A traditional American reel in D major, known to older Midwestern and Western fiddlers by its earlier name, Snowshoes. The A part opens by walking straight up the D scale in held notes, which makes the tune identifiable from its first bar. The Spotted Pony title originates in a labeling error: Missouri fiddler Pete McMahan’s jam-session performance was issued under that name on a Voyager LP, and Vivian Williams, who edited the tape, has said McMahan never announced the tune and that she took the title from something she overheard. Nashville session fiddler Tommy Jackson recorded it as “Snow Shoes” on Dot DLP-3454, Swing Your Partner (1962); Bob Carlin recorded it as Spotted Pony on Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (Rounder 0132, 1980), and guitarist Dudley Hill arranged it on his album From a Northern Family (1976).
