A SHETLAND pony recently brought a smile to the face of a revered horse whisperer who is now living with dementia.

The touching encounter happened when the diminutive pony called Dottie, just 40 inches high, visited Pendine Park’s Bodlondeb care home in Wrexham where Hilary Paul now lives.

Hilary is admired around the world for her compassionate training methods and remarkable understanding or horses.

Among her fans was the late Nicholas Evans, whose novel, The Horse Whisperer inspired the hit 1998 film of the same name, starring Robert Redford.

Sadly, dementia has robbed Hilary of the ability to communicate but when she came face to face with Dottie, who visited her and other residents at Bodlondeb, she was visibly moved.

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Hilary's partner, Nigel Iskander said: "Hilary can't speak but when the pony went up to her and touched her arm and she smiled."

The couple met during the public's fascination with horse whispering a quarter of a century ago with the release of the film.

Nigel said: “The novel, and the subsequent film, may have been the general public's first realisation of the work people like Hilary did but she has been doing it for most of her life. She was horrified when her parents took her to a riding school and she was told to use a whip to control the animal.

"She said that hurt the animal who can feel a fly on its skin and she started to treat the animal considerately, didn't use a whip nor a bit in its mouth," he said.

Nigel recalled how the petite 64-year-old, who hails originally from the Manchester area, went into a stall with a large racehorse who was proving too difficult for the stable staff to handle.

"Hilary is an amazing lady who has worked with horses for years. I recall one time she went to Newmarket where a stallion was proving to be very difficult to handle and Hilary went along.

“Before meeting the horse she was chatting with the stable lads for about half an hour before one of them said "we're just waiting for the trainer" and Hilary said "well that's me".

"The lads looked at her, this diminutive lady, was going to go up to this large horse who was too difficult for them to handle. In she went and worked with the animal for about 45 minutes and then emerged with the horse following on a loose rein like a dog on a lead. The lads were speechless," said Nigel.

She travelled widely and spent several months in Australia and the USA learning how to be a horse trainer.

After Hilary was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago, Nigel, a photo-journalist by profession, gave up work to become her carer and the couple moved to a small-holding near Caersws in mid-Wales.

Dottie, who is owned by Paula Llywelyn and her two year-old son Ted, was brought to Bodlondeb by Maggie Bellis from her stables in Bryneglwys near Coedpoeth, Wrexham.