Cockington Village in Devon, in the quaint countryside of England, has finally found its new mayor: a Shetland pony.
Patrick the pony was elected by the town after becoming a bit of a celebrity during the pandemic. He was often seen heading into the local pub for some beer with his owner, Kirk Petrakis, and from there, a star was born. Or mayor, actually.
He has galloped his way into the position after the previous mayor passed away in 2019. Almost three years went by without anyone filling those big shoes, until some hooves stepped in.
Petrakis had begun taking the pony down to The Drum Inn as a way to train him to be a therapy pony. People immediately took to him, and he even got his own place reserved at the pub for his visits. After that, more and more people started taking an interest in this Guinness-swigging horse. Publications such as The Mail even wrote pieces on him.
— Patrick (@celebrity_pony) July 24, 2022
For those that are worried about Patrick drinking alcohol, veterinarians have clarified that the occasional sip of beer is not harmful to horses.
With such a strong devotion from his community, the people thought it was only time before he clacked in the footsteps of the last mayor. Petrakis even told that he believes Patrick would do a better job than London’s Mayor.
While Patrick can’t actually oversee the running of a town, as he only holds an informal title, he has certainly helped in other ways. Before trotting into office, he has already raised money for Ukraine relief funds and for two defibrillators for his community.
During the pandemic, he often visited a woman with crippling anxiety and aided her in recovery.
An inaugural ceremony was held for Partick, where local councilors Andrew Barrand and Hazel Foster and Member of Parliament Kevin Foster attended to give a mayoral chain to Patrick.
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http://www.designtaxi.com/news/419767/Beer-Drinking-Pony-Has-Been-Crowned-Mayor-Of-English-Village/
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