster along the well-trodden path until he caught up with his brother. The two boys soon became engulfed by the crowds of people starting their shift at 6 in the morning just as they were. Good natured banter and a few snide remarks passed between the men until they reached the pit head and headed for the cage that would take them down, underground, to the coal face.

Spotting a group of his friends, Jimmy said a quick “Cheerio” to Tom before running off to join them by the pithead, no doubt where they would hear what their very first tasks would be. Just as he was about to head for his own usual spot where he was a trapper boy, Tom heard a gruff voice behind him. “Hey, Tom lad, you’re not gannin’ that way today. I’ve got something different for you to do!” Sighing again, Tom turned around to see Jack, the deputy overman, beckoning him over. He had been expecting a tougher job because Jimmy would probably take over as a trapper but he dreaded to hear what it would be. Putting would be the worst; pushing or dragging tubs of coal through mine shafts too small for pit ponies. But it was a likely next step for him. “Don’t look so grim, man, ” Jack continued. “I’ve seen you looking at them horses, sneakin’ your bread out to them when you think I’m not lookin’. Well, I’ve decided you’re going to be our new apprentice horse keeper. Harry’s not getting any younger and he needs some help. ” Stunned, Tom stared at the older man. He’d expected trouble if anyone ever found out he was feeding the ponies behind their backs, not this! All of a sudden, the day didn’t seem so bad; perhaps he had something to look forward to after all. “Off yer gan, then, ” prompted Jack, “Yer’ll find Harry in the stables underground. ” “Thank you, sir, ” mumbled Tom sheepishly, before running to get to the cage that would take him down the mine shaft. ___ In the stables, it was almost pitch black apart from the circle of light surrounding Harry’s lamp. Harry was a stooped, battered-looking figure, a gruff fifty year-old who’d worked with horses down the pit for as long as he, or anyone else, could remember. Never married, the horses were all that mattered to him, although he never showed it. Really, he understood horses more than humans and preferred his solitary work away from the rowdiness of the other men. So it was no surprise that when he turned round to see Tom at the entrance to the stables, he met him with a frown and a sharp, “What you doin’ here? ” “I’ve bin sent to help you, Mr Harry, ” stammered Tom. “With the horses, I mean. I’m to be your new apprentice. ”

“Never asked for an apprentice. ” “Mr Jack sent us, though, ” insisted Tom, stubbornly. “Don’t need you upsetting the horses. Get off with yer. ” Harry was clearly not best pleased. Tom could feel the dread creeping back into his bones. Begging, he decided, was his only option, if he wasn’t going to be sent back to the dark, dull life of opening and closing heavy trap doors all day long. “Please, Mr Harry, don’t make us go back to trapping. I can’t stand it. I’ll do anything with the horses, I’ll clean out all the muck, or do all your worst jobs, I don’t mind. Please, please, let us stay. ” Harry looked up and grunted. “Get that pitchfork. You’ll be doing nowt else for the next month. ” A wave of relief washed over Tom. He wasn’t going to be sent back; he was at least going to be around the ponies, even if he never got to touch them. “Yessir. Thank you so much. ” Another grunt from Harry signaled the end of the conversation and the beginning of Tom’s shift in the stables. ___ Naively, perhaps, Tom had expected Harry might warm to him over time, but after a month in the stables, the most he had spoken to him had been on that first day. Sometimes there was no response from Harry when Tom started and ended his twelve hour day; if he was lucky, he’d get a curt nod, a grunt, or, very occasionally, an order to do something different. Not that Tom’s duties had expanded much. He still did all the mucking out of the ponies and the sweeping of the floor. Now his duties also extended to cleaning harnesses and washing mangers. Harry liked keeping the ponies to himself so Tom rarely even got to give them a pat on the nose. Besides which, they were out of the stables most of the day, pulling tubs with their drivers, so it was a lonely place to work, with only the horses too ill or injured to work left in their stalls. Still, Tom relished being away from the coal face and appreciated how lucky he was. Little Jimmy had lost all the enthusiasm of his first day and hated his life as a trapper boy, stuck in one place in the dark for hours and hours; he was scared of the dark. “Oi, lad, enough daydreamin’!” A rare outburst rom Harry. “Come here and I’ll teach yer how to groom. ”

