A Halloween Costume Journey with Poncho

I wanted to take part in a local costume horse ride this Halloween. I saw the image below on Facebook. I ultimately hope to have Poncho and me wear this, but I decided to start simpler.

However, I’ve found over the years that my animals don’t like to be dressed up. After all, Max did not appreciate wearing a spider costume last year. He was so relieved when I took it off. I thought he looked adorable. Spider is a good look for him.

“Please, take it off!”

I was hopeful that Poncho might be more cooperative and maybe even pleased to be dressed up. I selected matching Dilophosaurus outfits for us. You may remember the Dilophosaurus from the first Jurassic Park movie. During the rainstorm, the bad guy runs off the road and is confronted by a smallish dinosaur who scares him by flaring out neck frills and spitting poison. That’s the end of the bad guy! However, the Dilophosaurus was not accurately portrayed in the movie. They were actually fairly tall dinosaurs who didn’t flare their frills, nor did they spit poison. Fossils of Dilophosaurus have been found in Arizona, which you can read about in my Dinosaurs Roamed Arizona.

Early in October, I tried the dino head-on Poncho. He was very tolerant, especially since it didn’t quite fit properly, and kept sliding around. He didn’t seem to mind it at all.

The dinosaur’s tail had a clip to attach it to his tail. Poncho, being his usual self, drew the line at anything on his tail! He did a little dance, moving his hind end back and forth until I gave up. Maybe I could wear it. I rode him around the arena, and he wore the dino head well. However, I thought if I plumped out the head with some stuffing, it might stay in place better.

I always wear a helmet when I ride, so my dinosaur head needed to fit over my helmet.

Unfortunately, it did not.  But I was determined to make it work. I would have to modify it and glue it to the helmet, but I was up for the challenge.

Due to a medical issue, we couldn’t participate in the Halloween costume ride, but now I have a year to create our outfits for next year! I am delighted that Poncho will join me in dressing up! As long as I leave his tail alone.

If you enjoyed this glimpse into Poncho’s costume adventures, check out my other blogs featuring him!