Volunteers take string of ponies through Liverpool to brighten day for locked-down families

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A nice way to cheer up the neigh-bours! Volunteers take string of ponies through Liverpool to brighten day for locked-down families

  • Bridget Griffin, 25, and team have been making doorstep visits with six ponies 
  • Animals have become stars in city with people waiting for hours to catch glimpse
  • Bridget said: ‘We were inundated with people messaging us asking to walk by’
  • She makes the visits every day during half term and allows ponies to be petted

By Katie Weston For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Volunteers have been taking a string of ponies through Liverpool to cheer up locked-down families. 

Bridget Griffin, 25, and her team have been making doorstep visits with six ponies for two hours a day throughout half term.

The animals – named Millie, Malu, Moses, Kev, Will and Magic – have become stars in the city with people waiting on streets for hours to catch a glimpse of them. 

Ponies from Park Palace Ponies visit people on their doorsteps in Liverpool to cheer them up during lockdown. The animals make visits for two hours a day during the half term

One pony is greeted at a doorstep in Liverpool. The animals - named Millie, Malu, Moses, Kev, Will and Magic - have become stars in the city

One pony is greeted at a doorstep in Liverpool. The animals – named Millie, Malu, Moses, Kev, Will and Magic – have become stars in the city

A pony peers at a cat through one of the neighbours' windows. Bridget Griffin, 25, and her team have been making doorstep visits with the six ponies

A pony peers at a cat through one of the neighbours’ windows. Bridget Griffin, 25, and her team have been making doorstep visits with the six ponies

Bridget, a volunteer director at Park Palace Ponies, said: ‘It’s been an awful time for everyone really but especially the kids who are missing school and can’t see their friends.

‘On the first day, we just went on a leisurely walk and said hello to anyone who was out and about but the second day was unbelievable.

‘There were people on the street asking where we’d been because they’d been waiting for hours.

‘There were mums with prams walking the whole two hours with us and a walk that would usually take 15 minutes was taking an hour because everyone wanted to say hello.

‘We were inundated with people messaging us asking us to walk by.

‘The ponies have missed social contact as well and they aren’t shy so they had a nosey around a few houses.’

The ponies became such a hit that Bridget decided to take them around the city every day during half term, allowing them to be petted and even have a peek in some hallways

The ponies became such a hit that Bridget decided to take them around the city every day during half term, allowing them to be petted and even have a peek in some hallways

Volunteers pictured riding the ponies through the city as they make doorstep visits. Bridget said: 'On the first day, we just went on a leisurely walk and said hello to anyone who was out'

Volunteers pictured riding the ponies through the city as they make doorstep visits. Bridget said: ‘On the first day, we just went on a leisurely walk and said hello to anyone who was out’

A local holds up their dog to greet one of the ponies. The ponies are said to have 'missed social contact as well' and 'aren't shy', so have a peek around some of the houses

A local holds up their dog to greet one of the ponies. The ponies are said to have ‘missed social contact as well’ and ‘aren’t shy’, so have a peek around some of the houses

Bridget had originally decided to use the ponies as live art for residents, but they became such a hit that she decided to take them around the city every day during half term, allowing them to be petted and even have a peek in some hallways.

Student teacher Bridget, from Liverpool, said: ‘We try to do something for free every half term for the kids so people have seen us out and about before on their way to school and work but it is quite a surprise for people who don’t live nearby to see six ponies walking the streets of the inner city.

‘The Great British Art Exhibition were encouraging people to make a piece of art and stick it in their window or garden and the first theme was animals.

The ponies are greeted by residents on their doorsteps during half-term

Bridget had originally decided to use the ponies as live art for residents

Families greet the ponies on their doorsteps during half-term. Bridget had originally decided to use the ponies as live art for residents

Volunteers visit a corner shop with one of the ponies. The stable is said to have been 'inundated' with messages from locals asking for the animals to stop by

Volunteers visit a corner shop with one of the ponies. The stable is said to have been ‘inundated’ with messages from locals asking for the animals to stop by

Bridget, from Liverpool, said: 'I really want to make inner city riding accessible so if anyone is thinking about setting something up similar to us, I'd be happy to advise them how to do it'

Bridget, from Liverpool, said: ‘I really want to make inner city riding accessible so if anyone is thinking about setting something up similar to us, I’d be happy to advise them how to do it’

‘That’s when me and my team at the stables thought we should use the animals as live art but it escalated from there.

‘Animals are used for therapy anyway and horses are such a calming influence and can make you feel better.

‘We are closed at the minute and during the first lockdown, the ponies were on furlough but the community have really missed them.

‘I really want to make inner city riding accessible so if anyone is thinking about setting something up similar to us, I’d be happy to advise them how to do it.’