In County Down, UK, a horse believed to be the oldest in Britain celebrated her 46th birthday, and there was no better way to celebrate. To mark Roanna's birthday, her owner, Ceris Brown, specially prepared a birthday cake for her.
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02-23, 2025The cake was made from linseed mash and grass pellets, with a layer of grated carrots in the middle. Roanna and her stablemates, Tinkerbell and Barnaby, seemed to thoroughly enjoy the special treat Ceris Brown had prepared for them.
Ceris and Roanna share a deep bond that has lasted for over three decades. Ceris first rode the pony at a riding school when she was six years old. She said, "I can't imagine life without her, I know her so well and she knows me so well, we've grown up together. She's always been there, always been there, she's my best friend."
In the 1990s, Ceris used to ride Roanna in competitive show jumping. Ceris joked that initially, Roanna "didn't really like little kids," "but I was always the kid with the treats in my pocket, and Roanna likes treats. That's how I won her over."
In the decades that followed, when the riding school closed, Ceris's grandmother bought the part-bred pony for her. Since then, Roanna has lived in her stables in County Down. Ceris is often asked about the secret to Roanna's longevity. "I think a lot of it is good care and good feeding. She's had plenty of exercise, but not too much, so her joints are good, and also good genes."
Roanna has been with Ceris through all the important moments in her life – even attending her wedding. She also provided Ceris with a lot of help during difficult times. Ceris was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 18. She said that having Roanna and another horse at the time gave her "the motivation to recover," "It gave me a reason to get up and go out in the morning."
Ceris describes Roanna's personality as "thran" – a word often used in Northern Ireland to describe "stubborn." "Roanna knows her own mind," she explained, "She does what she wants, when she wants. I work to her timetable, not the other way around. But she's very funny, she's got a zest for life... even at 46, she's not slow. She just wants to go out and have fun."
In a survey conducted by equine expert Harry Hall, Roanna emerged as the frontrunner for the oldest horse in Britain. General Manager Liz Hopper said that the relationship between Ceris and Roanna is a "beautiful partnership." "Horses are living longer and longer thanks to advances in nutrition and medicine," she explained, "We are seeing them exceed their average life expectancy (of around 25 years)."
Ceris said she never thought Roanna would be a record holder. "If a horse lives into its 20s or early 30s, that's amazing. Forty-six is an incredible age. But because she's always been there, I've never really thought of Roanna as being the oldest. She's just my Roanna."
