The horses queued patiently in the drive-through in Westgate. Photo / Ricoh Hartwell
The horses queued patiently in the drive-through in Westgate. Photo / Ricoh Hartwell
Two customers used a drive-thru as a ride-thru as they picked up their KFC meal while on horseback.
The two women and their ponies were photographed on Sunday afternoon going through the KFC drive-thru in Westgate, West Auckland.
Witnesses say the animals patiently waited their turn behind the vehicle in front of them and the women got their meals to go, they rode away along the road.
Stephen Hartwell was in the area with his son Ricoh when they spotted the unlikely sight and decided to snap some photos.
"We thought it was funny but cool as well," Hartwell told the Herald.
"We noticed they we're queuing up between two cars and as the cars moved forward the horses did also slowly and casually, like they were used to it. Then they both turned and faced towards the menu as if they were reading it also. It was funny, the horses were so laid back, not worried at all by the cars in front and also behind, very well behaved, I thought," he added.
Staff reportedly got a laugh out of the customers. Photo / Ricoh Hartwell
One of the riders was Jenelle Thomson who told the Herald this is not the first time she has ridden through a drive-through.
"I had been competing her and wanted to stretch her legs. I hadn't eaten all day so I thought 'why not?' I had been through the Maccas drive through a couple weeks ago. We graze just down the road next to St Paul's," she explained.
Thomson said "staff were amazing". They were "shocked but laughing at the same time" at the sight of the two women riding their ponies.
The two riders got hungry on the way home. Photo / Jenelle Thomson
Thomson, who was been riding since she was 5, was on her pony Kokō, a 4-year-old Appaloosa x QH games pony.
"I've been successful in my ridden career as I've represented New Zealand twice when I was 16," Thomson said.
She never expected to make it on to social media or the news for going through a drive-through on her pony, but got a good laugh out of how many people found the photo amusing.
The Northcote woman often takes her ponies to graze on Don Buck Rd in West Auckland. Her other pony was being ridden by her friend Lauren Jelicich.
She often rides her ponies in unlikely locations, including the cycleway alongside the northwestern motorway.
Kokō is very obedient and stops whenever required - even waiting patiently when her rider needs a loo break along the way.
Loo stop. Photo / Jenelle Thomson
Facebook users loved the "wild west" photos shared by Hartwell in a community group.
The imagine had more than 700 reactions in just six hours, with several people commenting on the funny sight.
"A freaking brilliant idea," one person commented. "Definitely won't get done for drinking and riding."
