Where have you seen an Exmoor pony this year? The Exmoor Pony Society and the Moorland Mousie Trust have been out on the road this year promoting the Exmoor pony ….. The future of the Exmoor pony lies in its ability to create a market as an all-rounder and not just the ‘original off-roader’ able to travel across the moor and carry out its original tasks of ploughing, herding and going to market to collect provisions. Moorland breeders as far back as the 1920 realised this, taking their ponies to the London Show by train. The moorland herds play a vital role in this with the gatherings producing huge interest and we are extremely lucky that within the last 12-15 months, they have been featured on both Countryfile and Countrywise. We cannot expect film crews to come to Exmoor every year but Adam Henson, owner of the Bemborough herd, does keep the ponies in the news on Countryfile and, fingers crossed, we will have more coverage this year. Interest in this year’s gatherings has been huge and we are delighted that this has generated sales for three herds so far Herd 4, 23 and 100. Hopefully as more herds come in this week, we will be able to generate even more sales – the vast majority away from Exmoor itself. Many of today’s top performance ponies are just one generation away from the moor – bred in-ground from moorland stock. Breeders away from the moor buy moorland stock for breeding programmes assured that the bloodlines they wish to use are present in the pony they purchase. The Exmoor Pony Society Facebook page celebrates the success of all Exmoor ponies whilst the Exmoor Committee of Herd Owners – ECHO page focusses on the moorland herds, the ponies on the moor and those ponies that have been sold away and are enjoying successful lives as ridden, driving, showing or jumping ponies. There are also pages for the Breed Show which holds the HOYS Breed Qualifier and the annual Pony of the Year competition which has its final at the EPS Midland Area Show. But promotion does not rest with performance alone or indeed with television, radio newspapers and magazines even though we write articles for equine related publications such as Native Pony, Showing World and Equestrian Life to Best of Britain, Smallholder, Land Love and the British Horse Society. Taking the Exmoor pony to a wider audience is crucial. It was great, for example, to be able to talk on Devon Radio about the Exmoor Pony Festival and how this event is designed to generate interest in the moor bred visits. This year the Exmoor Committee of Herd Owners (ECHO) took the lead with both the Chairman, Gill Langdon of the Tawbitts herd and Vice-Chairman, David Wallace of the Anchor Herd putting on herd visits that attracted visitors from all around the UK and abroad whilst local herd owner April Westcott took a moor bred pony along to support the Exmoor National Park Authority - Bogtastic. These hands on visits are very important and this is augmented by the work of the Moorland Mousie Trust who run the Exmoor Pony Centre and it is open to visitors to come and meet the ponies, handle them and ride them out across Winsford Hill. The Exmoor Pony Festival poster competition took the Exmoor pony into classrooms all over Devon and Somerset and it was great to get local press about the competition and the eventual winner. The Moorland Mousie Trust and the Exmoor Pony Society, both registered charities, work closely together and joint ventures this year include the Horse of the Year Show where equine enthusiasts could come along and not only learn about the ponies but also meet a moor bred pony. Leaflets available included the Exmoor Pony Society ‘Guide to Buying and Caring for an Exmoor Pony’ showing ponies from all over the country and abroad excelling in just about every equine discipline you can think and ‘Exmoor Ponies and Conservation Grazing’ which is of particular interest to farmers and smallholders. The Exmoor Pony Society’s network of Area Representatives holds events up and down the country open to members and owners alike. Members take their ponies to showcase the breed on behalf of the Rare Breed Survival Trust – some 15 or so shows this year across the country, the two-day Iceni Native Pony, the Rare Breeds of the Year Show showcasing all the equine breeds and where the EPS took the lead on promotion with over 25,000 people becoming engaged in the event. Other events away from the more include Countrytastic and the Malvern Autumn Show both held at the Three Counties Showground and attracting huge numbers of visitors. These events are the Exmoor pony’s shop window and, of course, it is hugely important to not just look outards from Exmoor for sales but to also promote the breed in our local area. The Exmoor Pony Society Breed Show in August is steeped in history and attracts competitors from all over the country but more importantly it provides an opportunity for moorland breeders to showcase their own ponies in the ring and this is also true of the Christmas foal show on 30th November – where this year’s foals can be seen in the ring – last year’s Champion came from the Anchor herd. The Exmoor Committee of Herd Owners – ECHO attended the launch of the Exmoor Hill Farming Network with great coverage in the free press of the ponies and leaflets about their role as conservation grazers were handed out to all attendees. Local breeder Sue Glasper from Devon and Karen Ricketts from Friends of Exmoor Ponies recently attended the RBST Southwest Regional Show and Sale at Sedgemoor Auction Centre, Bridgwater again giving local farmers the opportunity to meet an Exmoor pony and learn about their role in conservation grazing. Jackie Ablett and Gill Langdon together with EPS Chairman, David Brewer, recently spent the day at the Conquest Open Day, Conquest Equestrian Centre, Norton Fitzwarren promoting the ponies and the EPS together with the Moorland Mousie Trust will at the Bampton Charter Fair (30th October) again providing the public with an opportunity to both meet and learn about Exmoor ponies. Our last event for this year will be the Southwest Equine Fair, Westpoint, Exeter (6/7th December) where the Moorland Mousie Trust recently spent the day with 1000 school children. It has been a busy year and the Exmoor pony has reached out to tens of thousands of people at events throughout the country – promoting the breed is a key aim of the Society and one which we hope you will agree we seek to fulfil. Here are just a few pictures :)
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 07:54:59 +0000
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