The Ponyman has no age. [I'm] over 21. What was the thing the guy said in Miracle on 34th Street?, "As old as my tongue, and a little older than my teeth?" Some people set a limit on age. They have a fun time, and then all of a sudden they find out I'm either too young or too old, and their views change. Now I know why women started a thing not to tell your age. A guy might have been really hot for them, and they find out they're older, and all of the sudden they're not.

I'm 100% hetero. I've thought about homosexuality, as you would have to think about something to make a decision, and [it] never ever seemed at all something that interested me. I'm not homophobic. I have many homosexual friends who [I] respect. They understand it's not my thing. I [don't] put it down, [but] it's just not for me. I consider myself a little more aware of the sexuality of a woman, because I grew up in the age of the New Woman or the feminists. Dating in the feminist world, you get badgered with a lot of information. So I know more of where women are coming from, and it helped me [with] the act, to tell the truth.

I make my living by entertaining at different functions--clubs, parties, whatever--as Danny the Wonder Pony, who literally gives a pony ride to ladies who want one. I have a custom-made costume, and it consists of a saddle, reins, stirrups, all the equestrian equipment, [tailored to] fit me. I get down on all fours for a second, and the lady sits in the saddle. Her feet go in the self-adjusting stirrups, and then I stand up on two legs and dance. The lady looks and she feels like she's riding a pony, although it's going to the music. There are also parts of a pony ride that are a little more stimulating than others for the ladies. The Wonder Pony knows all. He knows all about what the women want.

Men are really into dogs, and women literally fall in love with their horses, especially if they're teenagers, because it's the first sexual awareness, sometimes, [and] just like first love, you never forget. If you've ever noticed, teenage girls are always the most enthusiastic pony riders. There's a reason for that; it literally feels good to them, just the way, maybe, a man feels good in a sports car because of the adrenaline. If you ever go to a ranch and watch people riding, you'll see that eight or nine out of 10 are girls. There's a reason for that. [It] has to do with a Western saddle. The English saddle doesn't have the same effect, because it just isn't built the same way. It doesn't have the horn; it doesn't have the slope in the front. Those are all contributing factors to why women--out here anyway--really get into their horseback riding.

I managed a dude ranch for three years. I studied the way the women moved, not the horses. Then I devised movements to cause that effect. If I move like a horse, it just waddles around, because I'm not shaped like a horse, so I had to develop dance moves to correlate to the movement of the pony. There's a whole bunch of things involved in the erotic. Think of all the equestrian expressions that are also bestowed in the sexual area. Mounting--she mounted him--hung like a horse, [referring] to men as stallions, studs; sowing your wild oats. You don't hear references to birds or cats or dogs--that's considered perverted. But many equestrians [have] died in the saddle. Why is that? The reason is [that] if you look at the motions of a woman on a horse and turn that picture sideways, she's having sex. Watch a woman galloping along, and then turn that picture sideways, and envision the horse gone and a man on her, and you'll see that she's actually looks like she's having sex. [It isn't the same for men.] We have testicles that bounce, and [you get] very sore. In some of the military saddles, they actually have a hole cut out where the testicles would fit, because it just would make them all sore. But [it] works for the woman.

The first experience I had was [when] I was about 12 years old. I was hanging around [with] this 11-year-old, girl and it was a boring afternoon. She innocently said, "Give me a horsey ride!" like her daddy used to do. [So], what the hell, I gave it to her. It was my first real experience [with] a girl. [I was] at the age where I wasn't looking to beat up girls; I was looking to be with them. So it was like, "Wow, this is nice, this is pleasurable!" It stuck in my head and became an erotic fantasy.

But all of a sudden, here was a nice young woman sitting on my back, and it was the first contact--if you know what I'm saying--of any sort. It was like, "Wow, women are nice to be near!" It became an erotic fantasy. It wasn't sexual. I don't think about doing this when I'm making love, and I don't think about making love when I'm doing this. But it is a turn-on. The fact that I'm making a living at it, the fact that women are having a good time with it, the fact that it's making me advance in the entertainment field--all of that gives me erotic feelings, because I guess we all, basically, get erotic when it comes to sex and money.

