Munnings's favourite human model, Shrimp, is depicted here driving his favourite equine model, Augereau 'the most picturesque of white ponies - an artist's ideal... Augereau's name may go down in posterity as the last of his disappearing race to pose as a model for a picture'. Munnings bought the horse from the Norwich dealer, Drake around 1907; Drake had warned him ''e 'on't 'ev nothin' to dew wi' a cart or 'arness, but what a beautiful pony for a picture!'. Indeed, Augereau's naming came about as a result of his apparent roguery. Munnings's groom, George Curzon made the pony pull a cart and invited Munnings to take a trip to the Theatre Royal in Norwich to prove how reliable he now could be. The play they saw was 'A Royal Divorce' whose hero was called Marshal Augereau, and when the pony galloped home, they named him Augereau.

The horse-dealer Drake also introduced Munnings to Shrimp, the diminutive gypsy boy, at around the same time. Shrimp looked after Drake's horses, took a fancy to the 'toff', and made sure that he got to know Munnings at the Saturday horse markets. Drake invited Munnings to spend a week with family and horses on a painting expedition in the hamlet of Aylesham. Shrimp posed for Munnings every day from dawn to dusk, holding or riding Drake's ponies in a country lane for Munnings to paint. It was not long before Munnings realised that he had found 'the best model I ever had' and the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership was born.
(see A.J. Munnings, An Artist's Life, London, 1950, pp.196-98; and J. Goodman, What a Go! The Life of Alfred Munnings, London, 1988, pp.84-88)