Wheeling, WV

Last weekend I had a wonderful experience being among a dedicated, compassionate leather community during my competition for the North American Pony Trainer leather title with the Great Lakes Leather Alliance and Silver Valley Leather in Wheeling, WV. Daddy Maxx and boy davey were ever so gracious from the moment we stepped off the plane until they took us in for the night before our flight out. Beauty and I loved getting to know all the amazing people, too many to name them all. Mistress Simone of Chicago and I decided we need to collaborate on organizing some decadent fun in her area. So, hopefully I’ll be traveling to Chicago in the not too distant future. The other contestent, Master Erik of Virginia (?) demonstrated true heart for Leather though his commitment to outreach and community building, which echoed the desire and commitment of everyone there. I’m honored to have met so many dedicated leatherfolk. I’m even more proud of my leathers today than I was yesterday. Hopefully I can fulfill my responsibilities as title holder admirably. It means everything to me to honor the people who approved Beauty’s and my title and mentored us through the process.

There were lots of pony players in attendance for the show. We had a great time getting to know each other and sharing ideas. Hopefully Beauty and I will get to travel to Camp Crucible in the Spring for the big BDSM and pony event. If you want to donate to our travel expenses and support the leather community, please go to GLLA to do so. We’ll be attending several events throughout the year, starting with the Southwest Leather Conference this January in Phoenix, AZ.

from the Festival of Lights where we were staying

One of the questions that came up during the interview process was how do leather and pony play come together. It sounds ridiculous because I hadn’t really thought of it before I got there. I just assumed it did. I consider myself leatherfolk and I do pony play. Of course there’s the obvious answer in that pony play involves bondage, discipline, Dominance and submission, and sadomasochism to some extent, more or less depending on the players. In thinking about it though, I’d have to admit that not all pony play or pony players are suited to leather and vice versa; but, I don’t think that excludes it from sadomasochism and leather all together. From what I can tell is that more and more leatherfolk want to learn pony play. I’ve been asked repeatedly to teach classes and attend leather functions. Most players seem delighted by it and grin at the prospect of adding it to their repertoire. The essence of pony play is probably beyond leather, and yet, it provides a fresh way to play that offers a unique head space for both pony and trainer within what they are already doing. It’s a skill to be applied like anything else. The application is up to the user.

Things I’d like to see more often in BDSM pony play:
Resistance
Round Up
Breaking
Rodeo
Sensory play - grooming, “training aids” like temporary piercings, nipple clamps, twitch, cock restraint to reinforce “whoa” and whipping post
Obedience training and exhibition through reining, control aids, and ????
Taboo play
Breeding
Barning - long term bondage in a “stall”
Forced exercise
Drill teams
Cart service
More interpretations of the D/s dynamic (We already have several.)
Restraint training
Forced obedience

Wheeling, WV