Pony in focus: Sunstar’s Calvados (Jim)

After all the successes you might think that Jim (v. Oldenzijlster Action Man) is already of age and ready for retirement, but nothing could be further from the truth. The 13-year-old won the international 3* competition in Kronenberg (NED) this year and will be the reserve for the World Championships in 2023 if Melanie’s young pony Storm (Sandro) is not ready in time. In addition, in 2023 Jim will compete in dressage and cones competitions with young ponies and with Melanie’s partner Esther Budde.

But how did Jim end up with Melanie and what is his story? Hoefnet contacted Melanie van de Bunt. “Jim came to me in October 2014. I then drove with two chestnuts and I wanted to make the switch to the highest national level”, says Melanie van de Bunt. “The ponies I drove were enthusiastic and very good in marathons, but the dressage needed improvement. That’s why I was looking for a pony that brought peace and stability to the team and that could boost the dressage scores. Via people I knew I ended up with Jim. He was then 5 years old, had been taught to drive and the basics were done. He had little experience but his character was exactly what I was looking for.”

Melanie trained him further in the winter of 2014/2015 and took him to dressage and cones competitions during the 2015 outdoor season. At the start of the 2016 outdoor season, Melanie made her international debut with Jim, Noaberhoeve’s Exclusive (Noran) and Rotgers Xander (Sylvester) in Lisieux, France. In the same year she finished third in the international competition in Ermelo (NED) and fourth in Drebkau (GER).

At the beginning of 2017, things changed. “In early January, we discovered cancerous spots on one of Jim’s nostrils. He had a surgery for it and then we noticed that he was slowly going blind.” Jim was almost completely blind for their first World Championship in Minden (GER), where they finished twelfth. “He got a blur over his eye. In Minden his eye was already white. That was very strange to see. We don’t know how this came about. The vet thinks it may be due to a fly in his eye, which has caused an infection. Anyway, it was pure bad luck. Finally, Jim also got cancer spots in his other nostril after the World Cup. When he went under the knife again for this, they removed his eye as well. The stress and uncertainty that came with it was terrible. Jim was my best pony. He still is, by the way, but because of these health issues he has also become my ‘problem child’.”

Despite the fact that Jim now sees nothing on his left side, it does not get in the way of a sports career. “If this had happened to one of my other ponies, I don’t know if they would have had a sporting career. But Jim does. He’s such a cool dude. He thinks everything is fine and despite the fact that he can’t see anything on the left, he prefers to be on the left side of the team. Then he can see his buddy.”

Jim would rather be lazy than tired. Melanie drove several marathons with him, but after two obstacles Jim gave up. “Jim brings peace, stability and confidence to the team. How he transfers that to the ponies next to him is unprecedented. But when it comes to work, he prefers to leave that to his buddies. Although he thinks ‘showing’ is fantastic. Sometimes he is not sharp enough during the warm up, but when we enter the dressage arena and he is allowed to do an extension (his favorite part), he really goes for it! And in the cones he always goes along well with his teammate.”

There are a few little things that Melanie takes extra care of since Jim is blind in his left eye. “It has become even more important that I drive him forward to my hand, so that I have good contact with the mouth. Then I can guide him better. And in addition, I have to be extra careful that I clearly control his shoulders. Since he doesn’t always sees where he is going, he can fall through the bend rather quickly. Also in hand and with the farrier, it is sometimes important to warn him with your voice before you pick up his left foot, for example. But when he has his bridle on, he is focussed. He isn’t scared of anything.”

But what has Jim done for Melanie’s driving career? “Everything. Yes. I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without him. Because he came into the team with the chestnuts, I was able to make the transition to highest national level and then international. He has proven himself at all the World Cups and Dutch Championships we drove, and he is also a champion in training young ponies.”

Jim is the reserve for the young pony Melanie wants to drive with at the World Championships in Oirschot 2023 and will compete in dressage and cones competitions. “I noticed recently that he was having less fun in the tests. In addition, the ponies he is now working with are a size bigger, which makes him the little man at 1.17m. Jim has more fun with dressage and cones competitions with young ponies. Hence the switch.”

“But he has had a great international career and he is certainly not retiring from competitions. The highlight in my eyes was the World Cup in Kisber Aszár, Hungary. There he competed in dressage and cones and we won the silver medal that Sunday, with one second difference on gold. That was amazing.”