Olympia finalists. In 2011 Mrs Rawsthorn’s stallion Phi, bred in Cumbria by Mr Dean and ridden by Emma Boardman was placed a respectable 9th and earned the Best of Breed rosette. In 2008, Rosefinch owned by Hexham- based Juliet Rogers made the long trip to London and flew the Exmoor flag. Exmoors are also making their presence felt in Trec. Paula Scott from Great Ayton and her 16-year-old, Northern-bred mare Ariel have been notching up many successes including being picked to ride for the England team.
The ponies have carved a niche for themselves in the North as conservation grazers. The Moorland Mousie Trust (MMT) is a charity, independent of the Exmoor Pony Society that finds homes for surplus moor-bred foals. MMT has a base in Northumberland and now has over 100 ponies grazing in the north of England. Some of the ponies are retired family ponies, some are youngsters waiting until they are old enough to be backed and some are ponies that for whatever reason are unsuitable for riding and so graze instead. Tame ponies which may be too friendly and interact too closely with people are used on sites with no public access particularly where they may need to be led into the site. Wilder ponies are more suited to public access sites where they keep away from people and dogs. The Trust works very closely with Flexigraze, a grazing co-operative managed by Northumberland Wildlife Trust. Currently there are three ponies grazing Newham Bog, a national nature reserve, three on Longhorsley Moor and a group of thirty mixed colts and geldings at Dargues Hope. There are also ponies in the centre of Newcastle, Kielder reservoir, Derwent reservoir, Fontburn reservoir, and Prestwick Carr near the airport. More can be found on nature reserves all over Durham and Northumberland and in Cumbria on Drumburgh Moss.
L-R Rossmill Mojo, Sue Burger centre with Rossmill North Wind, Rossmill Boreas
Rosefinch at HOYS Photo by The Event Photographer
the invasive tor grass here. They are excellent at keeping it in check, otherwise it would dominate the grassland. This allows flowering species such as pyramidal orchids, knapweed, cowslips and bellflowers to bloom throughout the early summer months.” YEPT ponies also work for the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Ryedale Council as well as grazing a number of private sites. The ponies are doing such a good job preserving the lowland heathland , a nationally scarce habitat, on Skipwith Common that the Escrick Park Estate which owns the common bought all six of the resident grazers and they are now a permanent feature.
small grazing fee for the use of the ponies and help with transportation costs. They provide a securely fenced site and water, while YEPT have insurance and organise a rota of checkers to keep an eye on the ponies’ welfare. The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) have used YEPT ponies for a number of years at Askham Bog, near York, the Trust’s first nature reserve and managed by them since 1946. They also employ them on their reserves at Kiplingcotes and Flamborough. Caroline Comins, YWT Reserves Manager has this to say about the ponies’ work:
Redstart & Rosefinch (right) at the Midlands Exmoor Show
“Exmoor ponies have been used to winter graze the chalk grassland reserve
Exmoor ponies have made themselves well and truly at home in the North and can be seen all over the area in a variety of roles. You may come across a mealy muzzle almost anywhere. The Northern Area Group organises a variety of activities. As well as the annual show, there are rides, stud visits and social events. More information can be obtained from:
Area Rep Sue Burger: northernrep@
exmoorponysociety.org.uk
The following websites provide more information about Exmoor ponies.
www.exmoorponysociety.org.uk http://yept.webs.com/
www.moorlandmousietrust.org.uk MMT ponies which graze a nature reserve
The Yorkshire Exmoor Pony Trust (YEPT) another independent charity grazes land all over North Yorkshire. They currently have 22 ponies spread over the county, 9 mares and 13 geldings, ranging in age from 3 years old to 29. Some are owned by YEPT and others are on loan. YEPT co-ordinates the use of ponies on parcels of land in need of grazing. Landowners pay a
at Kiplingcotes in East Yorkshire for the last decade. They have been the most effective grazers we’ve found for the control of
www.equestrianlifemagazine.co.uk 59
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