Going native How native breeds have changed over time and what’s in store for their future
Native ponies are the equestrian ‘backbone’ of Britain. Nicola Jane Swinney looks at how the breeds have changed — for better and for worse
MOUNTAIN and moorland [M&M] ponies are the workingclass backbone of this country,” says Jacky Newbery, whose Newoak Stud has been producing champion Dartmoors for almost 30 years (see feature, p32).
“They can hold their own in any discipline; they were bred to do a job and that’s what they do. It may not be the original job description but they have had to adapt to keep up with the ever-changing landscape and demands.
“The introduction of ridden classes at our major showing finals has boosted the popularity of our natives; new owners realise how easy they are compared with the supermodel show ponies,” she adds. “Once someone has owned a native, they don’t go back to a show pony.”
Their continuing popularity in the show ring does perhaps ensure the future of our native breeds, whose original purpose has been lost. But six of the UK’s M&Ms feature on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST)’s equine watchlist, from the New Forest, which is “at risk” with 900 to 1,500 registered breeding females, to the Dales, which is “critical”, with fewer than 300.
However, the bigger picture is far from gloomy. Jacky believes that our natives have increased in popularity over the past 50 years. This is borne out by the breed societies, many of which report that numbers of registrations are steady, including the Dartmoor.
THE New Forest, often considered the “poor relation” of the M&M, is enjoying something of renaissance.
This is partly due to the recognition of their versatility, believes Malcolm Fry, president of the New Forest Pony and Cattle Breeding Society.
“From a showing point of view, the separate breed class at Horse of the Year Show [HOYS] has helped to promote the popularity of the breed, with an increased number of New
Forest ponies now professionally produced,” he says. “The standard of the Forest-bred pony has improved dramatically over recent years, thanks to the colt grading and the high standard of stallions selected to run the forest.”
It should be no surprise that “Foresters” are quality animals; Marske, sire of the great Eclipse, stood as a stallion in the Forest in the 1700s, having been sold to a Hampshire farmer when his owner, the Duke of Cumberland, died. Marske was used on “country mares” until his most famous son started to win.
More recently, performance testing has also improved the breed, with dressage grading being introduced around 15 years ago.
“After we held a separate jumping grading day, a new scheme is being introduced to include all the jumping-orientated activities,” reveals Malcolm.
PERHAPS the ultimate “performance” native is the Connemara, and Geth Tillin of the British Connemara Pony Society reports that registrations have stayed more or less steady for the past few years.
“Our biggest increase is the registration of imported Irish Connemaras now Defra stipulates that if an equine is resident in the UK, it must be registered with a UK passport issuing office,” she says.
She reveals that registrations of part-bred Connemaras have dropped by about 20% over the past five years — which might seem significant, given the popularity of the partbred in other disciplines — but this is largely, she believes, because they are being registered as sport ponies instead.
Connemara convert Cathy Wood only considered the breed because of its versatility. Having bred event horses up to four-star level, she took the Connemara stallion Cashel Contepomi on loan for two breeding seasons, later buying him.
“The fact Connies compete at top level on junior teams in both showjumping and eventing clinched it,” she admits. “They have been the mainstay of many junior teams over the past decade. Connie blood in a part-bred adds some magic too — Portersize Just A
Jiff stormed around many four-stars with Camilla Speirs.”
While she believes the breed and other natives remain popular, Cathy points out that the market has changed.
“With Connies, a good broodmare would
have once cost about £10,000; I bought my second broodmare through Clifden for £1,800, in foal,” she says. “On her previous visit she had commanded a significant five-figure sum.
“It’s not just Connies — look at Welsh cobs. There were headline prices for many years at Builth Wells and a good filly foal would cost a minimum of £4,000. Those days are gone.”
BUT is this simply fashion? When fashion dictates type, our native breeds are likely to be the losers. Richard Miller, international pony judge and co-founder with Meirion Davies of the Heniarth Stud, has already seen such “refinements” in several M&Ms.