The most exciting [part is] that having the idea and actually going out and doing as much as I could to make it work [has] paid off. That's exciting to me, because it was such an obscure thing. I give myself a little bit of credit for having a little bit of talent to have made that work and not [have people say], "Oh, this is a perversion!" It was an accomplishment. The second thing is the contact: it's nice to make a living where you're having a close--even if it's a brief--situation with pretty ladies. It's better than going to [a] job throwing garbage cans around. Not that it's a better job--[just] more enjoyable.

When I'm getting ready for the nightclub act, I know there are going to be pretty women I'm going to be meeting. Having them jump on your back is not unpleasurable, although it is a very energetic act--it's not like I'm just cruising along. I really do have to put forth effort. That's another thing: a lot of people ask, "Do you actually get turned on while you're doing this?" Well, sure, mentally, but [that's] like asking a body builder, "Do you get an erection while you're lifting 300 pounds?" You're concentrating on the lifting of 300 pounds; you're not concentrating on getting an erection.

[I was motivated by] the desire to have it all: to make a living at something that you enjoy and then throw in that [it] gets you sexually interested. I wanted all three. [Being a pony is very important] because it intertwines itself [with the] identity in your head. You want to have a positive sexual identity. Donald Trump, I'm sure, intertwines his money with power. Everyone wants to have a strength; this is my strength. Women are turned on by it. Women pay attention to me because of it. [For some] people, their profession is part of their sexual thing. They go around saying, "I'm a doctor," "I'm a lawyer," and let's face it, Freud would tell you right off the bat that they wanted to become a doctor or a lawyer so they could get money so they could get sex. Other people say, "I'm a poet," and they get recognition because [they are] "artistes." Well, in the same respect, the ponyman worked its way into my self-image. I never meet anyone who doesn't know that I do this. I've dated a lot of women I've met through this. A woman has her looks as part of her sexual identity, and I attract with my act. There is also that dominant-submissive thing there, but it's [more of] a chivalrous thing. It's like I'm giving pleasure to women in a manner like, I guess, Sir Walter Raleigh. When he laid his coat down, was that submission or chivalry? He did it because he wanted to, so it was chivalry. He didn't have to--that would have been submission. I do this for myself, but I also do it because it gives pleasure to women, and I have a good time doing that, so it's chivalry.

I was raised in New Jersey, [and] I guess that machismo has sort of rubbed off--I can't get away from it. This is a way I choose to let the woman have the upper [hand]. It's like telling the lady, when you go on a date, "You choose where we go tonight." You've relinquished the power to her, and that's enjoyable, because you like to know that what you're doing is going to please her. When they're up there riding and they want to go to a particular room, I know that that's what they want. When they want to get off, they get off; when they don't want to get off, they don't. It's all up to them. I know they're enjoying it. I don't have to guess, "Should I make this short? Should I make it long?" It's all up to them. In a way it's like [I'm] a macho submissive. It's a power that I know will please the ladies, yet is not going to be detrimental to me.

The last three years [that] I've been doing this, most of my social contacts are [at work]. At this point, I'm not out to waste time and slowly ease somebody [into it]. It's like, "What do you do for a living?" "I'm an entertainer." "What do you do?" I tell them. Boom. They handle it or they don't. I meet most people through the act, so they already know. Most of the people that I wind up dating have taken pony rides. Let's face it: [if] I get involved with someone, she's got to like pony rides. You know what I'm saying? It's like a singer hooking up with someone that hates to hear someone sing. That would be ridiculous. I wouldn't get [involved with a woman who disapproved]. If I was into truckdriving and a woman hated trucks, or I was into sailing and a woman hated sailing, it would be a silly thing to do. When I'm involved with someone, my life is intertwined with hers. It's not like, "Well, we'll tolerate each other." If I hooked up with a painter, I'm very much going to be encouraging her in her art; [so am I] going to have someone that thinks what I do is silly? I think that people, in their real life, should pay a little more attention to [the whole person]. "We fell in love because of this"--well, if that's the only thing you have in common, then it's a silly thing to fall in love about. You should have many, many things in your life intertwine--your professions and what you consider erotic should be compatible. Otherwise, don't even bother. So if [women] have any kind of qualms about it, well, there are many people out there who are into it, and I'll just have to find them.

