How it Works

A Peppermint Pony Party is no ordinary pony ride party.  It is a totally fantastical interactive equine experience.  The party begins when the mini comes off the trailer - send the kids on down!  We don't mind a little 'help' while we are getting ready, so long as the children are kept out of the street

To avoid the hazards of unsupervised children mobbing our rig before the party starts, we arrive just a few minutes before the our start time.  Don't worry - our setup takes five minutes.  Our rig is pictured below.

 We ask that you have parking blocked off in advance, as it is easy to eat up fifteen minutes of your party time in the process of moving cars. 

Do not count on using your driveway - count on using the road in front of your house for parking. 

Parking in a driveway factors in many more things that cannot be controlled, like

• my low hitch,
• my large turning radius which needs many cars cleared next to and across from the driveway entrance, and
• the orientation.

 I need to put down a ramp on the curbside for the equipment, and a rear ramp for the ponies.  Parallel parking can be impossible depending on the width of the street if cars are parked on both sides.

Parties work best when staged in the front yard, off of the horse trailer.  It is safer for the ponies as there will be no potentially poisonous landscaping within reach, and for the children, as the ponies are tied in a familiar place.  The carriage is a beautiful prop and play yard element that we can only use when the activity is within feet of the trailer. 

Also, having ponies in front allows you to keep active ball and swingset and balloon play away from the ponies.

We recommend that you consider having some setups in the front - a table, some drinks and snacks, and a few chairs for the infirm (we have several in our trailer, just in case)

Party Time-Line

After we pull up, the curbside ramp comes down and the carriage is brought out.  If there is a place to put it on the grass, the children are free to climb in it (no horseplay!) as soon as we get the wheels chocked.  You are encouraged to take pictures of them in it while we are saddling the ponies and giving rides. They can continue to play in it until I set it up for my face painting station.

 Our Miniature Horses, Easter Lily and Pocohantas, are very tolerant and gentle.  Your party may be graced by both or just  one.  The kids can start grooming and decorating the mini as soon as we get her off of the trailer.

Our ponies are curious and friendly by nature.  We will begin the party with a little talk on manners, rules and answer any questions about the ponies.  We can make your party as educational as you like, just let us know in advance.

Combo parties can be quite flexible.  Generally, we do pony rides for the first half of the party, and face painting the second half.  The saddle can stay on the riding pony for the duration in case of late arrivals. 

At least two ponies come to every party.

We have four ponies total:

Silver (our gray Welsh Mountain Pony)

Easter Lily ( white miniature horse)

Pocohantas (chestnut pinto mini horse)

Jesse James (bay small riding pony)

The mini can be decorated with ribbons and flowers while the other children are riding.

We limit the number of children per time frame so that each child can have at least two rides.  The first is the photo op - Silver is trained to pose for pictures.  We will set up the pony for best lighting - photos work best when not in full sun, and with a shaded background.  Many clients designate one parent as party photographer. 

We save time for feeding carrots at the end of the riding portion of the party. Please have a bag of large (normal, not baby) sized carrots, unbroken, for the kids to feed to the ponies.  They can have up to five pounds per party.

Our parties are meant to be highly interactive between parents and children and ponies.  Adults at the party need to keep the children and ponies in their line of sight, and toddlers must be within arm's reach at all times. 

 Smaller parties allow for the children to select from hundreds of face painting options.  I have binders and many books.

We usually face-paint the children in the carriage, using the carriage as a face-painting station while the children sit one at a time in the carriage.  If we have too many 'wigglers' and 'shakers' who are too active to leave the carriage alone - no problem! - we whip out a couple of chairs and face paint them right next to it.

f

The horsier kids can continue to interact with the ponies while they wait their turn.

Children are painted one by one, while sitting backwards on the front seat of the carriage.

You can click on our Face Painting Gallery page for samples of Angela's artistry.

We have up to four events a day scheduled, especially on Saturdays, so as much as we love

to hang out

and enjoy the party when the work is done - sometimes we need to boogie to the next birthday bash!  Terms are 'cash and carrots'.  Please have final payment ready.  Our mission is to delight and amaze you and exceed your every expectation - even our most accomplished hostesses tell us  "you were the perfect touch to our party, it was even better than the pictures could say".  Tipping a service provider is always acceptable and if we have achieved our mission we will gratefully accept them - especially my son who has responsibilities well beyond his years.

We love a "plate"!  My friends in the business and I like to brag on the hospitality of our hosts and hostesses.  It's a wonderful thing, that we get to work for such diverse clientele, and enjoy cuisine you just can't get in restaurants.

A gentleman to help load the carriage, a child giving a final hug to a cherished new pony friend, and perhaps a bit of birthday cake for the hard-working and appreciative ponies and we'll be off!