“With the Welsh breeds, the fixation with dilutes — creams, palominos, duns — and having four white socks is quite alarming,” he says. “It’s resulting in a ‘Barbie pony’. But it is tempting to produce a pony with a certain colour, a certain eye-catching movement, a certain head and a specific height, purely because that’s what the ridden market favours.”
He adds as an example: “Highlands were notorious for being on their forehands with not the finest of front legs. Those traits have been ‘improved’ at the same time as their stagcarrying occupations have decreased. Will the next stage be Highlands with a toe-pointing show pony extension?”
Highland enthusiast Gemma Stanford muses: “What wins the ridden final at Olympia really comes in fashion in the following couple of years. People want an M&M regardless of breed; they want a ‘flashy-moving’ pony that’s a pretty colour.
“Colours of Highlands are a fashion. You did get people saying they don’t want a grey but would rather have mouse or yellow dun. This was when Stirlingdene [yellow dun] and Tower Clyde [mouse dun] were winning — there were hardly any greys. Now greys are back in ‘fashion’.”
Highlands are still used to bring shot stags down from the most remote parts of the Scottish hills. The Shetland, one of our oldest natives, was the ultimate multitasker. They worked the land, carried peat and seaweed, and fishermen used hairs from its tail as fishing line. So highly prized were those hairs that a law dictated anyone who “cut any other man’s horse tail” would face “the pain of £10”. That was a huge sum of money at the time.
But the Shetland, too, has adapted to suit modern requirements. There were two distinct types; a heavier-boned draught for driving and a lighter, free-moving pony with a pretty head for riding. The miniature Shetland is a modern success story, in demand across the world. The breed’s enduring popularity is celebrated at Olympia in the Shetland Pony Grand National, with the ponies galloping flat-out around a course of jumps.
RATHER than galloping, Dales and Fells were bred to trot, as they carried 240lb “pigs” of lead to the shore east and west of the Pennines. But to succeed in the show ring, they had to show all four gaits.
“The true Dales boys don’t think they should be ridden,” says Bill Ireland, whose Kilmannan Stud has bred many champions. “I told them that if they want to sell ponies, they will have to be ridden. The Dales is a remarkable pony with a tremendous temperament and it will do lots of different things.”
This is reflected by the numbers registered with the Dales Pony Society, holding steady at about 100 foals a year — and demand is rising. The Fell is faring better, though it is still considered by the RBST as “vulnerable”, with between 500 and 900 breeding females.
Is it a coincidence that a Fell called Townend Schubert took the prestigious championship at Olympia in 2015? In the same year, another called Murthwaite Mercy fetched the highest ever recorded price, £7,350, and at the same auction, an American buyer spent more than £22,000 on Fell ponies. The breed is finding fans in other countries, too.
“I co-judged a huge HOYS section at the Great Yorkshire last year and the champion was Wildhoeve Okidoki, a Fell bred in Holland,” says Richard.
“There does seem to be a rise in native ponies bred overseas coming here. Last year I also judged the final of the Picton novice championship and the winner was Skaergaardens Delicious Love, a Connemara bred in Denmark. It went on to take the flat M&M championship at HOYS.”
Richard has injected some foreign blood into his stud, bringing back the mountain pony Malby Mahyong — by Heniarth Mr Milligan — from Sweden. He and Meirion are showing Rhoson Dorti, a mare they bred by the Dutch stallion Steehorst Kyro, with a foal at foot by their Tooravale Houston, bred in Australia.
The market for Britain’s natives is clearly still there, but Richard has a warning for British breeders. “You only have to look at the USA where the many fine exports that left the UK in the 1950s and 1960s have morphed into a generic ‘hunter pony’,” he points out. “The market has dictated what they want in the USA and the market has won. The breeds have lost.
“When I judge native in-hand classes these days, I see youngsters with long cannon bones and small round joints, rather than the short flat bone they should have. There are fewer breeders who breed for the future welfare and continuance of their chosen native.
“But the mentality of a few who produce purely for the show ring seems popular with those who only want to fill the requirements of their shopping list. That’s a worry.”
Our native breeds are still going strong, and still adapting to their new roles. What we must be careful of is losing their USP — the unique selling point that keeps M&Ms commanding decent prices both here and abroad.