Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

A four-legged eco warrior called Obama is pitching in to help clean an Aberdeenshire beach

Simon Mulholland and his pony Obama.
Picture by Kenny Smith
Simon Mulholland and his pony Obama. Picture by Kenny Smith

A four-legged eco warrior has been helping to clean up a north-east beauty spot.

Obama the pony, owned by Simon Mulholland, trots the length and breadth of Scotland to help people with disabilities access beach and woodland areas that they usually would be unable to traverse safely.

Using a specially designed “chariot”, the pair have become regular visitors to Duthie Park in Aberdeen, Forvie Nature Reserve, Chanony Point and Loch Morlich.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


At the weekend, they visited St Cyrus National Nature Reserve in Aberdeenshire, and Obama lent his hoofs to a litter clean up organised by the charity Surfers Versus Sewage.

Working alongside 70 volunteers, he was able to put his pulling power into practice as he helped transport bags of plastic across the beach.

Mr Mulholland, 64, said: “There was a skip absolutely rammed with rubbish that the volunteers had collected – they do a great job to keep the beach clean.

“This was quite a useful experience for Obama and I, and something a little different for him.

“He did have a heavy load so but I was able to experiment with some more routes near the dunes and ridges, but without the worry that I would be putting anyone at risk.”

Mr Mulholland started to work with disabled people, under the business name Pony Axis Service, after receiving Obama, who had been abused by his previous owner, in 2009.

Obama and Simon in Aberdeenshire last week

Since then, he has helped “hundreds” of people in Scotland enjoy the great outdoors, no matter their mobility.

He said: “Basically it’s about access for everyone; Obama will take anyone anywhere.

“Organisations in Scotland, such as Saddle Up Ranch, Scottish Natural Heritage and the charity Promoting A More Inclusive Society (PAMIS) have been totally supportive.

“Last year I got the chance to take a chap called Gordon to St Cyrus National Nature Reserve.

“He had not been on a beach since 1974, so it was a really special experience and definitely a highlight.”

Simon and Obama with 12-year-old Jake Smith, exploring Balmedie Beach in 2017

Mr Mulholland is looking for more people to join the Pony Axis Service and hopes to have representatives spread across Scotland to allow more disabled people to enjoy the great outdoors.

To find out more, or to book Obama for an outing, email simon@ponyaxesscotland.com or call 07510 736518.