20 years ago today Dyfi Donkeys was born. A simple idea of 2 donkeys and traditional donkey rides at Aberdyfi beach, Gwynedd - who could have forseen the journey we were embarking on. The donkeys who would arrived, the people we would meet, places we would go and the lives we would changed.
April Fool's Day seemed an ironic day to start a business venture with the much maligned, often laughed at , most humble, sensitive equine in the stable - the donkey. Or in our case 2 donkeys, Mosses and Del-Boy.
Our arrival at Aberdyfi beach was not quite as expected. After much careful logistical planning , an intensive marketing campaign with public and media the first day should have been a breeze...
The saturday before Easter 2006 , a beautiful day , clear blue sky with a slight early April chill. The spring tides had just hit so the waters had been high , the little tidal lake behind the dunes was full and the sand was soft.
The morning was filled with anticipation and a sprinkling of anxiety as I drove the little trailer with its precious cargo along the winding estuary road. Our first day: would anyone want to ride a donkey; would the donkeys be as calm,placid and easy to handle as Donkey Dave from Stonehill Donkeys had promised - " if they don't do what it says on the tin, bring them back and I'll change them" had been his words; would ITV really come and film our first day?
I drove onto the harbour side and headed for the beach ramp , a little smug that I had persuaded the harbour master to let me use it for beach access for my trailer... remember those high tides and soft sand? We made it safely down the ramp,the truck drove smoothly onto the sand and the trailer sunk to its axle!
Sorry , what day did you say it was ...April Fool's day?
What a stroke of luck, my partner Mark had followed me to the beach in case of teething trouble. Slightly dejected I dropped the back of the trailer, walked the donkeys out , sighing with relief when he took charge of rectifying the trailer disaster .Off we went, donkeys and I up the beach to our base camp by the children's playpark ramp, me looking over my shoulder hoping the man with the camera from ITV hadn't arrived yet.
Remember that little tidal lake? Well I had been lead to believe that donkeys aren't that fond of getting their hooves wet. Turns out no-one had told Mosses and Del-Boy, they took one look at the water, one look at each other and took off without a care in the world or any warning to me. The lead-ropes slipped smoothly out of my fingers, gravity took over and I face planted in the sand as the donkeys gleefully gallopped off to have a little paddle in the water!
Sorry, what day did you say it was... April Fool's day?
Brushing the sand from my eyes and hair I watched the donkeys calmly paddling around in the middle of the lake. I waded out to them, regained my hold on their trailing soggy leadropes and after a moment of self doubt and a small pray asked them to kindly follow me to our base. Slightly dejected, I tied them to the rail peering up towards the carpark hoping the man with the camera from ITV hadn't arrived yet.
The sun grew brighter despite my cloud of self doubt, the donkeys munched calmly on their hay and I got to work tacking them up, put out our sign and we waited. Eleven o'clock came and suddenly there were excited children, willing donkeys, Doris and her newspaper camera and just after lunch the man from ITV arrived.
Dyfi Donkeys had splash landed in Aberdyfi, made a few children ( and their parents) very happy) , survived our first day and made the Wales TV news! It was the start of an amazing 15 years at the beach, a bond of trust with these beautiful creatures that continue to amaze me every day and the beginnings of the incredible entity that is Dyfi Donkeys.
If you want to learn more about our antics, adventures and transformation over the last 20 years keep watching this space.
