NOVEMBER 2022 ISSUE 156
Vintage Treasure:
Ruth On The Hoof: New Forest
Nipna Damask Rose
All the native news from Horse of the Year Show
Bloodlines Banked for Future Dartmoor Days info@showingworldonline.co.uk | November 2022 Issue | The Native Pony | 1
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2 | The Native Pony | November 2022 Issue | info@showingworldonline.co.uk
OUR OWN
A word from our editor Dear Reader, If this year had gone any faster, I think I could have missed it in a blink! Personally, I’m still enjoying the HOYS aftermath and the wash of happy faces and gorgeous ponies I am seeing on my social media! It should come as no surprise then, that this issue focuses predominantly on HOYS. Working through reporting for Showing World and Native Pony, it took me an age to have something written for each of the winners of native classes. There are so many now, which is testament to our wonderful breeds, their popularity and their versatility. Personally, it was a mixed-bag kind of week. It wasn’t our best week for results with a clutch of first-timers, but we were nevertheless thrilled to have four ponies present and take two rosettes home. Even more thrilling was to have a homebred qualify, and for both lil’ sis and I to compete in the same class together, something we had done at RIHS and at Olympia, but not at HOYS. The introduction of the new junior working hunter pony class proved to be popular and successful, and I’d love to see it grow to have further junior sections. The reality is both adults and children love riding natives, even small ones, and due to the hardy nature and working backgrounds of the breeds, they are more than capable of carrying adults, and thriving within their chosen discipline. I am not an advocate of promoting natives as ponies suitable for children alone as I feel that breeding with children alone in mind may risk the weight-bearing, hardy, solid types that have kept natives fit, well and working in tough conditions through the ages.
entering the open breed classes. I certainly hope it will man an increase in 2023, as I personally believe that a class each is the ultimate goal for us native nuts, but appreciate that the numbers must demand it. The strength of the natives was also apparent when I sat down with the independent panel appointed to select finalists for the SEIB British Showing Awards brought to you by Showing World. Unable to decide on six ponies of mixed type for the Pony of the Year Award, we selected six natives and six plaited. Trust me, that was tough enough! I really hope that you will take the time to vote and even better, I hope to see you on December 3rd, cheering on your favourites as we announce the winners...
- Beth
Nevertheless, their temperaments and heights mean that they are also suitable for children, and I applaud any effort by HOYS to include opportunities for children and adults to enjoy their ponies at what is the best show of the year! I hope that this section grows and evolves as the junior flat classes did. It was also wonderful to see the Dartmoors have a class of their own. Statistically, I would be interested to see if it has meant an increase in Exmoors and Shetlands
Beth and Maggie together at HOYS riding Marbeth Jimmy Wilde and Stormyoak Just Divine
COVER STARS: Ella Eynon, 12, and five-year-old Welsh section C pony, Joyton Sunshine, the newly crowned Mountain and Moorland Working Hunter Pony of the Year. Photo by 1st Class Images.
OUR VALUED PARTNERS info@showingworldonline.co.uk | November 2022 Issue | The Native Pony | 3
Contents Features 14. BSPS Heritage Championships 24. Vintage Treasure: Nipna Damask Rose 28. Tebay Remembrance Ride 31. South West Hairy Pony Festival 39. HOYS Show Report
Regulars 34 40
50
17. An Update from Janine Paterson 20. An Update from Amy Smith 34. Ruth on the Hoof 54. Connemara Breed News 55. Fell Breed News
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Disclaimer: The view and opinions expressed within the magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or Showing World Limited and while every effort has been made to ensure the information contained in the magazine is correct and current at the date of publication, Showing World Limited will not accept any liability. Showing World Limited will not be held responsible for the appearance of photographic material supplied without the necessary consent, copyright and/or photographer’s details. In
addition, Showing World Limited offers no guarantee of publication and reserve the right to edit any reader’s letters, press releases, reports and articles submitted. Showing World Limited 2022. All rights reserved. No part of Native Pony may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or shared in any form or by any means, including, but not limited to; electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of Showing World Limited.
4 | The Native Pony | November 2022 Issue | info@showingworldonline.co.uk
Precipitation greets a friend (Photo by Malcolm Snelgrove)
Dartmoor Bloodlines Banked Lucinda Dargavel Dartmoor days will never be over thanks to a scheme known as the “ReGENEration Bank.” The Dartmoor pony is officially listed as an endangered and a ‘priority’ breed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) and it is known that many of the bloodlines within the breed are becoming increasingly rare. To ensure the survival of Britain’s most threatened native breeds, the RBST set up a sperm bank and to date, semen from six Dartmoor stallions has been added to an invaluable pool.
Fengate Mars Man
The RBST “ReGENEration Bank” programme was launched at the height of the FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease) crisis in 2001 to store sufficient breeding material to prevent a major disease outbreak from posing a threat to any of Britain’s rare livestock breeds. When the calamitous FMD outbreak occurred, it alerted the Trust to the fact that there was no real contingency plan in place to ensure the continuation of some of Britain’s rarest breeds. Although horses were not under threat by the FMD outbreak, the Trust had become increasingly aware that outbreaks of other diseases in the future, such as African Horse Sickness (AHS) could threaten rare British equine breeds and that the consequences of such an outbreak with no reserves would be devastating. info@showingworldonline.co.uk | November 2022 Issue | The Native Pony | 5