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Every girl goes through a pony phase. It can be the briefest of flirtations that began when you first laid eyes on a deliciously pastel My Little Pony. Maybe it went a bit deeper after you read Black Beauty for the first time and begged your parents for riding lessons. Maybe you fell for white horses when Bianca Jagger rode into Studio 54 on one in 1977.
Or perhaps it was a full-blown obsession, and you were lucky enough to actually have a horse and pony club membership. However deep your love, there is something magical about how horses captivate the hearts of young girls - and fully grown women.
Nightline's Samantha Hayes' pony phase began when she was seven, when she would go to her Aunty Sonia's riding school every school holiday. "It was such a strong passion for me as a child, which was only pushed aside by the reality of growing up," she says. Hayes recently returned to riding and currently rides a thoroughbred called Annie, with whom she hopes to compete with in the worlds of dressage and eventing by the end of next year. "Riding gave me something to concentrate on while I was growing up. It taught me to be committed, disciplined and calm. Plus horses are the greatest companions, 10 times better than the average dog."
British designer Luella Bartley, 34, is another still going through her pony phase. Her first ever collection was called "Daddy, I want a Pony", and newer ranges have featured cashmere vests and cardigans with horse logos embroided on the chest. The walls of her London boutique feature horse paintings, and Luella vouchers come in the shape of prize ribbons. Bartley has even designed outfits for the British youth showjumping team.
Indeed, riding does seem like a conventionally British past-time. Bartley told The Independent that she has "always had a connection with horses, and my collections have always been slightly equestrian-based. No matter what we do, it's always a bit English and horsey". But Bartley is by no means the only fashion insider with a passion for ponies: Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon and former Chloe designer Phoebe Philo also ride. Karl Lagerfeld's muse Lady Amanda Harlech owns two horses, which she rides at her Shropshire farmhouse when she's not living at The Ritz in Paris.
American designer Ralph Lauren based his entire brand around the idea of the rich, countryside dwelling, polo-playing set. Luxury Parisian house Hermes, whose logo itself is of a horse and carriage, was originally a saddle shop, and one of Gucci's signature motifs is of a horse bit and stirrup. It should come as no surprise then that fashion collections themselves often reference equestrian themes. All of the aforementioned designers have mined horsey themes, and Karen Walker's 2008 autumn/winter collection, called "Lucky", was inspired by jockeys' outfits and a day at the races. The range featured jodhpur-style pants, race-day floral prints, jockey inspired silks and dresses with sash and winner's wreath detailing. Walker's Newmarket boutique even has a fake pink horse in the window.
Balenciaga's Nicholas Ghesquiere has also referenced equestrian themes in various collections, from jodhpurs to his exaggerated riding hats. Tailored jackets, waistcoats, riding boots, buttoned up shirts, riding hats and hardware (popular in the past on It bags like Chloe's Paddington) all make up the equestrian look that's classic and traditional, reminiscent of poised blue-bloods with perfect posture. And of course there is also raceday fashion, albeit a completely different beast. And while it may not be for everyone, raceday wear has made a small dent on more mainstream fashion recently, in the form of headwear and fascinators.
So why is fashion so utterly horse obsessed? Fashion writer turned Pony Club Secrets author Stacy Gregg - who currently rides a "slightly neurotic 15.2 hand-high chestnut called Jasper" - believes the two are related. "Horses and fashion both demand single-minded devotion, passion and a degree of mad eccentricity - there's also an innate beauty. Fashion shoots with horses in them always look great - Amanda Harlech says she always tries to be photographed on a horse because it makes her look good. There's also the fabulous factor - a la Jilly Cooper novels like Polo."
There's also a slightly creepy factor. Think of the ill-fated horse in The Godfather, talking horse Mr. Ed, and Madonna's saucy but scary 58-page horse shoot in a 2006 issue of W magazine. Also slightly unnerving is Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's use of horses in his work, most notably Novecento, a taxidermied Clydesdale suspended from the ceiling. It's a powerful piece that apparently "expresses a sense of blocked energy". Moooi's life-sized horse lamp is another weird but wonderful take on horse-dom.
In fact, it's that cute quirkiness that is often portrayed when horse motifs are used in contemporary art and design. Cases in point: Florence Broadhurst's famous horse stampede print, Habitat's horse print plates, photographer Tim Walker's pastel purple pony and locally, Blaze Hair Salon's pony logo. There is also the horse's sense of power and commanding presence, a theme often attempted in those cheesy oil paintings of wild horses (often in groups running through water) that appear in gift stores. However, the less said about them, the better.
But it's not just fashion and art that love horsey themes: they make numerous appearances throughout pop culture.
A young Elizabeth Taylor dresses up as a male jockey who rides to victory in the Grand National steeplechase in 1944 film National Velvet. I bawled for hours when Artax drowned in the swamps in The Never Ending Story (if that's not a metaphor of lost friendship then I don't know what is).
Harry Potter aka Daniel Radcliffe played a boy with a sexual and religious fascination with horses in the play Equus. And far more light-hearted in its equine reference is TV show The O.C, in which Summer and Seth both own and talk to plastic toy ponies (Summer's is called Princess Sparkle; Seth's is Captain Oats). There are so many horse references in music that it's difficult to know where to begin, but some more well-known ones include Neil Young's Crazy Horse, The Rolling Stones' Wild Horses and Patti Smith's debut album Horses.
Of course there are many in-depth intellectual and psychological reasons as to why horses are so popular. But maybe it's simply because they are beautiful? As horse obsessive Gregg says, "No other animal can literally transport you away from your everyday life.
"There's also the romance of that relationship: horses are your first love really, and that never fades."
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