At last, thought Tom, I’m really going to work with the ponies now! He put away his broom (neatly of course, he didn’t want a thrashing) and scuttled over to Harry, who, brush in hand, was standing next to Flash, a pony with drooping eyelids and a sleepy look in his eyes, which was deceptive, as his bites could take chunks out of any lad’s arm. Due to an injured hoof, he was being rested for a while, spending today in his stall rather than out in the tunnels of the mine. Without speaking, Harry handed Tom a brush and started showing him how to groom the horse, brushing in the same direction as the hair, keeping watch on the mischievous pony’s teeth. Tom copied every move, enjoying feeling the warm animal under his hands. Tom was a little slower than Harry despite his age, but was getting to the end of the job when he asked, “Who next? Can I groom Boots over there? ” “Hmmm, ” came the reply. Tom’s moment of distraction was just what Flash had been waiting for. The pony twisted his head around and bit him right on his bottom. “OW!” yelled Tom. “Ow, ow!” He pushed the pony’s head away and heard the unfamiliar sound of Harry chuckling behind him. “It’s not funny! Am I bleedin’? How’s me trousers? ” Tom twisted around to inspect the damage. “Me mam’ll kill us if I’ve ripped me trousers!” He glared at Harry, who was still laughing away to himself. “Yer’ll practise with Flash every day for the groomin’ and harnessin’, ” he said, “see how yer get on. ” Tom could have sworn that he saw the old man wink at the pony, who seemed to reply with a smug, satisfied nod of his head. After that, Tom added grooming Flash to his daily routine. It was always a bit of a battle and Harry always stopped to watch the encounters, smiling every time Flash inevitably sunk his teeth into Tom, who was soon covered in bruises. For Tom, it was totally demoralising – he’d always thought he was great with animals and was proud of the fact. Yet every day without fail he’d get bitten and then Flash would plod off with his driver without a protest, as meek and gentle as a little lamb. Still, there was some hope; eventually Tom was allowed to start grooming some of the other ponies, who seemed to him much calmer and kinder than Flash.

___ As time passed, Harry did let Tom have more and more responsibility with the ponies and gave him many other tasks to do. He would never have said it, but Harry trusted Tom; he was a steady lad and was always gentle but firm with the horses. Eventually summer arrived. It was a happy day for all the miners as they were to have a whole week’s break whilst the mine was closed. The ponies would be just as content as they got to spend their time running about in the fields above ground. The day the mine was due to close, Tom was sure the ponies could sense that freedom as just around the corner. They were all restless, stamping their hooves in their stalls and whinnying to each other excitedly. Tom struggled to calm them down when they’d finished their last shift. Once all the miners had gone, Tom and Harry started leading the horses up to the surface, one at a time. The ponies started to trot as soon as they could smell the clean air and Tom grinned as they started to pull on their halters, eager to stretch their legs over the fresh grass. Finally, all of the ponies but one had been taken to the surface. Flash was the last and bared his teeth when he saw Tom approaching his stall. “Come on, Flash, ” said Tom, “time for your holidays. Let’s get you outside. ” Flash stuck his nose in the air and started shaking his head from side to side when Tom tried to put the halter on him. Tom sighed. This was the last pony and Harry had left him in charge of bringing him up. It was a test and Tom didn’t want to fail. He groped around in his pockets and found half a slice of bread. “Here, Flash, ” he offered. “Just have a little nibble. ” Flash dropped his head into the halter and took the bread at the same time as trying to bite Tom’s fingers but the boy was too fast. “Haha, Flash, I’ve learnt your tricks now, no more bruised fingers for me!” Flash snorted but followed Tom out of his stall and into the narrow tunnel that would take them to the exit of the mine. Suddenly Tom heard a distant rumble. “What was that Flash, eh? ” he wondered, nervously looking up at the roof. The noise came again. This time Tom could swear it was louder. “Come on Flash, let’s get a move on and get out of here!” He started to jog, dragging the pony along behind him. He’d heard enough stories about tunnel collapses to know that loud noises in the mine were not a good sign. Sweat started to trickle into his eyes. It wasn’t far. He just had to make it a little further.