[It's] an amazing thing. I never get tired of it--it never gets old. Some situations are just status quo. Others are different and interesting. Even if I go on to other forms of entertainment as a profession, I'm sure that I'm going to be doing this as a sideline. It's [such] a part of my life now. [I'm not going to] sell my saddle. I've heard musicians suddenly [say], "I'm not going to play guitar any more." To me, they didn't really have a passion for it. You can't just give it up.

[In] all forms of entertainment, you have to be a ham. [But] I'm not one of these loud people who just has to have attention. I try to do a good act. I don't want to make a noise and be the center of attention because I'm just the center of attention. It's got to be because it's something positive.

I have a lot of body-builder friends who would not even attempt to do what I do, because they know that [when] I lift, I break all the rules. I lift completely wrong; I move the weight around. You're not supposed to lift with a bent back. But I didn't know that, so I started off giving a one-minute pony ride, and worked up to two-minute pony rides. I could lift weights all day long, and it wouldn't help me with a pony ride. After a night of pony riding, those endorphins are flowing [as] if you had lifted a whole bunch of weights. That's why people work out: it makes you calmer. Also, after a good performance, you just feel satisfied. You did the best you could, and it paid off. If I'm really into the pony ride, then it actually makes me--not calmer. Then I want to get them home in bed. But, if it's just a good old night of doing my act, when I go home, I'm real relaxed. I let it all out, physically and mentally. In fact, you feel a glow, [so] I wonder if that's as much mental as it is physical. Sometimes I've had the wrong crowd--[it's] rare, but it has happened--and you feel very unsatisfied.

What's always amazed me is that there's not much difference [between my act at an S/M club and at a Sweet Sixteen party]. The schtick I use is a little different. You don't just walk in some place, get down, and say, "Jump on my back." The presentation has to change according to the crowd, but the actual ride itself is exactly the same, which is funny. From Sweet Sixteens to strip parties, the ride is the same. What changes are the clothes underneath the horse equipment, not the equipment or the ride. It's just the amount of body I show underneath. It's like they base whether the act is risque or cute depending on whether my clothes are risque or cute. [I think they should] pay a little more attention to the act and less to what I'm wearing underneath: that's the real reality of it. We're all taught that clothes are good and no clothes are bad. I could probably do the most insanely gross things, and if I cover my entire body with clothes, it'd be OK. That's what really gets me. If you do an innocent thing with no clothes on, you're bad, and if you do bad things with your clothes on, you're good. So when I do a Sweet Sixteen party, [I] wear dance tights and a cut-off rock- and-roll shirt, and I wear a G-string at a bachelorette party. But the act is still exactly the same.

If the person is treating me as a pony, then [it's not erotic], but if a person is treating me as a person--being used as a pony--then possibly [it's erotic], depending on their attitude. If they're doing it in a mean, selfish way, [it isn't fun]. If they're having a lot of fun with it, then I'll have fun with it. My idea is not to do my thing whether they enjoy it or not: I want the person to enjoy. [I] want [that] more than [just doing] a good act. If they feel that they're treating a person like a pony and [they're] having fun with that because they're into S&M, then I have fun and go along with it. I wouldn't enjoy it if it was being done in a way that was ridiculing. They're not having fun with it; they're having fun destroying it. If you ridicule a comedian, you're not having fun with the comedian; you're having fun at his expense.

I don't get many problems from anybody about anything. It's way more accepted than I would have thought in any crowd--[even at] real Guido-type clubs in Hoboken. They always have a great time: I attribute it a little to my own talent. I can read an audience pretty quickly and do what's needed to please them. The most unreceptive [crowds] have been the yuppie-ish types. It isn't the women. It's the men. The men who want to attract and impress women with money are the most threatened by my act, because they can't compete with this. It's not a money thing. At a club, where they're attracting them with good looks, walking around in muscle shirts, they're not as threatened, because they have a way to compete. When I'm getting attention at a yuppie club, they're in their shirts and ties, and they've been trying to impress the women with what kind of car they drive, what kind of money they make. It's apples and oranges. They can't [go] one up on me during the time I'm giving the ride. They get very jealous that the women are paying attention, and they have no recourse. Women are always receptive to it, no matter whether they're heavy rock-and-rollers or yuppie-ish.

