Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 8

 It’s not uncommon to hear of wealthy families paying small fortunes for their childrens’ ponies—Amanda McQuillen didn’t pay a dime for her daughter’s 2015 U.S. Pony Finals mount, Al Capony.

“The farrier asked me one day, “I’ve got a client who has this pony she wants to give away,” McQuillen said.

Al Capony changed hands a couple of times before McQuillen got hold of him. He was originally found by a friend of McQuillens, Ginger Vessey, who saw the pony listed for sale in a copy of the “Thrifty Nickel” in a Florida gas station, and bought him for $200.

“The grandparents had bought this 2-year-old unbroken pony for their grandchildren, and she drove up, and he’s matted and fuzzy and covered in dirt, mane all tangled up, sitting in a field,” McQuillen said.

“She said for the first year all he did was run away,” McQuillen continued, laughing. “She sort of started him, and then I ended up with him through my farrier, and we got him for free. He just got passed around; he was either too small for everybody or too quick; all he did was trot really, really fast.”

Al Capony and Anna Merritt clocking around the small green pony course at U.S. Pony Finals.

That’s all Al Capony did at McQuillen’s Middlefield farm in Fairhope, Ala., for a while, too.

“I kept trying to sell him; I tried to sell him after I got him, because he was wild,” McQuillen said. “But nobody wanted him. I gave him to my in-laws for a while to use as a trail pony.”

Al Capony eventually made his way back to McQuillen’s farm. About two years ago, when it was time for her daughter, Anna Merritt, to start taking more serious riding lessons with trainer Jodi Bondar of Pinnale Point Farm (Pennsacola, Fla.), McQuillen decided to give “Cal” another chance.

In a year and a half, Bondar and Merritt turned the pony nobody wanted into a packer—Al Capony marched around the small greens at both his and 9-year-old Anna Merritt’s first US Pony Finals and finished in 27^th place out of 44 ponies.

“They’ve become this little duo; they’ve just blossomed together,” McQuillen said.

The McQuillen’s take care of Cal at home in Fairhope, and Anna Merritt said his favorite treat is the cat food he sneaks when nobody’s looking, and the Pop Tarts she shares with him for breakfast.

Al Capony takes a spin on the lunge line with Anna Merritt. Photo courtesy of rider.

Cal’s got the jumping thing down pat, so Anna Merritt is adding in some trick training. “Now I’m teaching him how to smile,” Anna Merritt said (she’s already taught him to ask for treats with a pawing front foot).

The pony that nobody wanted has found his forever home with McQuillen.

“People ask all the time, can we lease him, can we buy him, no way,” Bondar said.

“He will never be sold; I would lease him to the right person, but he’s just special,” McQuillen said. “He’s a in your pocket, fluffy maned personality; he’s just so sweet. They can walk out and go Cal! And he comes running to the gate, like here’s my kids. He’s the sweetest.”

The troublesome pony nobody wanted has turned into a total chum–here he is cuddling with Anna Merritt and Myers at U.S. Pony Finals. Photo courtesy of rider.

Check out the other stories The Chronicle has been posting from U.S. Pony Finals about a mustang, a circus pony and a pony rescued from a ditch.