But the noises were getting worse. Creaks and thuds seemed to be coming from all around them. The mine was groaning. All of a sudden Flash stopped. “Come on, you daft horse, we can’t stop here, ” urged Tom, panicking. “We’ve got to go!” Flash refused to move. He was so strong he dragged Tom backwards ten feet before planting his hooves firmly in one spot. “Flash, please, ” begged Tom, tugging at his halter. Before he could say more there came an almighty bang. Stones started falling all around them. The ceiling was collapsing. CRASH! The wooden supports fell. The tunnel roof caved in, huge slabs of rocks fell. Tom screamed. The air was filled with dust and he dropped his lamp. The mine moaned again. One final tumble of stones from the roof and then there was silence. Tom lay on the floor. He groaned, stumbled and managed to sit up. He felt his forehead. It was sticky with blood, a small cut from a jagged stone. Just in front of him he could see huge rocks had fallen. If he’d been a little further on, he would have been crushed. He looked around. Flash was a pace behind him, wide-eyed and nervous. “Flash, you saved us!” The pony snuffled a reply and nudged Tom. “Ok, ok, I’ll get up. ” Tom dragged himself to his feet and leaned gratefully on the pony’s back. They were alive. Slowly, the dust settled ahead of them. Tom picked up his lamp and saw what he had feared; there was no way out. They were trapped by the rock fall. Tom slumped back to the ground in dismay. ___ It might have been a few minutes, it might have been some hours later when Tom awoke to feel Flash’s breath close to his face. Flash nuzzled him gently. There was no evidence of the grumpy, vicious pony Tom was used to. He got up slowly and patted Flash’s neck. “What’s up, boy? What do you want? We’re stuck here. ” Flash butted Tom in the stomach. “Ugh, Flash, stop it! What do you want? ” He nudged Tom again. He seemed to be pushing him back towards the stables. Well, there was no reason to stay next to the rock fall, Tom thought, might as well take Flash back to his stall for some fodder. He allowed himself to be guided by the pony, back to the empty stables.

But Flash didn’t stop there. He pushed Tom right along to the end of the tunnel. “Where are you going Flash? Let’s just stop. I’m knackered and that’s just a dead end. ” Flash kept pushing. They walked right along to the end and Tom saw something amazing on the right. At the end of the tunnel was a small, narrow opening, half hidden by an empty cart. Could it be his way out? A way to safety? Or was it just another tunnel going further underground? Was it worth the risk? Behind him the mine grumbled again. Tom made up his mind. They were going that way, wherever it led. Better than standing still and waiting for the rest of the roof to collapse. Tom shoved the cart to one side and traipsed into the disused tunnel, keeping Flash close by. The mine rumbled and groaned. The thunder was getting louder again. Tom’s heart was in his mouth. He didn’t want to be buried here. He broke into a jog. Flash started trotting. The panic was getting to him too. Dust filled the air. Small rocks fell from the ceiling around them. There was going to be another rock fall. Tom and Flash were sprinting now, desperate to escape the terrible noise. It was creeping up to them, getting closer. Tom could hardly see for dust. Coughing and spluttering, he kept on running. Then suddenly, the tunnel grew lighter. Was this hope? The pair rounded a corner and saw daylight. One last incline, a final burst up a slope, and they were out of the tunnel. Just in time, as the tunnel collapsed behind them in a cloud of smoke and dust. Tom fell to his knees, still clinging on to Flash. “You saved us, ” he sobbed. “You saved us, Flash!” Too out of breath to say any more, he contented himself with hugging the pony as hard as he could. A shout came from some distance away. “He’s here!” Tom saw a crowd of miners coming towards him, smiling with relief. Harry, despite his age, was at the front and reached Tom first. “Yer safe, ” he said gruffly, “Good lad. ” Harry clapped Tom on the shoulder affectionately. “I’m glad. ” Overwhelmed, Tom was speechless. Surprising himself and the older man, he reached out and hugged Harry. “Thank God for Flash, ” he said. “He saved us. He’s the best pony. The best pony I’ve ever seen. ” THE END