SONG CHALLENGE WINNER!

This Pony In Panties Ain't No Poser! (Ellensburg, WA) -- You can see some pretty strange things in Ellensburg.  Miniature horses are the first thing visitors notice as they pull up to the house of Cherry King and Jenny Calhoun, but the scene quickly gets even more bizarre.  Out across the yard comes "Fat Butt" the miniature goat, as chickens, macaws, dogs, and a host of other pets begin to stir.  The most unique of them all is Rosie, the two-foot tall miniature horse that has been trained to respond to 23 commands to help King, who is blind.  "At a crosswalk, if a car is coming, she'll block me.  There's nothing she can't do."  That's right, a guide horse for the blind--one of only two in the country, the other is in Pennsylvania.  Rosie goes everywhere--to the grocery store, the hospital, everywhere.  And they get strange looks at every turn.  Before going anywhere, Rosie is fitted with a harness, a blanket, and even specially designed horse panties---yes horse panties.  "She's potty-trained," says King "But as a precaution, she wears panties."  It's not just a diaper or shorts; the horse actually wears silky red panties with a thick lining and a hole for her tail.  Watching a 24-inch tall horse strut her stuff in red panties makes all of the other aspects of the story seem a little more run-of-the-mill.  After all, in a world where tiny horses wear panties...?  By the time Rosie climbs into the back of the Toyota Celica and heads into town, she's dolled up in full regalia, so it's no surprise when people slow down and heads turn when they see her climb out of the car in downtown Ellensburg.  The head spinning is no surprise to King.  The place where people are most shocked by Rosie is in restaurants, where the horse often sits under the table during meals, only to emerge when its time to go, startling patrons in nearby booths.  Like a guide dog, Rosie can legally go everywhere, so when Ellensburg residents see a tiny horse walking up and down the aisles of the local supermarket, check for panties.  It's probably just Rosie.


'Mericky's A Wonderful Sight by derrymacash
(A wee skit on "The Mountains Of Mourne". (Sorry, Áine – the challenge idea served only as a spark – I'm afraid my imagination took me off thread!)

Ah, Mary the 'Mericky's a wonderful sight
But some of its features would give you a fright
They don't set their horses to run or to draw
They trate them like childer, I tell you, mo grá
I saw one this mornin', it caused me to moan
For they'd only put drawers on the poor horsey's "hone"!
It's a fashion, I tell you, a fad I declare
That will never catch on with the boys of Kildare

When I stepped off the boat as I landed here first
The sweat it was blindin', and dyin' of thirst
I went to an alehouse and called for a beer
And I raised it aloft and I toasted all here
But when I had a sip, I didn't approve
All traces of taste from the beer they'd removed
When I get on home I will think it a trate
To imbibe the concoction from St James's Gate

There's no hairy bacon and no wheaten rings
No big plates of champ and no Tayto nor Kings
No packs of Mikado and no Merry Maids
No packets of Carrolls or red lemonade
When I get on home, I'll be thin as a rake
Do they not know nothin' bout grub for God's sake?!
You could do me a favour, my Mary, mo chroí
And send a big parcel of food over the sea

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