When the mayor makes his rounds in Cockington, you can hear his hooves from afar – because at the head of the English village is a Shetland pony. But not everyone likes that.
Patrick trotted through the park in Cockington, England, in a red robe, a gold chain with a village medal around his neck and sparkling boots. A walker takes off his hat and says hello. “How is the mayor today? Long may he live!” He seems unimpressed and doesn’t say a word. Which is not unusual – because Patrick is a horse.
The Shetland pony has been the mayor of the village of Cockington in the English county of Devon for around six months. “Somebody said Patrick should be mayor,” recall Kirk and Hannah Petrakis, who have long had a horse and carriage business in town and are the home of the pony. In the village pub “The Drum Inn” Pony Patrick – named after his birthday on St. Patrick’s Day – was already a celebrity. In a small enclosure in the garden, he received children, people with disabilities and anyone who longed for company.
The idea for his office was born during a fundraiser. 220 supporters signed a petition, which was followed by a festive ceremony and blessing, at which even the local MP showed up. The former Mayor of Cockington had died a few years previously, and the rather representative post has since been vacant.
Life has changed quite a bit for the Petrakis couple since then. “Did we expect all the attention? Patrick ending up in the Washington Post? No, definitely not.” Patrick can hardly walk a few meters without people stopping and staring at the pony with its tousled mane. Anyone who lives in Cockington and the surrounding area knows who they are looking at. “We’re currently working on a project, a virtual city tour in which Patrick appears,” says Nicola Shinner, who runs into Patrick with two friends on the village square. The three are taking a tourism course at South Devon College. “But we didn’t know he was here today.”
Hannah Petrakis is also constantly staging her bangs. More than 22,000 followers follow his political career on Facebook and a good 800 on Instagram. Gordon, who runs Weavers Cottage in the heart of Cockington, says many tourists, even from America and Australia, would ask about Patrick if they were his guests for scones and tea. But like all representatives on the political stage, Patrick doesn’t just have fans. Only a few weeks after taking office, he had to vacate his office at the “Drum Inn”. His enclosure did not have the necessary planning permission and someone filed an official complaint.
“Everywhere you have narrow-minded people who just can’t get out of their skin,” says Kirk Petrakis. 99 percent of the villagers would love Patrick, but some were bothered that he was mayor. “Which is crazy, because who wouldn’t want a Shetland pony for mayor? Patrick shows up at openings and bites ribbons. It’s not like he sits in town hall and makes decisions.” The local city council is responsible for this.
Six months after Patrick took office, the pub is still a restricted area. The operators do not want to comment on the pony on request and refer to the district’s decision. Hannah Petrakis senses other motives behind the headwind. The Briton suspects that a man who doesn’t even live in Cockington has ambitions for Patrick’s office.
After being banned from the pub, Patrick is often out and about in the local area in addition to regular visits to Cockington. In the Rowcroft Hospice, a few kilometers away, the terminally ill can stroke his tousled mane and be cheered up. “You can see how they relax,” says Kirk Petrakis. The “pony therapy” should even help against high blood pressure, anxiety and depression.
While one or the other villager smiles about Patrick’s office or welcomes him as a welcome tourist magnet, Kirk and Hannah Petrakis are firmly convinced that he is also made for the office in terms of content. “People are fed up with politics. A deputy just comes by, has his picture taken and then moves on. When Patrick comes, everyone is happy. No political games.”
Patrick is said to have political ambitions anyway: “World peace,” says Kirk Petrakis. “We’ll put you in a room with Putin and all the other powerful people, and you take care of it,” he says, turning to his animal representative. Cottage operator Gordon is even hoping for a “stroke of genius” from the pony that will reverse Brexit. Patrick himself is not disturbed by these expectations. At his mobile, light-blue “Patrick’s Bar” he munches a carrot after a walk through the village and takes a deep sip of Guinness – his owners are convinced that it’s healthy for ponies in moderation.
