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Weeks after a children's birthday party in ritzy Vaucluse erupted into a shouting match, the fallout has spiralled into a full-blown war of words. The fur continues to fly between Danielle Plaskitt, a 'pony party' operator from Sydney's semi-rural northwest, and eastern suburbs real estate agent D'Leanne Lewis, after Lewis shared footage on Instagram of their bizarre showdown at her daughter Lyra's third birthday. The viral video - shared with Lewis's 70,000 followers - did Plaskitt no favours: she came across as snappy and abrasive, barking 'get away from my ponies, now!' as Lewis, the star of Amazon Prime Video series Luxe Listings Sydney, carried Lyra off. But Plaskitt insisted there was more to it, telling us last week she'd only lost her temper because some guests were 'obstructive and difficult', her company's terms and conditions weren't respected, and her team wasn't given adequate parking. Now, in the aftermath of our exclusive story, both sides are weighing legal options - with Lewis already firing off a cease-and-desist. The pair had locked horns after Lewis arranged via a party planner for Plaskitt's pony ride business, My Pony Party, to provide animal entertainment for Lyra's birthday at Kimberley Reserve, in Sydney's east, on September 28. It was meant to be a happy day for Lyra, her sisters and their friends - with award-winning photographer Nadine Saacks capturing the special moments on camera. But Lewis, 53, principal of Laing & Simmons Double Bay, posted footage of their subsequent clash to Instagram, depicting Plaskitt as hostile and impatient. Lewis also made various unflattering claims in the caption about Plaskitt and My Pony Party, including that she was late and used bad language in front of guests. Plaskitt strenuously denied this, and further alleged that her staff and animals were distressed by the confrontation. Weeks later, the drama remains unresolved. D'Leanne - or Dee, as her friends call her - told the Daily Mail she'd arranged the pony rides, as well as face-painting and a jumping castle, through a professional planner who 'does all my parties' and had never met Plaskitt before the day. And despite the veteran animal handler giving lengthy denials, Lewis has doubled down on the assertions she made on Instagram - even bringing in another witness to shore up her version of events. Plaskitt did not dispute the contents of the video: she was recorded in her 'loudest' voice ordering Lewis to remove Lyra from the saddle of her horse, Flower, and yelling, 'Get away from my ponies now!' But she insisted to the Daily Mail that she only lost her temper because Flower and her disabled daughter had become upset during the row between the ride operators and guests. Plaskitt said the absence of any video showing children crying or her swearing supports her claim that the situation wasn't as bad as Lewis made it out to be on Instagram. Plaskitt said she was particularly upset by Lewis's allegation that she - Plaskitt - had 'left her [own] daughter lying on the floor while she proceeded to swear at the parents'. Emphasising that at no point did she swear, Plaskitt added: 'She mentions my daughter lying down... My daughter has a disability. Carmen has worked with ponies since she was a kid and knows what to do. She has an intellectual disability and hearing loss, speech and muscular issues. 'She needs to rest every hour for five to 10 minutes on jobs. Ponies also get a five-minute break every hour. 'I certainly never went over to the other parents and screamed. 'The footage on D'Leanne's post is after I shut down and withdrew our services.' In response to this, Lewis said she didn't believe Plaskitt's daughter should have even been on the job. She further claimed that another of Plaskitt's young assistants had joined the queue - uninvited - to get her face painted. Lewis and another eyewitness claimed they witnessed Plaskitt yelling and Plaskitt's daughter 'lying in a foetal position' at the site. The celebrity realtor added that the whole affair had left her 'literally shaking'. She said that Plaskitt's previous claim that adults were drinking alcohol at the party was completely untrue, adding that only tables of cake and fairy bread had been set up - 'no alcohol, not even a drop'. The drama unfolded back on a sunny Sunday - September 28 - when Danielle Plaskitt pulled up her vehicle and horse float in the bus stop on Military Road outside Kimberley Reserve, one of Vaucluse's parks with a shaded play area. Accounts differ about what happened next, but D'Leanne Lewis recalls walking with her excited children up Military Road, where she saw Danielle and three female assistants - though it was some time before they entered the park. Plaskitt said she had no choice but to park at the bus stop - despite her business requiring parking in its terms and conditions - because there was nowhere else. 'It's Vaucluse,' she explained when Daily Mail spoke to her last week. (When this was put to Lewis, she said she 'never saw or signed any terms and conditions' because the ponies were organised by a third party, Mary Ronis.) Plaskitt went on to claim she faced hostility from the outset, and was even verbally 'attacked' simply for tying her ponies to the fence. 'One of the mothers... told me I was being cruel to the ponies letting flies land on them and tying them up in the sun,' she said. 'Horses have a tail and they use it to flick away flies. Really, I've been doing this for 45 years.' Plaskitt said she suggested to Lewis that the horses stay in the shade, but the birthday girl's mother had other ideas, perhaps wanting them in the light so the photographer could better capture the event. Plaskitt alleged that 'passive-aggressive' comments started early, and that she got the impression some adults just wanted to 'dump the kids' with the animals. Lewis, on the other hand, insisted that Plaskitt was the 'passive aggressive' one. She maintained the real stoush began when Plaskitt 'started yelling at the kids' and then 'stormed off', after which Lewis decided to put her daughter on one of the ponies. Plaskitt later returned to see the children lining up to ride the ponies, with Lewis leading her daughter around on Flower. 'I just told her that's against the terms and conditions and can be dangerous,' said Plaskitt, who also alleged one of her staff members was in tears at this stage. Plaskitt then demanded that Lyra be taken off Flower - and the situation fell apart. The subsequent argument, which included a heated phone exchange with party planner Ronis, was partially recorded and shared online by Lewis. Plaskitt previously told Daily Mail she hadn't watched Lewis's video, but warned that if the accompanying comments were 'libellous [she] would take her to court'. Lewis said this week that she was engaging a lawyer to send Plaskitt a 'cease and desist letter' after the pony operator allegedly contacted people she knew via Facebook. Lewis has also reported the matter to the Department of Fair Trading and has received a full refund. On her original Instagram post, she wrote: 'So THIS happened today at my daughter's 3rd birthday party. 'This lady from My Pony Party turned up late - left her daughter lying on the floor while she proceeded to swear at the parents including me… as well as the kids. 'When we asked her to stop she just kept yelling and swearing at the kids! My daughter Lyra and Myka in tears... Unacceptable! 'Thankfully she left but [the] damage was done. I would never ever recommend using these people. They should be banned from kids' parties.' Lewis said this week that she never intended to ruin Plaskitt's business by posting the video, and only wanted to state that 'it's not acceptable to come into a three-year-old's birthday party and behave so diabolically... at no time on God's green earth.' Now, with talk of lawyers getting involved, she admitted: 'I just want it to go away.' At the heart of the dispute is whether Plaskitt swore in front of children at the party - an allegation made by Lewis and backed up by a friend who spoke to Daily Mail. Plaskitt insists that never happened, and says there is no video of her swearing. She told Daily Mail: 'In that [Instagram] post, this customer accuses me of swearing at her and children. The whole event interaction was being filmed. 'Some parents had come over and several were commenting and filming the interaction. Not one has produced [footage of] me swearing. 'It shows me speaking sternly... I am speaking clearly. Not one swear word is spoken.
