Shetland Ponies

Shetland Ponies Shoot to Fame
Shetland ponies have been recieving a lot of media attention recently and they certainly deserve it.  First, they starred in a campaign to attract visitors to their native country, Scotland. 
They were photographed in a beautiful setting wearing wooly cardigans.  More recently, a moonwalking pony was featured in a video ad for the mobile phone company ‘3’.  The star of the video, called socks, only stops dancing when a farmer drives past in his tractor. Shetland ponies, which originate from the Shetland Isles, are hardy animals with heavy coats and short legs.  They were originally used for pulling carts, but now it is more  common to see them giving rides to children.  They are occasionally used by blind people instead of guide dogs.

Study the words

Deserve- are worthy of, merit

Starred- were the protagonists

Campaign- a drive to promote something

Native- of origin

Setting- location

Wooly cardigans- sweaters with buttons made of wool

Featured- placed in an important role

Hardy- strong and resilient

Carts- open farm vehicle with two or four wheels

Rides-  short trip

Occasionally- sometimes

Blind- visually impaired

Instead of- rather than, in place of

Related articles

• The Daily Beast – Shetland Ponies in Shetland Cardigans – January 24, 2013 (thestar.blogs.com)
• Want to see a Shetland pony called Socks do the moonwalk? (metro.co.uk)