Watch Wakefield's one-year-old pony who loves playing football

Taking after superstar ‘Neigh-mar’, one-year-old Tony the pony has developed a love for the beautiful game, after owner Kristy Simpson got him a ball to play with as a foal.

Since he first encountered the toy ball, Tony has mastered his footballing skills - despite popping ten balls in the process of learning his tricks.

Kristy, a HR worker, bred Tony in Wakefield after he was born in September 2017.

She said: “He spends every day kicking his football around the yard. He can’t get enough of it.

“We got him a ball because he is the only colt and has to be kept separate from our other horses, but he absolutely loves it.

“He is costing us a fortune though, he gets very mad when he pops his ball and pulls a strop until we get him another one.”

Tony, who is just 29 inches tall, plays football in the yard “every single day” and can often be spotted dribbling the ball with his hooves.

Kristy, 37, added: “He has gone through nine or ten different balls already. He has footballs, gym balls, anything.

“As long as he has a ball in there with him he is happy. We don’t want him to get lonely so it keeps him occupied and gives him something to do.

“We never expected him to take to it like he has.”

After Tony was born, the plan was to keep him only if he was a mare, but after naming him after her father, Kristy was allowed to keep him around.

Kristy said: “I knew it would pull on the emotions and I got to keep him.

“Even though he is alone, he has so many toys and things to keep him occupied he loves it. He keeps us very busy.”

Tony even has his own dedicated Twitter account, with hundreds of followers tracking his fun.

Hilarious videos show Tony sipping a cup of tea, playing with balloons and accidentally popping inflatables.

He also loves playing with the family Staffordshire bull terrier Gladys.