A Visit To The One Hundred And Sixth Exford Show

There were many ridden classes for the Exmoor Pony and anyone who thinks that they are too strong for young children should have seen the confident way even very young children rode them both over jumps and in the show classes. It was wonderful to see so many good examples of the breed together, nevertheless, it is sobering to remember that this is still very much a rare breed, and nowhere else would these ponies be seen in such numbers.

The Devon & Somerset Staghounds parade.

The championship apart, the other highlight of the afternoon was the parade of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds in the main ring. The children loved it as they were invited in to meet the hounds... By tradition, the hunt always meets on the showground on the morning after the show but I was saddened to learn that these days it is rare to see a purebred Exmoor pony following hounds... It is extraordinary since these ponies cross the difficult terrain of the moor with such ease - they would surely give a good account of themselves given the opportunity.

A glorious evening on Winsford Hill.

To complete a lovely day, Val Sherwin kindly took me up to Winsford Hill to see the ponies from the Anchor herd roaming freely across the moor. I was particularly delighted to see them at their secret water hole and to see the small bands of mares and their foals and the stallion Ibris. Val was searching for her favourite, Cracker, but he eluded us over a couple of days.

It was a glorious, golden evening - one of those occasions when Exmoor is truly heavenly - perhaps it went to my head, I ll never know, but I did make an impulsive decision which is likely to have a long lasting effect on my life... but that, as they say, is another story, born out of feeling a need to support the Exmoor pony in its time of crisis - a crisis which admittedly seemed both unlikely and unreal in the evening of the Exmoor Show, high on Winsford Hill watching contented bands of ponies roaming the land they have populated for centuries.