The old-Etonian inventor of an all-terrain disabled carriage has warned he may have to abandon the Westcountry after being branded a "gypsy" and reported to the police by security staff.
Simon Mulholland left behind the privileged background and aristocratic connections which once landed him the plum role of page of honour to the Queen Mother, to build a horse-drawn vehicle capable of carrying a wheelchair to hard-to-reach places.
Using his lightweight pony and chariot, he has introduced dozens of disabled people to the wilds of Dartmoor, taken London marathon-winning wheelchair athlete Sara Piercy onto Exmouth beach and won the backing of Exeter disabled group Ceda.
However, a series of run-ins with the authorities whilst on his travels have left him feeling frustrated and unfairly treated.
Following a disabled sports activity event at Exeter University in February, security staff sent CCTV footage of Mr Mulholland and his pony to the police as part of an investigation into thefts at the campus.
Officers recognised the unique carriage in March and publicly confronted the 59-year old in city centre parkland, leaving him humiliated in front of a crowd of people.
"Along my travels I regularly get accused of being a tractor-stealing gypsy but I am not prepared to be a social pariah anymore," he said as his 12-year-old pony, Obama, munched grass at Exeter's Quayside.
"My work outfit is practical – I am not trying to look tough – but riding around with a black and white pony seems to make people think I am a traveller and nobody will accept my work with ponies and the disabled."
The university denies stereotyping and says staff simply reported the presence of a man with a pony and trap at the same time as a spate of thefts because it was "unusual activity".
Mr Mulholland, whose Anglo-Irish family are listed on The Peerage website, attended Eton in the 1960s along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
He was honorary page to the Queen Mother from 1969 to 1971.
He admits to "stooging around" and working at odd jobs, including a stint as a zoo keeper, but has been building chariots for 14 years.
Now, shunned by the equine establishment and a "posh" network which has closed ranks, he is broke, living in a caravan on an illegal travellers' site in Haldon Forest, outside the Devon city.
He says repeated harassment and a lack of support from the horse world has prevented his invention – the Bex saddlechariot – from receiving the recognition he believes it deserves.
Mr Mulholland fears he may have to pack up and move on but is now appealing for backing and for show organisers to allow him to promote the three-wheeler with its unique quick release system – at events around the region.
"I am ex royal household but I cannot fit into polite society.I have always tried to do things my own way which makes me difficult to employ but is also what makes you and inventor," he added. "I am from a hunting, fishing and shooting background, but nobody in the horse world speaks to me. I can't get anywhere because I can't get to horse shows.
"This idea could bring investment, jobs and tourism travel but if I am continually targeted and blocked then there is no point me trying to work here."