[Women] just sort of go with the flow, move along with the saddle. It depends on the crowd, of course. In the S/M crowd, they might act a little dominant, whereas at the discos, they'll be whooping it up and getting the crowd response that you would [get] at any dance act. They all start clapping or circling around. The women like the attention, too. If the lady's looking good, then I'm doing my job right. I don't really care if they're looking at me, as long as the act goes over well.

No one controls what I do, unless at an S&M place they say, "Can I lead you?" Depending on the situation, I'll say yes or no. I'm not going to say yes and then we're riding off in a part of the club where nobody sees me. A lot of women, for some reason, like to spank the pony. I tell them, "Look, this is not [how it is]." It's hard to explain. If the woman starts to spank, it's usually because she thinks that you [enjoy being demeaned]. I very quickly let them know, "You do that again [and] it's over." They don't understand [that] people are not there to be used and demeaned; they're there to be shared. You can see this kind of personality right off the bat. It's like some women think they have the right to insist on expensive gifts. They're selfish, and that kind of personality will come out at times. [I'm] not talking about S/M places! If they start spanking in a regular disco, they're usually real assholes, but if they start to spank in the S/M club, they're just following what has been accepted.

[Picking my most exciting experience is] real hard. Is it when I got a hundred-dollar tip or when a beautiful woman [took] off her top? All of them have been exciting. I was very excited when I flew to Miami and started doing my act every six weeks. I was very excited when I met my girlfriend through it. Even if you ask me what was the most exciting thing this night, it would be hard to tell you, because there are so many things that are exciting. The most exciting thing monetarily is when I'm making the most money; the most exciting thing sexually is when the woman is gorgeous and maybe coming on to me. If I was poor, the hundred dollars would have been the most exciting. If I was horny, the girl would have been most exciting. It changes constantly. There are so many avenues of my life that are exciting to me! Maybe that's why I'm not married--so many different women are exciting to me. It's very hard to say, "What was the favorite woman you were with?" [The favorite woman is] the one that likes to pony ride the most. I've had a lot of exciting things--[things] that I thought were exciting, and then they turned out to be bad. Like, "Oh, boy; I'm going to go on this TV show!" And then the TV show wound up not good for me. Was that exciting? It was exciting for a while.

The bad shows are the ones--and they all seem to do this to some extent--[which] get you there under false premises. [One] told me it was going to be about unusual performers. It wound up being about sexual fantasies. That was a big surprise. You don't have time to prepare, [and you wonder] "What else are they going to do that isn't kosher?" The good shows [have] fun with your act. The bad shows treat you like a jerk by trying to dupe you. [And there's] another thing: [once] on "Bright Lights, Big City," they got my card, [and yet] they actually called me Rodney The Wonder Pony. I can understand Donny--David even. But Rodney? And it's a news program! It made me lose respect [for the] news. When was the last time when [someone] said, "Think of a name," and you came up with Rodney? You should have seen me flipping out in front of the TV. I was eating a piece of pizza and I spit it out. Rodney? Rodney?

The whole Wonder Pony [act is] copyrighted, so that if anyone tried to do a similar act in a similar way, I'd have recourse. Not only that, but it's physically [difficult]. I have chiropractors come up to me, telling me I shouldn't be doing this. It's a lot more than throwing a saddle on your back and people [wanting] to pay money. If you've ever seen any video that's out, if you sit on the guy's back and walk around the room twice, the guy dies or she falls off. That's basically it. I got it to the point where I get hired to take women along the beach at night in the summertime. I put boots on; I go through the surf; I've gotten it to a real pinnacle there. Even if they were, somehow, to work up to the physical thing, you've got to [develop] the personality that people want to meet. They don't want to meet some pervert; they want to meet an entertainer. You've got to do it in a way that entertains the crowd as much as the person who's on you. It's a lot more than just going, "Hey, baby; I've got a saddle. Don't you want a ride?" It took a long time to get it accepted and to be known and to get all the media attention. Just because you put a saddle on your back doesn't mean people are going to come running and take pictures. It took a long time to devise it as a way that would be accepted, so there is nobody else that does it. And if there is, I'll shoot him. Not.